Everyday problems, and exactly how I'd fix them.
Real situations that businesses of every size deal with every week, what each one quietly costs, and the practical fix I'd build, from Excel and VBA automation to booking systems and Power Automate workflows: step by step, with the price.
ℹ️These are realistic, made-up examples based on problems businesses commonly have. They aren't past clients. When I have real client stories, they'll appear here too.
Which of these sounds like you?
Tap a card to see exactly how I'd fix it. Swipe for more →
29 people, one spreadsheet, and a lost Friday afternoon.
A small firm pays 29 self-employed advisers every week. Each person's figures sit on their own tab in one big spreadsheet, and every one of them needs to see their own figures, and nobody else's.
The situation
Every Friday afternoon, the office manager opens the spreadsheet, goes to the first adviser's tab, copies their figures into an email, checks the address, and sends it. Then the next tab. Then the next. Twenty-nine times.
It's slow, it's boring, and it's risky: paste the wrong tab into the wrong email just once, and someone sees a colleague's pay.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- Add a "who gets what" listOne small table in the spreadsheet: each tab's name, next to the person it belongs to and their email address. This list is the only thing that decides who receives anything.
- Add one buttonIt's a small Excel VBA macro. Press it, and for each person on the list, the spreadsheet saves just their tab as a PDF and emails it to them through Outlook. Nothing is retyped, so the PDF looks exactly like the tab.
- Check before anything goes outA summary pops up first: "28 ready to send, 1 held back." The manager glances at it and clicks Send.
- Keep a record automaticallyA log records who was sent what and when, and every PDF is saved in a dated folder, so there's always proof of what went out.
Try it: press Friday's button
The spreadsheet's tabs
The "who gets what" list
| Tab |
|---|
What happens
Nothing yet. Press the button.
A shortened version with 8 people. The real thing does all 29 in about two minutes.
The safety nets
- Not on the list? Never sent.Working tabs, imports and leavers stay inside the file.
- Missing email? Held back.It's flagged for the manager instead of being guessed.
- One tab per PDFEach file is made from a single tab, so nobody can receive someone else's figures.
- Drafts firstFor the first few weeks, it creates drafts to check, rather than sending.
Why this way
It uses the Excel and Outlook the firm already has, so there's nothing new to pay for each month. PDFs can't be edited, they look exactly like the tab, and they open for anyone, even people at other firms. And the manager keeps working exactly as before: fill in the tabs, press the button.
What you'd need: Excel and Outlook on a Windows computer. If your team only uses Excel in a web browser, the same idea can be built a different way, using Microsoft's online automation tools, so just tell me how you work.
The karate club whose timetable lived in the instructor's head.
A busy karate club runs classes at two venues, split by age and belt. The website is always a term behind, and the questions never stop.
The situation
Classes run at a leisure centre and a village hall, for little ones, juniors, teens and adults, each split by belt. Every term something moves: a new time, a new class, a different hall. Changing the website means waiting for whoever built it, so it's usually out of date.
So parents message instead: "Which class should my 8-year-old go to?" "Is it still Wednesdays?" And every grading or competition gets written up three times: once for the website, once for Facebook, once for the parents' email.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- The timetable lives in a simple spreadsheetOne row per class: day, venue, age, belts and time. The club edits it like any spreadsheet, and the website updates itself from it. No logging into the website, no waiting for anyone.
- A "find the right class" tool on the websiteParents pick their child's age and nearest venue, and see exactly which classes suit them. The "which class?" messages mostly stop.
- An announcement makerType three facts (what, when, where) and AI drafts the website post, the Facebook post and the parents' email, all in the club's own voice. The instructor checks them and presses publish.
- Free trial bookings that look after themselvesA "book a free trial" button sends an instant confirmation with what to wear and where to park, a reminder the day before, and a list for the instructor.
Try it: change the spreadsheet, watch the website
The club's spreadsheet (click any cell to edit it)
| Day | Venue | Class | Ages | Time |
|---|
The club's website
Every change in the spreadsheet shows on the website straight away. That's the whole idea: the club is never waiting for a web designer again.
Try it: the announcement maker
In the real thing, AI writes these in your club's own style from the facts you give it, and nothing is published until you've checked it. This demo uses ready-made wording so it works instantly in your browser.
The safety nets
- One place to editThe spreadsheet is the only timetable, so the website can never disagree with it.
- Nothing publishes itselfEvery announcement waits for the instructor's OK.
- Classes can't overfillFree trial places are limited per class, set by you.
- A backup timetableIf the spreadsheet can't be reached, the site shows the last saved version and a phone number.
Why this way
Clubs already know how to use a spreadsheet, so there's nothing new to learn and no website login to lose. The AI does the writing, which is the slow part, while the instructor keeps the final say. And the club's existing membership and payments app stays exactly where it is: the website simply links to it.
What you'd need: a free Google account for the spreadsheet, and a website that lets you add a small block of code. Most website builders do. If you don't have a website yet, this can be built as part of a new one.
Sixty spreadsheets, a studio full of Macs, and "that needs Windows".
A small design studio keeps one spreadsheet per client project. Once a month, someone has to open every single one.
The situation
There are around 60 live projects, each with its own spreadsheet of hours worked and budget spent. At the end of every month the studio manager opens each file, copies the numbers into a summary for the partners, then writes a short progress letter to each client in Word.
They asked a couple of people about automating it and were told it would need Windows, because "that sort of thing doesn't work on a Mac". So it's still done by hand, and it takes most of a day.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- Leave the project files exactly where they areThey stay in the same shared folder, in the same format the team already uses. Nobody changes how they work.
- Let Excel read the whole folder at onceExcel has a built-in feature called Power Query that can combine every file in a folder into one table. It reads the hours and budget from all 60 projects in one go, without opening them. New projects are picked up automatically.
- A summary that flags problemsOne page for the partners: every project's budget used, with anything over budget shown in red and anything close to it in amber.
- All the client letters in one goWord's mail merge, which works perfectly well on a Mac, turns the summary into a personal progress letter for every client, ready to check and send.
Try it: month-end in one click
📁 Projects folder
Partners' summary
Press Refresh to read every file in the folder.
The client letters
A shortened version with 10 projects. The real folder has around 60, and still takes about a minute.
The safety nets
- Files are only readNothing is ever changed or moved in the project files.
- Odd files are flaggedA file that doesn't match the usual layout is listed as "couldn't read", never silently skipped.
- Totals that check themselvesThe number of projects read is shown next to the number of files in the folder, so gaps stand out.
- Letters are draftsEvery letter is created for checking, not sent automatically.
Why this way
Everything uses features already inside Microsoft 365 on a Mac, so there's nothing extra to buy, and no macros, which means no security warnings and nothing that quietly breaks after an update. Month-end becomes: press Refresh, glance at the red ones, make the letters.
What you'd need: Microsoft 365 on your Macs, kept up to date, and project files that roughly follow the same layout (if some don't, tidying them is part of the job). Macs can be fussy about folder permissions, so I'd always test it on your own machine before calling it done.
The empty chair on Saturday.
A three-chair hair salon loses money every week to people who simply forget their appointment.
The situation
Bookings come in by phone and Instagram messages, and go into a paper diary on the front desk. The phone often rings mid-haircut.
Around four customers a week forget their appointment. The owner texts reminders herself, when she remembers, between clients.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- Set up proper online bookingI'd set up a well-established booking tool rather than build one from scratch: it's cheaper for you and already trusted by thousands of salons. Customers book any time, from Instagram, Google or the website.
- Automatic remindersA text the day before, with a one-tap link to confirm or cancel.
- Fill cancelled slotsWhen someone cancels, the slot is offered by text to a short waiting list. First to tap gets it.
- Optional depositsFor customers who've missed before, a small deposit can be asked for when they book. You decide who.
The safety nets
- Phone bookings still workStaff can still book people in by phone, into the same diary.
- No double bookingsThe diary only offers slots that are genuinely free.
- Sensible hours onlyReminders never go out late at night.
- You stay in controlYou choose who needs a deposit, and can change it any time.
Why this way
A good booking tool does the heavy lifting. My job is choosing the right one for you, setting it up around how you actually work, connecting it to your Instagram and Google listing, and moving your existing bookings across.
What you'd need: A phone or tablet at the salon. Many booking tools have a free plan or a small monthly fee. I'll tell you the options and costs up front, before you commit to anything.
Quotes written at 10pm.
A two-person plumbing firm is losing evenings, and some jobs, to the way it writes quotes.
The situation
They visit 8 to 10 homes a week to quote. Notes go on a pad, and the quotes get typed up in Word late at night.
A couple slip through the cracks each month, and nobody follows up the ones that go quiet. By the time a quote arrives, the customer has sometimes booked someone else.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- A quote form on your phoneA short form (Microsoft Forms or Google Forms) filled in on site: job type, parts, hours. About two minutes, standing in the customer's kitchen.
- Prices worked out for youYour own price list and labour rates sit behind the form, so totals and VAT are always right.
- A proper quote goes out the same dayA smart PDF with your logo is made and emailed to the customer automatically.
- Friendly follow-upsNo reply after five days? A polite nudge goes out. Accepted quotes land in a simple job list.
The safety nets
- Check before it sendsYou can glance at each quote before it goes, if you'd like.
- Prices you controlNothing changes unless you change your price list.
- Every quote savedA copy of each one is kept, so nothing gets lost.
- Follow-ups stopThe moment a customer replies, the reminders stop.
Why this way
It uses tools most trades already have: a phone, an email account, and a free form tool. There's nothing complicated to learn, and it works from the van.
What you'd need: A smartphone and an email account. It works with Microsoft or Google.
Copying orders into the spreadsheet.
A small online shop spends an hour every afternoon moving orders from one place to another.
The situation
The shop sells on its own website and on Etsy. Every afternoon, the owner downloads orders from both, copies them into one spreadsheet to make a packing list, and updates stock by hand.
Twice last month, something sold that was already out of stock. And retyped addresses mean the odd parcel goes astray.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- Orders flow in by themselvesBoth shops are connected to one spreadsheet, using a tool like Zapier or Make. Each new order appears as a new row, with nothing retyped.
- Tidied the same way every timeNames and addresses are cleaned up, and orders from both shops land in one consistent list.
- Stock that keeps countEach sale reduces the stock count. When something runs low, you get a message so you can pause the listing.
- A packing list every morningA printable list is ready at 8am, grouped by item, so packing is quick.
The safety nets
- Odd orders flaggedA missing address or unusual item is flagged for you, never guessed.
- Your shops untouchedThe original orders stay exactly as they are in each shop.
- Works on holidayOrders keep flowing in even when you're away.
- Easy to switch offYou can pause it at any time.
Why this way
An off-the-shelf connector tool plus a spreadsheet: cheap, reliable and easy to change as the shop grows.
What you'd need: A Google or Microsoft account. The connector tool may have a small monthly fee, depending on how many orders you get. I'll work that out with you first.
Chasing clients for their paperwork.
A bookkeeper spends the first week of every month asking 40 clients for the same things.
The situation
Every month she needs each client's bank statements and receipts. She emails, re-emails, and ticks off a list of who's sent what.
It's polite, repetitive work that eats into the time she should spend on the actual books, and late paperwork squeezes every deadline.
What it's costing
How I'd fix it
- One checklistA simple spreadsheet listing each client and what's needed from them this month.
- Reminders that write themselvesOn set dates, Power Automate (or Google Workspace, if that's what you use) sends each client a polite email listing exactly what's still missing, with a link to upload it.
- Uploads tick themselves offWhen a file lands in the client's folder, their checklist updates on its own.
- A Monday summaryWho's complete, who's still missing things, and who might need a phone call.
The safety nets
- Stops when completeReminders stop the moment everything has arrived.
- Private foldersEach client only ever sees their own folder.
- Pause any clientHolidays and special cases are easy to handle.
- Your wordsEvery email is written in your tone of voice.
Why this way
It uses the email and file storage you already have, so clients don't have to learn a new portal or remember another password.
What you'd need: Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
Your problem not here? Be technical about it.
Tell me what's slow in your business. You'll get a ballpark in about a minute, and a fixed price within one working day.
Get a quote Try the builder