What I do

The short version: I find the boring, repetitive, error-prone parts of your day and get a computer to do them - using what you already have first, and building custom only when it earns its keep.

What I do

• Come and see you in person to understand what you need and how it should work, rather than guessing from a distance.
• Look at the technology you already use and tell you what's worth using, what's not, and what's sitting there unused that could be doing work for you.
• Automate the repetitive stuff with the tools you already pay for - Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero, MYOB, and whatever else is in your business.
• Set up and support third party systems, with proper processes and proper training so your team can use them without me standing there.
• Write custom code when nothing off the shelf fits - reports, integrations between systems, internal tools, simple websites - with documentation and testing as standard. One of my specialities is making computer systems talk together when they really don't want to.
• Suggest process and workflow adjustments where a small change in how work flows through the business saves more than any software would.
• Build filing and organisation systems so you can find anything again in seconds, years later.
• Design and 3D print jigs, trays, and holders for physical processes. I've done this for laser cutters, UV printers, fire alarm equipment jigs, and a pathology lab.
• Desktop, network, and internet support and advice - the everyday stuff, because it all has to work together.

If I suggest a system and set it up for you, I support it. If you already have a system in place, I'll do my best to support it too, but I'll be upfront about what I can and can't do. I never misrepresent myself.

What I don't do

• Business advice or coaching. I'm a systems and automation person, not a business coach.
• Sales or marketing. It's not my strength, and you deserve someone who specialises in it.
• Social media content or management. I'll happily automate a posting pipeline. I won't write or manage your content.
• Visual design. Branding and design are their own discipline. This website is a good example - it does what it needs to, but it isn't pretty.

How I work

Start small

The first thing I do is small. One report, one form, one integration - something that helps, quickly, so you can see my work and my attention to detail before we take on anything bigger. Then we grow from there as the business needs change.

Use what you already have first

Do you have Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Then let's start there. You're already paying for them, they cover a surprising amount of ground, and every extra tool is one more thing to manage, secure, and pay for.

Most Microsoft 365 subscriptions already include Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI, SharePoint, Forms, and Planner - enough to build internal tools that you'd otherwise pay an agency a large upfront fee (and an ongoing maintenance bill) to build from scratch. For a lot of small businesses, that's a long way to go before anything needs custom coding.

It's not risk-free: it's easy to get locked in, the advanced features can overwhelm a team without training, and licence costs creep up. It's also tempting to build straight into the live system. I bring the same development-and-testing discipline to M365 and Google work that I bring to custom code, so you know what a change will do before it touches anything real.

Only add things if you need them

It's easy to end up with a hundred subscriptions, each doing one small thing. Before adding another one, I ask: do your existing tools already do this? How do you get your data out if the tool locks you out? What happens if the company behind it goes under?

Third party tools are absolutely worth it when they do what you need - just go in with a backup plan.

The loop

Every project I do runs through the same loop:

1. Discuss. A conversation, in person. Your business, your goals, the problem you're trying to solve. We agree on what we're solving before anyone talks about a solution.
2. Design. Break it into manageable parts. What are the constraints? What's the budget that still makes this worth it for you? What's essential now and what can wait? Write it down clearly enough that a brand new person could read it and understand exactly what it does and why.
3. Suggest. The recommended solution, or a short list of options with the tradeoffs, so you can make an informed decision. If the best answer for you isn't me, I'll say so.
4. Build. Built and tested in an isolated environment first - somewhere we can go wild without risking anything real. Automated tests so new features don't quietly break old ones. Manual test checklists that double as a "how to use this" guide. Real users trying it before it goes live.
5. Deploy. Into production with proper security, backups that are regularly verified, monitoring and alerting so I know it's broken before you do, and documentation detailed enough to rebuild it from scratch.
6. Support. It's live. If something goes wrong, I fix it quickly.
7. Improve. Computer systems aren't set and forget. I come back and review what's working and what could work better.
8. Adapt. Your business changes, and the system should change with it. Which takes us back to step one.

Why the testing matters

A sports tipping system I rebuilt for a digital agency had, in its previous life, no automated tests - and every year the results were contested. The rebuild had tests covering 90% of the code and simulated entire tipping seasons before going live. It was the first year with no disputes, and it ran for nine years afterwards with virtually no changes.

Done properly the first time is cheaper than done twice.

Things I've built

Have a look at the automations page for real examples - from a servicing report that saves a local business 150 hours a month, to the entire system that ran my previous business.

Ready to talk about yours? Let's chat.