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arbren

AI consulting for small firms, especially tax, accounting and insurance. Anywhere over Zoom or Teams.

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What Arbren covers:

  • Choosing a plan
  • Client-data rules
  • Staff training
  • Claude Code setup
  • Codex setup
  • Skills and connections
  • Automation
  • Dashboards
  • Security setup
  • Ongoing help

AI and technology consulting

Pick the right AI, set it up safely, and put it to work on your own documents.

Clear rules for client data from day one, and builds only where they're worth it.

Services

Four ways to work together. Start with a conversation.

  • 60 to 90 minutes

    AI briefing

    What AI can do for your business, shown live in a real workspace.

    • Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot compared
    • A written plan: three moves, costs and dates
  • Half day or full day

    Workspace setup

    Claude Code or Codex set up on your computers, pointed at your own documents.

    • Installed safely
    • Files organized with a table of contents
    • Rules and skills that keep it learning
  • Scoped per project

    Build

    A dashboard, automation or connection made for your business, with checks built in.

    • Handed over with instructions
  • Monthly

    Ongoing help

    New skills and connections as your work changes, and new staff brought up to speed.

    • Settings and security kept current

Every engagement is agreed in writing first. Over Zoom or Teams anywhere, or on site by arrangement.

Sample deliverable

The written plan a 12-person tax practice gets after a briefing.

Where the time goes, three moves, what not to do yet, the safe setup, the timeline and the tool costs. An invented firm with real prices.

Read the sample plan

About

One person, hands-on with the tools you'll use.

Arbren is Caleb Smit: you work with him directly, from first call to finished setup, on the same tools he uses every day. Based in Minnesota, with roots in Iowa, working anywhere over Zoom or Teams.

4,000+

hours hands-on with AI tools

Recognition

Book 30 minutes with Caleb
Caleb Smit, founder of Arbren, in a navy check blazer against a dark textured wall
Caleb SmitFounder, Arbren
Based in Minnesota

Selected work

Built with the same tools he recommends. Live projects you can open and try.

Designed and built by Caleb with AI coding agents.

01 · Financial analytics dashboard

Multi-Factor Stock Screener

Scores every company in the S&P 500 on eight factors, ranks them, and shows the arithmetic behind each score. It refreshes every weekday morning, with a research page that tests the ranking against 2012 to 2026 history, failures included.

AI readiness check

Where does your company stand?

Five questions, about a minute. You get a score and the best place to start. Nothing you choose leaves this page unless you send it.

Question 1 / 5

Where does your company's information live?

Questions

What people usually ask first. Search finds the rest.

Do we need a technical team to work with you?

No. You work in plain English and Caleb does the setup. If you have an IT provider, he brings them in before anything is installed on a company computer.

Who will we work with?

Caleb, every time. Arbren is one person: whoever you talk to on the first call does the setup, the build and the follow-up. In tax season that means you reach the person who built your setup, not a ticket queue.

What does working with Arbren cost?

It depends on the work, so there is no price list. After the first call you get a written proposal with the scope, the price and the dates, and nothing is billed until you agree to it in writing.

Where should a business like ours start?

With one repetitive task that eats a few hours a week: routine email, meeting notes, quotes, document summaries. Give a small group a business-grade tool, set simple rules for what information can go in, and measure the time saved over a month. Keep what works and drop what does not. The industry guide shows the starting point we would pick for yours.

Which is best: Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot?

We recommend Claude first: it is the strongest at long documents, careful writing and analysis, and it includes Claude Code, which works through folders of your documents. ChatGPT Business is a strong second, with the broadest toolbox including images and voice. Microsoft Copilot is the easiest choice for an office that lives in Outlook and Teams. The Which AI guide has prices, usage limits and a plan finder.

Is the free version good enough?

For trying things out on your own, yes. For company or client information, no. Business plans give you an admin console, let you remove access when someone leaves, and come with contract terms that keep your data out of model training. A business seat usually costs about the same as a personal subscription.

Can we put client or patient information in?

In a business plan like Claude Team or ChatGPT Business: client files, financials, policies and contracts, yes. Full SSNs, bank, account and card numbers, and health information stay out; use the last four or a client code. Patient information needs an Enterprise plan with a signed business associate agreement, and tax return information falls under Section 7216. Caleb writes down what can go where so your team never has to guess.

Do we need an AI policy?

Yes, and it can be one page. Your team is probably already using AI on personal accounts, and a policy turns that into clear rules: which tools are approved, what information is off limits, who reviews anything that goes to a customer, and who to ask. We write it with you and train people on it.

What do the AI tools cost?

A business AI seat runs $20 to $25 a person a month, and you may already have some AI included in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. The bigger investment is setup and training time, so we start with a small pilot and measure the return before you scale. At $20 a seat and $45 an hour of staff time, a seat pays for itself if it saves about 6 minutes a week; the Which AI guide has a calculator for your numbers. The Stacks guide prices three complete setups for any team size.

Start a conversation

Let's talk about where AI fits in your business.

Book a call, or email first: Caleb replies within one business day.

What happens next

  1. 1

    Pick a 30-minute time. Bring the task that eats the most time.

  2. 2

    You talk with Caleb, over Zoom or phone.

  3. 3

    You get a written proposal: what Caleb will do, and by when.