Renzo DemartiniHow I engage / Sample Diagnostic
Fictional sample business, not a client
A sample Diagnostic: what you get, for a fictional business.
Seven workflows reviewed, three ranked, hours and cash kept apart, running costs beside them, an owner for each, a 90-day sequence and one decision for the owner.
In short
- A made-up business, marked as one, to show what a Diagnostic delivers. It is not a client, and none of its names or figures are real.
- The structure is the real one: workflows reviewed, three ranked, hours and cash shown apart, running costs beside them, an owner for each, a 90-day sequence, the controls and a decision.
- A Diagnostic is usually one to two weeks, for a fixed fee from A$4,950.
01 The business
A fictional field-service business, reviewed in two weeks.
Sample Field Services Pty Ltd is invented for this page: about 40 people and A$11M in revenue, with a head office and field teams. Every name, role and figure is a sample.
What the Diagnostic found, in four figures
Reviewed
7
Workflows reviewed, from quoting and jobs to billing, supplier bills and reporting
Ranked
3
Worth building first, ranked by hours saved and by what the dollars say
Time
102 hours
A month of staff time freed across the three. This is time, not cash.
Cash
A$2,180
Net cash a month after running and software costs, counted apart from the hours
Fictional sample business, not a client. Hours are never turned into dollars; the cash figure counts only real dollar lines.
Illustrative figures, not client data.
02 Workflows reviewed
Seven workflows reviewed, three worth building first.
Three of the seven workflows are worth building first
| Workflow | Hours a month today | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job to invoice | 60 | Build first (1) | Job sheets re-keyed into invoices; materials are missed |
| Supplier bills | 44 | Build first (2) | Bills keyed, matched and chased by hand |
| Month-end reporting pack | 38 | Build first (3) | The pack is rebuilt by hand each month from three exports |
| Quote follow-up | 20 | Next | Real value, but few quotes; revisit after the first three |
| Customer enquiry triage | 16 | Next | Small volume; a shared inbox rule covers it for now |
| Timesheets to payroll | 4 | Leave alone | Already automated inside the payroll system; only the exceptions are handled by hand |
| Stock reordering | 12 | Leave alone | One person runs it and nothing depends on it |
Illustrative figures, not client data.
03 The three, ranked
The three, ranked, with an owner for each.
Each workflow has one named owner, shown here by role. The owner of the business sponsors all three.
Ranked by hours saved, each with one owner
| Rank | Workflow | Owner (sample role) | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job to invoice | Operations manager | Job data flows into a draft invoice; a person approves it before it is sent |
| 2 | Supplier bills | Finance lead | Bills are read and matched to the job or order; a person approves every payment |
| 3 | Month-end reporting pack | Finance lead | The pack builds from the ledger and job data; the owner reads the commentary |
Illustrative figures, not client data.
04 Hours
Time saved: 102 hours a month, counted as time.
05 Cash
Cash saved, with the running and software costs beside it.
Cash a month, the cost of running it and what is left
| Workflow | Cash a month | Running and software costs | Net cash a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job to invoice | A$1,800 | A$220 | A$1,580 |
| Supplier bills | A$900 | A$180 | A$720 |
| Month-end reporting pack | A$0 (time only) | A$120 | −A$120 |
| All three | A$2,700 | A$520 | A$2,180 |
Cash is counted only where it is a real dollar line. The reporting pack saves time, not cash, so it shows a small net cost.
Illustrative figures, not client data.
The cash lines are what each workflow brings in or keeps: materials added to invoices, early-payment discounts taken and duplicate payments stopped. Running costs are the software, the AI usage and the support each workflow needs. Payback is the fixed quote for the build divided by net cash a month; that quote comes at the end of a real Diagnostic and is not part of this sample.
06 90 days
A 90-day sequence, one build at a time.
From approval to three workflows running in 90 days
- 01Days 1 to 10: owners named, access agreed
Each owner is named, access to the systems is agreed in writing and the first workflow is mapped step by step.
- 02Days 11 to 40: job to invoice
Built beside the current process and run in parallel. A person approves every invoice until the error rate is understood.
- 03Days 41 to 65: supplier bills
Bills are read and matched automatically. A person approves every payment, and nothing pays by itself.
- 04Days 66 to 80: the reporting pack
The pack builds from the ledger and job data, and the owner reviews the commentary.
- 05Days 81 to 90: review and hand over
Hours and cash are checked against this report, running costs are confirmed and each owner gets the runbook.
A sample sequence, not a timetable. The real scope and timing are agreed in writing before work starts.
07 Controls and risks
The controls and risks, each with an owner.
Five risks, the control for each and who checks it
| Risk | Control | Owner | Checked by |
|---|---|---|---|
| A wrong invoice reaches a customer | A person approves each invoice before it is sent | Operations manager | A weekly sample of ten invoices |
| A duplicate or wrong supplier payment | Bills matched to the job or order; a person approves every payment | Finance lead | A monthly check of the payment list |
| The numbers in the pack are wrong | The pack reconciles to the ledger before anyone reads it | Finance lead | The reconciliation shown on the pack |
| A workflow stops and nobody notices | An alert on every failure and a monthly log review | Operations manager | The log, at the monthly meeting |
| Access or data goes further than agreed | Access is listed in the written scope and reviewed | Owner | A quarterly access review |
08 The decision
The decision the owner takes.
Three ways the owner can decide
Approve all three
- 102 hours a month freed within 90 days
- A$2,180 a month net cash, before the build quote
- Three owners named and the controls in place
Start with job to invoice
- The most hours and the clearest cash
- Review the result before committing to the other two
- Slower, and the supplier-bill work stays manual
Hold for now
- No build cost and no change
- The 102 hours stay as manual work
- The report is still the owner’s to keep
The report is yours whether or not we work together afterwards.
A real Diagnostic ends with a debrief for you and, if you like, your board, and a fixed quote for the next step, if there is one.
09 The Diagnostic
What a Diagnostic is, and what it costs.
A Diagnostic is a short, fixed-scope review, usually one to two weeks, that ends in clear priorities. I look at the numbers, the operating model and the systems together, then tell you what to fix first, what it’s worth and who should own it.
You get a written priorities report, short enough for a board to read, a debrief with you and, if you like, your board, and a fixed quote for the next step, if there is one.
It is a fixed fee, from A$4,950, agreed in writing before any work begins. More on how I engage. If you already know the one workflow to fix, the A$990 Workflow Audit at Works Better is the other route.
10 Questions
Common questions.
Is this a real client?
No. Sample Field Services Pty Ltd is invented for this page, and so are its roles and figures. Nothing here describes a real business, and no client’s data is used.
Will my Diagnostic look like this?
The structure will. The workflows, figures, owners and controls will be yours, taken from your own systems and numbers. A real report is short enough for a board to read.
Why are hours and dollars shown apart?
Because time saved is not cash saved. Hours are capacity. Dollars are counted only where there is a real cash line, with the running and software costs beside them. No figure is ever invented.
What does a Diagnostic cost, and how long does it take?
A fixed fee, from A$4,950, and usually one to two weeks. The scope and timeframe are agreed in writing before any work begins.
Do I keep the report if we do not work together?
Yes. The report is yours whether or not we work together afterwards.
Keep reading
Related reading.
- Governance and ownership
What automation costs, what it saves and who owns it
An automation is worth it when it saves more than it costs to own, gives your team better work and has a named owner who keeps it under control.
Read → - Finance controls
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Decide which system owns each record, then pick the way to connect it. Fix cash and compliance records first, and switch old systems off last.
Read → - Reporting
Management accounts and reporting that drive decisions, and that a board can trust
Design the report around one decision, then run five checks before an automated report reaches the CEO and board, and test them by breaking the report on purpose.
Read →
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