Most businesses run on a patchwork. A spreadsheet here, an app there, Slack threads holding it together, and someone's memory filling the gaps. Eventually, spreadsheets break.
It works until it doesn't. The person who "just knows" how things work goes on holiday. You hire someone new and realise there's nothing to hand them. You spend another morning reconciling three sources of truth, wondering which one is right. You need a single source of truth.
This section covers the operational systems that make businesses actually run: how to document them, how to improve them, and how to stop depending on heroic effort from a handful of people. When spreadsheets aren't enough, we build custom software that fits your exact processes.
All Systems Topics
These are the operational processes we build into custom software. Each guide explains what a well-designed system looks like in practice.
Sales and Marketing
From first contact to signed contract.
Marketing Systems
Lead capture, qualification, and nurture. Turning scattered marketing into predictable pipeline.
Sales Systems
Pipeline, proposals, and follow-ups. From first conversation to signed contract.
Operations
The core of how work gets done.
Project Visibility
Knowing what is happening without chasing updates.
Order Management
From enquiry to payment without dropping balls.
Service Delivery
Project execution, quality control, and client communication.
Productivity Tracking
Measuring outcomes, not hours. Understanding where time goes.
People and Knowledge
Onboarding, handoffs, and documentation.
Client Onboarding
From signed contract to work starting. First impressions and expectation setting.
Hiring and Onboarding
Finding the right people and getting them up to speed.
Team Handovers
Passing work between people cleanly. Holidays, role changes, departures.
Knowledge Management
Documentation that people actually use.
Data and Finance
The records and money side of operations.
Customer Records
One source of truth for who your customers are and what they have bought.
Financial Operations
Invoicing, collections, and forecasting. The plumbing that keeps cash flowing.
Reducing Email Dependency
Getting decisions out of inboxes and into systems.
What Systems Work Delivers
Every business runs on processes, whether documented or not. Orders flow from enquiry to delivery. Clients move from signed contract to active work. Projects progress from start to completion. When these processes are inconsistent or invisible, work falls through cracks and people spend their time chasing instead of doing.
-
Reliable operations Work flows through defined stages. Each step triggers the next. Nothing gets lost because there is nowhere to get lost.
-
Visible status Where does every order stand? Which projects are at risk? Status is visible without asking, without compiling reports, without investigation.
-
Capacity without chaos Growth stops multiplying the mess. You can handle more volume without proportionally more management overhead.
-
Institutional knowledge captured When Sarah leaves, the process does not leave with her. The system contains what matters: the steps, the decision criteria, the exception handling.
Where to Start
Different problems, different entry points.
Related Sections
Systems work connects to other areas of what we do.
- Strategy: Deciding what to build and when (build vs buy, own vs rent, scaling without chaos).
- Design: Making systems usable (dashboards, data visualisation, low-friction interfaces).
- Development: How we build the software that runs these processes.
Not sure where to start?
Describe what is not working, and we will point you to the right material. No sales pitch required.
Get in touch →