Training course · Claude Code · SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses

Claude Code for SMEs

Agentic coding with Claude Code in the terminal and IDE: CLAUDE.md, subagents, hooks, MCP, CI pipelines and secure permissions.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Claude Code for SMEs” is designed for roles such as Owners and managing directors of SMEs, Sales, purchasing and administration staff and HR managers in small and mid-sized companies and shows step by step how to use Claude Code productively, safely and transparently in SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

Claude Code is not only for professional developers. Business users with no programming background can use it to analyse data, clean up Excel and CSV files, generate reports or build small internal tools, all in plain language. You describe what should happen, and Claude Code writes and runs the necessary scripts itself. This course variant shows you how to put these capabilities to work in your daily job without needing to understand code, and how to check the results reliably before anyone relies on them.

You will work through realistic office scenarios: merging exports from several systems, producing analyses with charts, generating documents and mail merges automatically, or turning repetitive file chores into a single command. Working safely is a central theme: which data may be processed, how you stay in control of approvals, and when to involve your IT department. The result is a set of useful helpers that take load off your team while remaining transparent and easy to hand over.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the economy – and are hit especially hard by skills shortages and growing administrative burdens. Generative AI offers mid-sized businesses big opportunities precisely because it can be used without an IT department or major investment. Owners and staff use AI assistants to write quotes and customer correspondence, review tenders and contracts, draft job adverts, capture the know-how of experienced employees and create marketing content. Simple automations and AI agents connect email, spreadsheets and industry software. The key is a pragmatic start with clear rules that delivers noticeable benefits quickly and brings the whole team along.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Owners and managing directors of SMEs
  • Sales, purchasing and administration staff
  • HR managers in small and mid-sized companies
  • Digitalisation and operations leads
  • Trades businesses and family-owned companies

Typical challenges we address

  • Skills shortages and heavy workloads in small teams
  • Growing administrative and documentation requirements
  • No dedicated IT or digital transformation department
  • Uncertainty about data protection, costs and the right way to start with AI

What you will be able to do

  • You commission data analyses and file tasks from Claude Code in plain language.
  • You clean and combine Excel and CSV data and check the results for plausibility.
  • You automate recurring document and reporting tasks with reusable instructions.
  • You have small internal helper tools built and refine them step by step.
  • Apply AI pragmatically in sales, administration, HR and marketing in your company.
  • Define clear, privacy-compliant rules for AI use in your team.
  • Identify processes that can be improved with AI and automation without an in-house IT department.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Getting started without coding skills
  • What a coding agent is and what it is allowed to do on your computer
  • Launching Claude Code and setting up a protected working folder
  • Describing tasks in everyday language: goal, input files, expected result
  • Understanding approval prompts and consciously accepting or declining them
Module 2 Analysing data in Excel and CSV files
  • Cleaning exports: duplicates, date formats, missing values
  • Combining several tables and calculating key figures
  • Producing charts and summaries as Excel files or images
  • Sanity-checking results with spot checks and cross-calculations
Module 3 Automating documents and routine tasks
  • Generating reports, minutes and mail merges from templates and data
  • Renaming, sorting and converting files automatically
  • Saving recurring procedures as reusable instructions
  • Writing a simple team guide in CLAUDE.md
Module 4 Building small scripts and internal tools
  • From idea to working helper: stating requirements clearly
  • Having simple input forms or local web interfaces created
  • Improving step by step: describing problems instead of debugging yourself
  • Documenting results so colleagues can use them

Day 2

Module 5 Working safely and responsibly
  • Handling personal and confidential data correctly
  • Limiting permissions and working only in approved folders
  • Recognising limits: when a tool should be handed over to IT
  • Coordinating with IT, data protection and business owners
Module 6 Hands-on project: your own solution for SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses
  • Quote calculator – A small web app that stores service items and prices, assembles a quote via a form and generates quote text in your company style.
  • Knowledge base – An internal tool where work instructions, checklists and FAQs are collected, searched and provided to new employees in a structured way.
  • Order overview – A simple app that shows current orders with status, date and owner and highlights bottlenecks in the week ahead. Data can be imported from spreadsheets.
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • SMEs must also comply with the GDPR when using AI, for example through data processing agreements and clear rules on which customer and employee data may be entered. The EU AI Act requires businesses to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff, and trade secrets and customer data belong only in approved tools.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Quotes and customer correspondence

AI drafts quote text, service descriptions, follow-up emails and replies to customer enquiries based on your templates and price lists – you review and send.

Reviewing tenders and contracts

Tender documents, suppliers' terms and framework agreements are summarised for requirements, deadlines, liability and special conditions so you can decide faster. Key exclusion criteria are highlighted clearly.

Recruitment

Job adverts, careers page copy, interview guides and onboarding plans are written for the target audience to stand out in the competition for skilled staff.

Preserving know-how

The experience of long-serving employees is captured in interviews and structured with AI into work instructions, FAQs and onboarding material before it is lost to retirement.

Marketing without an agency

Website copy, newsletters, social posts, case studies and trade fair materials are created with AI and adapted to the language of your customers. Your company gains visibility without a marketing department.

Automating workflows

Recurring processes such as sorting incoming invoices, routing enquiries or producing reports from spreadsheets are connected using no-code tools and AI agents. This noticeably relieves small teams and reduces errors.

Possible hands-on projects

Quote calculator

A small web app that stores service items and prices, assembles a quote via a form and generates quote text in your company style.

Knowledge base

An internal tool where work instructions, checklists and FAQs are collected, searched and provided to new employees in a structured way.

Order overview

A simple app that shows current orders with status, date and owner and highlights bottlenecks in the week ahead. Data can be imported from spreadsheets.

Prerequisites

No programming knowledge is needed; confident use of Excel, files and folders on your own computer is sufficient. Working in a small or medium-sized business; no technical background required.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with admin rights, Git, a Node.js runtime and an up-to-date editor; a Claude subscription or Anthropic API access is required for the exercises.

Data protection & compliance

SMEs must also comply with the GDPR when using AI, for example through data processing agreements and clear rules on which customer and employee data may be entered. The EU AI Act requires businesses to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff, and trade secrets and customer data belong only in approved tools.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 8 December 2026 – Wed, 9 December 2026 Bremen Request
  • Wed, 20 January 2027 – Thu, 21 January 2027 Salzburg Request
  • Mon, 1 February 2027 – Tue, 2 February 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 17 February 2027 – Thu, 18 February 2027 Kaiserslautern Request
  • Wed, 24 February 2027 – Thu, 25 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

How is Claude Code different from traditional code completion?

Code completion suggests the next few lines, whereas Claude Code acts as an agent that handles whole tasks: it searches the repository, plans changes across several files, runs tests and commands, and corrects itself based on the results. You define the goal and review the outcome instead of steering every single line yourself.

Is Claude Code secure enough for enterprise use?

By default, Claude Code asks for approval before editing files or running commands. Permission rules, sandboxing, managed settings and hooks let you define precisely what the agent may do. During the course you learn to configure these mechanisms to match your security and data protection requirements and to assess risks such as prompt injection.

Does Claude Code work with my language and tech stack?

Yes. Claude Code is language-agnostic because it works with files, terminal commands and your existing build and test tooling. Whether you use Python, Java, TypeScript, Go, SAP-related code or infrastructure as code, what matters most is a well-written CLAUDE.md describing your commands and conventions. Each course variant adds the relevant domain focus.

How should a small business get started with AI?

Start with two or three concrete, time-consuming tasks such as quotes, correspondence or job adverts. Choose a privacy-compliant tool, set simple rules and let the team practise together. In the course you develop exactly this kind of starter plan for your company.

Do we need our own IT department?

No. Common AI assistants and no-code automations can be used without programming skills. What matters is deliberate tool selection, data processing agreements and clear responsibilities. For integrations with industry software, occasional external support may help, but getting started is something you can do yourselves.

How much does “Claude Code for SMEs” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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