Most people who book a call with me already know what they want: a dashboard, a database, or just less copy-pasting between Excel files. The audit is the step between that call and the build. I look at how your data actually lives today, and only then do I put a fixed price on the work.
Why not give a price on the call?
Because after 30 minutes I only know what you've told me. The real cost of a project hides in details nobody mentions on a call. A product code written three different ways. An export only one person knows how to run. A report everyone receives and nobody opens.
If I priced the work on the call, I'd have to add a big buffer or come back halfway through asking for more money. Neither is fair to you. So on the call I tell you which package it looks like, and the next working day I email a price range. The fixed price comes after the audit.
What I ask for
To start, I need:
- read-only access to each place your data is kept (ERP, accounting software, e-shop, Google Sheets). If access isn't possible, exports are fine;
- copies of the reports and spreadsheets your team uses now;
- one contact person who answers my questions within two days;
- a short talk with one or two of the people who do the manual work.
Read-only means I can see the data but can't change anything. I don't edit anything in your systems during the audit.
What I check
Where the data is. Every source, how data gets into it and how often it changes. There are usually more sources than the owner thinks, because someone keeps "their own" spreadsheet.
How clean it is. Duplicates, gaps, names and codes that don't match between systems, manual corrections. This is where most of the build time ends up going, so it's better to know early.
Which reports get used. Which ones people open, which they ignore, and which numbers they don't trust. When nobody trusts a number, it's usually because two systems disagree.
What's done by hand. The steps someone repeats every week, and how long they take.
Tools and costs. What you already pay for and what licences the build would need. Sometimes a tool you already have is enough.
The numbers that matter. Together we narrow it down to the 5–10 numbers you actually make decisions with, and who looks at each one.
What you get
A short written report, 3–5 pages. I send it a day before we meet so you have time to read it. It covers:
- what you have today, in one simple diagram;
- the 3–5 biggest problems, each with what it costs you in time or errors;
- what I'll build and what each part replaces;
- what's not included;
- the fixed price and timeline;
- tool licences you'd pay for directly, and their monthly cost;
- one or two things you can fix yourself straight away.
The last point is there on purpose. Even if you decide not to go ahead, the audit should be worth something to you.
Then we go through the report on a 30–45 minute call. At the end I ask you directly whether we go ahead.
How long it takes and how it's paid
The audit takes 1–2 weeks from the day I get access. You don't pay for it separately, because the audit is part of the project.
After the free call you get a deposit invoice. The audit starts once it's paid, and the audit never takes more hours than the deposit covers. If we go ahead, the deposit counts toward the fixed price and you pay the rest at handover. If you decide not to, you keep the report, I invoice only the hours the audit took, and refund the rest of the deposit within 7 days.
When you don't need an audit
If you need one Excel file fixed in a few hours, an audit would cost more than the fix. I don't take on that kind of work, but I'll tell you on the call and, where I can, suggest someone who can help.