If you run a business with 2 to 50 people, the HR moments land on your desk. The hire you rushed. The person you’re paying as a contractor because it was easier. The complaint that came in Tuesday. The conversation you keep putting off. The Small Business Play gives owners and office managers a real HR process without an HR department, in any state.

What’s inside

You Just Hit 15: what HR rules apply at your size, and what changes at the next headcount Employee or Contractor?: a plain verdict on the call that gets owners in the most trouble, and the fix if you got it wrong First Hire Setup: from yes to a solid first month, paperwork, offer letter, and first week included Hiring Across State Lines: what one out-of-state employee turns on, and the exact email for your payroll provider Interview Builder: one structured interview and a scorecard everyone uses the same way The First Hard Conversation: the exact words, said early and said kindly, with simple documentation if it keeps happening When an Employee Complains: the first 48 hours, what to say, what not to promise, and who to call She Just Quit: the counteroffer question, the notice, the handoff, and the last-day checklist Letting Someone Go: the decision, the meeting, and the final paycheck, done right

How it handles your state

Federal law is the floor and it’s the same everywhere, so that’s what’s built in. Your state adds its own rules on top, and most start at a smaller headcount than federal law. So every agent ends with a State check: the four to six questions you have to get answered for your state and city, each with who answers it (usually your payroll provider, in one call). The agents never guess a state number. They tell you exactly what to ask and who to ask, and you write the date next to the answer.

Every federal rule shows when it took effect and when it is expected to change next, so you know when to run the agent again.

More agents are on the way: pay rules, time off and accommodations, and your first handbook.

Built from 19 years of HR work at Target, Cisco, and DataRobot. Not legal advice. Each agent tells you when it’s time to call a CPA or employment counsel.

The hardest parts of HR, handled.

What's inside

What's in The Small Business Play

Version 1.0.1, published Oct 26, 2026

01
Employee or Contractor?
Use when an owner needs to know if someone who works for them is an employee or a contractor, or suspects they got it wrong. Gives a plain verdict, what a wrong call costs, and the fix. Federal rules plus a State check for your state.
Works in claude.ai
02
First Hire Setup
Use when an owner has decided to hire and needs to get from yes to a solid first month: first-employee setup, the offer letter, I-9 and W-4, new hire reporting, and a first week plan. Federal rules plus a State check for your state.
Works in claude.ai
03
You Just Hit 15
Use when an owner asks what HR rules apply at their size or what changes as they grow. Builds a one-page map of what already applies, what just changed, and what kicks in at the next headcount, plus a State check for your state. Works in any state.
Works in claude.ai
04
Hiring Across State Lines
Use when hiring someone who lives and works in another state, or an employee wants to move. Maps what one out-of-state employee triggers, writes the payroll provider email, and covers the remote offer letter. Works in any state.
Works in claude.ai
05
Interview Builder
Use when a small business owner or office manager needs to interview for a role with no structured process. Turns a job title and a vague wish into the role's outcomes, one question per outcome with probes, and a one-page scorecard.
Works in claude.ai
06
Letting Someone Go
Use when an owner has decided, or is close to deciding, to let someone go. Confirms the decision is fair, screens timing risks, and builds the meeting script, day-of checklist, and what to tell the team, with a State check for final pay and notices.
Works in claude.ai
07
She Just Quit
Use when an employee just resigned or is about to. The resignation conversation, whether to counteroffer, working or paying out the notice, the handoff, the exit conversation, what to tell the team, and the last-day checklist. Any state.
Works in claude.ai
08
The First Hard Conversation
Use when an owner needs to talk to an employee about something that is not working and there is no HR department. Builds the exact words (Fact, Impact, Ask) and a simple documented path if it keeps happening.
Works in claude.ai
09
When an Employee Complains
Use when an employee has just complained about another person at work and there is no HR department. The first 48 hours only: what to say, what not to promise, the same-day note, who to call, and what to tell the accused and the team.
Works in claude.ai