This agency was suffering from a classic small business problem: moving from a one-man-band to a thriving business with staff, offices, systems and processes. Along with the growth came long nights, tears, chaos, and wheels falling off; the quality of the work was sagging too.

It was just the kind of challenge we love, helping people’s back office catch up with their success: we know how to create a back office that’s ready for growth.

We started by looking at the whole picture, rather than thinking in silos: what does this business need to help it catch up with today – and be ready for the future?

We re-invented their finances from estimating projects to financial year-end, looking at every step of the process to make it simpler, faster, and more reliable. We helped them manage their cash flow, implementing billing processes (like 50% up-front billing) designed to help avoid sudden financial droughts, and worked with their clients to implement it.

A fantastically powerful online job management system was put in place, and we introduced technology better suited to sharing across an office, such as a powerful server and printer sharing.

The difference was startling: the owner could go home at a reasonable time, he could focus more on the work for the clients (as well as winning new clients), and the agency’s new employees could work together better than ever.