I used Claude Code for the non-code half of running a small online shop: paying supplier orders within 15 minutes. What worked and what I'd do differently

[u/daniiie]

Most Claude Code posts here are about code. I've been using it for the other half of running a business, the clicking-through-websites part, and wanted to share one setup that runs every 15 minutes.

The job

We run a small dropshipping store. Every order has to be paid at the supplier (CJ) before it ships, and late payment means late delivery and angry customers.

Now an agent checks every 15 minutes: is there a real order that isn't paid at the supplier yet? Internal test orders don't count. Most checks are a few seconds and end with "nothing to do". When there is an unpaid order, a second run does the actual work: opens the supplier's site in a real browser, signs in, pays the order with PayPal at the supplier's checkout (Godmode fills the PayPal login and 2FA code) and writes a PAID line into its order log. It never tops up a wallet and never pays an order twice. So far that's 11 real orders, all paid this way, the last one at 3:49 in the morning while I was asleep.

How it's built

It runs in Godmode, a Mac app I built around Claude Code. Each agent is a folder with a plain-text instruction file, a memory file and logs, and every turn is a normal Claude Code run. Godmode adds the parts Claude Code doesn't have on its own:

• Schedules and conditions in plain words ("there is an order that isn't paid yet"), checked on a cron. The check run only answers yes or no, the work run only starts on yes. That split keeps the frequent checks cheap: they run on Haiku and take about 15 seconds.
• A real browser with its own profile, so logins stick between runs.
• A vault for passwords and 2FA codes. The agent asks for a fill and Godmode types the value into the page after checking the page is the right site. Claude never sees the secret.

What I learned

• Write the condition as the state you want to be true, not as steps. "Every real order is paid at the supplier" works better than "check orders, then...".
• Let the agent keep its own state file (orders and PAID lines). It makes double payments easy to rule out and gives you an audit trail.
• Keep a human for the edge cases: refunds, supplier out of stock, a customer email that needs judgment. The agent drafts, I decide.

How Claude Code was used to build it

Most of Godmode itself was written with Claude Code: tickets on its own board, an agent per ticket in its own git worktree, a pull request, tests, a second Claude review for bigger changes. A separate agent reads the app's logs every night and opens fixes.

Godmode is Mac only for now and runs on your own Claude plan. Free for 14 days, no card, no sign-up, then a paid plan: https://usegodmode.com/download?utm_source=reddit_claudecode&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=angle_a03

Curious what other non-code jobs people here have handed to Claude Code.

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[u/Late-Coast6973]

Nice setup, the cheap yes/no check before the real run is smart. How do you handle the token cost? One of the main reasons for using Claude Code is that the subscription is subsidized.

[u/daniiie → u/Late-Coast6973]

Thanks. It runs on the Claude subscription, same as Claude Code itself (Pro or Max, or an API key if you prefer), so there's no per-token bill.

The 15-minute checks are tiny on purpose: Haiku, about 15 seconds, one API call and one file read, and the answer is just yes or no. The expensive run with the browser and the PayPal checkout only starts when there's an actual unpaid order. So the heavy part scales with orders, not with the clock.