Use case · Updated 2026-06-11
AI for small business
Most small businesses don't need ten AI subscriptions: they need one assistant that reads the inbox, knows the books, and produces the document. Liminal runs on your computer, connects to Gmail or Outlook, Xero, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365 with one-click sign-in, and asks before anything goes out.
The admin work that eats your evenings
Quoting, invoicing, chasing payments, answering the same five emails, updating the spreadsheet: none of it is your actual business, and all of it lands on you after hours. Liminal is a general assistant that does the carrying: it can read a thread, pull the matching numbers from Xero, draft the reply in your tone, and have the follow-up task logged before you finish your coffee.
- Inbox triage. "what needs a reply today, and what's just noise?"
- Quotes and proposals rendered as finished PDF or Word files, not chat text.
- Overdue-invoice follow-ups drafted from real Xero data, sent only after you approve.
- Weekly numbers summarized from your spreadsheets into a plain-English update.
Connected to the tools you already pay for
Liminal's Integrations hub uses one-click sign-in: no developer accounts, no API keys to paste. Connect Gmail or Outlook for email and calendar, Xero for invoices and contacts, Google Sheets or Excel for the numbers, and Slack or Teams for the team. Because every connection feeds the same assistant, one request can cross all of them: "find unpaid invoices over 30 days, check if the client replied to my last email, and draft a polite nudge."
You stay in control of every send
Nothing leaves the building without you. Emails, invoices, posted messages: every outbound action shows you exactly what will be sent and waits for your OK. The assistant runs as an app on your own computer, so your client data, mail, and books aren't routed through someone else's hosted agent platform.
It remembers how your business works
Your payment terms, your sign-off, the client who always needs a gentle reminder, the way you structure a quote. Liminal keeps memory on your machine and gets more useful with every week. The tenth invoice run takes one sentence, not ten minutes of re-explaining.
A week in the life (example)
Monday: triage the inbox and flag anything that needs a quote. Tuesday: pull overdue Xero invoices and draft follow-ups. Wednesday: build the weekly cash snapshot in Sheets. Thursday: post a short team update to Slack. Friday: generate a client-ready PDF summary. Each step uses the same agent and the same connectors; you approve every outbound action.
Liminal vs hiring a virtual assistant
A VA handles recurring tasks but adds payroll and training. Liminal handles variable admin with full visibility into every tool step. You still make judgment calls; the agent does the fetching, drafting, and formatting. For many owners under 20 staff, that is the sweet spot before a full-time ops hire.
FAQ
Common questions
Do I need to be technical to set it up?
No. Install the desktop app for Windows or Mac, sign in to the tools you use with one click, and start asking. There are no API consoles or config files in the standard setup.
Can it really send invoices and emails by itself?
It drafts them and queues them. Every send is approval-gated by default, so you see the recipient and the content first. You decide what level of autonomy you're comfortable with.
How much does it cost?
Liminal is free to download and use with your own AI model account, and the source is readable. You only pay for the model usage you choose.
Does it work with Xero for Australian and UK businesses?
Yes. The Xero connector uses standard OAuth to your organisation. Invoice queries, contacts, and follow-up drafts work the same regardless of region.
Can my bookkeeper use the same install?
Each machine runs its own agent instance. For shared conventions, use workspace-scoped memory or document templates the agent recalls across sessions on that computer.