Owner-operated businesses usually start with the Readiness Assessment. Larger operations start with the Diagnostic. Each project engagement has a start, an end, and a named deliverable set. Ongoing advisory is open to clients after a completed engagement. Every engagement is remote-first, with limited optional on-site touch points.
01
Readiness Assessment
Two weeks
When to call. You are about to buy an AI tool, or your staff already use AI on their own and nobody knows what company information it touches.
For owner-operated businesses, or any client who wants a fixed-scope first step. Working sessions with the owner and one or two key people. A walk-through of how jobs, inventory, purchasing, billing, and scheduling move today, and the systems behind them. A ranked list of opportunities by dollar or hour impact and by effort. A short written 30-60-90 day plan with the first move named. The fee is credited in full toward Design if Design starts within 90 days.
The owner knows where the business is losing money and hours, which fixes come first, and which AI purchases to skip.
02
Diagnostic
Two weeks
When to call. Leadership has an AI mandate, a budget, or a board question, and no agreed view of where AI pays off and where it adds risk.
Baseline the current state of operations and identify where AI is and is not the right answer. Structured intake with the executive sponsor and operational leads. Review of current systems, data quality, workflows, and process documentation. Assessment of AI readiness across five dimensions: data, process, controls, change readiness, and technical infrastructure. An estimate of where money and hours are lost today, by workflow. Written diagnostic report with prioritized findings and a recommended path forward.
The client leaves with a clear picture of what AI adoption should look like in their operation, and what it is worth, before spending money on tools or implementation.
03
Design
Up to six weeks
When to call. You know where AI belongs and need a plan your own team or a vendor can execute and defend.
Convert the assessment or diagnostic into a concrete system design and implementation roadmap. Solution architecture for AI-integrated workflows, using the client’s existing systems where possible and recommending replacements only where necessary. Controls and record design covering data handling, model use, who approves what, and the records the business needs for its CPA, lenders, insurers, or regulators. Change management approach and training curriculum outline. Implementation roadmap with phased milestones, risk register, and dependency map.
The client leaves with an executable plan that internal or third-party implementation resources can carry forward, or a clean scope of work for a follow-on Deploy engagement.
04
Deploy
Up to three months
When to call. The plan is approved and you need your own people running it within a quarter.
Embedded delivery of the designed system, with client team members carrying operational responsibility by engagement end. Standing weekly working sessions with the client team. Configuration of AI-integrated workflows in the client’s environment. Real-time coaching of client operators through initial adoption cycles. Controls rollout, SOP documentation, and a check that the new records match what happens on the ground. Structured knowledge transfer to designated client team leads. A 30-day post-engagement check-in is included.
The client team owns and operates the system without ongoing dependency on outside expertise. The records hold up from day one, whether the reader is the owner, the CPA, or a regulator.
05
Training
Half a day to four sessions
When to call. Your team uses AI tools with no shared rules, or you bought licenses and few people use them well.
Hands-on training for the client’s team on AI tools applied to their own records and workflows. Sessions are built on the client’s actual jobs, estimates, inventory, or invoices. A written quick reference for each workflow covered. A follow-up question session within 30 days. Available on its own or alongside any engagement.
The team uses the tools the business already pays for, on the work they do every week.
06
Ongoing Advisory
Monthly · For past clients · Three-month minimum
When to call. Your AI workflows are live, and the tools or the people running them have changed since setup.
A quarterly governance review keeps your AI workflows correct and your records clean as tools and staff change. Each quarter we test a sample of AI output for accuracy and traceability, review vendor and model changes against your controls, re-measure your primary result, and send your sponsor a short written note.
Between reviews, you get a set number of advisory hours or written questions each month.
This is not break-fix support. Deploy is built so your team runs the system without us, and the review keeps it that way.
Three-month minimum, then 30 days’ notice to end.
