Software Consulting
Paid engagements: process mapping, vendor and quote review.
OpenFree first call · Frequently ends the matter
Describe the process that keeps breaking.
Not the software you think you need. The file three people edit, the data typed twice, the thing that only works because somebody remembers it. That description usually settles the question.
Short answer
A software consultation is a free first conversation about a software decision: whether to build something custom, buy an existing tool, integrate systems you already pay for, or fix the underlying process first. A meaningful share of these conversations end with a recommendation not to build.
Advice, not a sales call
Frequently ends in "do not build"
Integration considered first
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01 What to describe
What to tell me on the call.
Symptoms rather than solutions. The workarounds are the most useful part.
What to describe
- The process that keeps breaking. What it is, who does it, how often, and where it goes wrong.
- The workarounds. The spreadsheet, the WhatsApp group, the notebook. Each one marks something your systems cannot do.
- What software you already pay for. Frequently the answer is connecting two of them rather than buying a third.
- How many people are involved. And whether they have different permissions or approval rights.
- How often it happens. Frequency multiplied by rule-clarity is what decides whether automation is worth it.
- What it costs you now. Hours, errors, delays. A rough figure is enough to judge whether building is justified.
- Any deadline or trigger. A system being discontinued, an audit, a growth step. It changes the urgency and the options.
02 Straight talk
The four possible answers.
A meaningful share of these conversations end in the right column.
Sometimes the answer is build
- The process is your advantage. How you do it is part of why customers choose you.
- You are working around your systems. A parallel manual process exists to patch what software cannot do.
- Licensing has overtaken build cost. Per-seat pricing across a team using a fraction of the features.
- Data is retyped daily. The clearest and most measurable signal there is.
Frequently the answer is not
- A product already does it. Eighty per cent at a tenth of the cost is usually the right trade.
- You need an integration. Connecting two things you already own, which is far cheaper than either.
- The process needs fixing first. Automating a disputed process makes the dispute permanent.
- Nobody will own it. Custom software needs an owner on your side or it decays.
03 Why free
Why the first call is free.
Because a large share of these conversations end with me recommending something that earns me nothing — use this existing tool, connect these two systems, or settle the process before automating it. Charging for that would be awkward, and giving it away is the most useful thing I do for people who may never hire me.
Where a decision genuinely needs more than a conversation — mapping a process properly, comparing vendors, reviewing a quote you have been given, assessing a codebase — that is a paid consulting engagement, quoted separately from any build. It is priced that way deliberately, so the advice does not depend on a project following.
What you will not get is a proposal for something larger than you asked about. If the honest answer is smaller than you expected, that is what you will hear.
— Related
More on software decisions.
Custom Software
What building actually involves, if it comes to that.
OpenAPI Integration
Connecting what you already pay for.
OpenBusiness Automation
Removing the retyping, without building a system.
Open— Questions
Consultation — your questions.
Straight answers, including the ones that cost me work. If yours is not here, ask it — I reply the same day.
Yes, and it frequently ends the matter. A meaningful share of these conversations conclude with a recommendation that earns me nothing — an existing tool, an integration, or fixing the process before automating it.
No, and consulting is quoted separately from any build precisely so that the advice does not depend on a project following. Where a recommendation would happen to favour work I could do, I say so explicitly.
Yes, and it is one of the most common requests. I look at whether the scope is complete, whether the price is reasonable for the work described, and what is missing that will appear later as a change request.
That is the normal starting position and exactly what the call is for. Describe what goes wrong rather than what to build. The platform and approach questions usually answer themselves once the problem is properly described.
No. There are no referral arrangements, so a recommendation for a particular product is because it fits. It is worth asking any consultant this, because the practice is common and rarely disclosed.
Twenty to thirty minutes is usually enough to reach a clear recommendation. Where the decision genuinely needs more — process mapping or a codebase review — that becomes a paid engagement, quoted separately.
Free consultation · No obligation
Describe the problem. Not the software.
One call, no charge. Tell me the process that keeps breaking and what you do instead today, and you will get a straight recommendation — including the one where you should not build anything.
- I will recommend not building when that is right
- Advice quoted separately from any build
- No commission from any vendor
- Same-day reply, all 7 days
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