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Before you pay for custom software, run this check

A 10-minute self-check for owner-run businesses

Most custom software projects don't go wrong in the code. They go wrong before it, when nobody wrote down the job the software is for. The build answers a question nobody asked clearly, and the team drifts back to the spreadsheet. We start somewhere else. We find the one job that costs you the most time or money, and we only build if software is the right fix.

The Fix-First method

Five steps, in this order. Skip one and the build gets bigger, slower and harder to keep.

  1. Name the job. One job, in your team's own words. Not a feature list.

  2. Map every touch. Every person, form, sheet and app the job passes through.

  3. Price the pain. What the job costs you now, in hours or in money that slips away.

  4. Try the cheap fix first. A setting, a template or a tool you already pay for.

  5. Scope the smallest build. Only what step 4 couldn't fix, with a fixed quote.

Self-check: are you ready to build?

Give yourself 1 point for each honest yes.

0 of 8 answered

  1. You can name the one job you want fixed in a single sentence.
  2. You know who does that job today and roughly how long it takes them.
  3. You've written down every place that job's information lives.
  4. You've checked whether a tool you already pay for can do it.
  5. You know which apps the new software has to talk to.
  6. One person can make decisions about the build and answer questions within a day.
  7. You can say what "done" looks like: what your team can do after that it can't do now.
  8. You know who fixes it when something breaks after launch.

Answer all eight questions to see your score.

When the fix needs building

The tool is free and stays free. If it points to a job worth fixing, this is the work we do.

If the problem is finding answers, see Einstein.

  • Custom software

    A small tool built for one workflow. Ordering, scheduling, tracking: the job your spreadsheet can't keep up with.

  • AI agents

    An agentic employee for one routine job: answering inquiries and qualifying leads, so nothing waits on you.

  • AI consulting

    Get more from the AI in tools you already pay for, and help your team use it well.