How it works

We find what's costing you the most, then fix it.

Here's what happens from the first call to a system your team uses every day, and everything you'll know before we build a thing.

Where we start

First, we find the one thing worth fixing.

Every shop is different, so we don't start with software. We start by finding where your hours and money really go, with the people who do the work, and then we fix the thing that costs you the most.

Sample

  1. 1A 20 to 30 minute call

    You tell us what's slowing your shop down, and we ask how a job moves from the first request to the invoice. You'll leave knowing where we'd start.

  2. 2We follow a real job through your shop

    We sit with the people who quote, order and schedule, and watch the work the way it really happens. If your drawings are under an NDA, we sign one first.

  3. 3We put numbers on it

    We count the hours each task takes and what its mistakes cost, from your own records where we can, so the choice isn't a guess.

  4. 4We pick one thing to fix first

    Usually it's the one that costs you the most. If AI isn't the right fix for it, we'll tell you, even if that means we don't build anything.

The plan

You see exactly what we'd build before we build it.

It all goes in one written plan: what it fixes, what the screens look like, what it connects to, what we need from you and what it costs. Nothing gets built until you've said yes to it.

Sample

  • Nothing's built until you approve it

    You read the plan, ask your questions and change what doesn't fit. We start when you say yes, in writing.

  • Anything new is priced first

    If you think of something partway through, we write it up and price it, and it's only built once you agree to it.

  • You know what we need up front

    Logins, past quotes, an hour with the person who does the work. It's all in the plan, so nothing stalls while we wait.

The build

You see it work on your own jobs before you rely on it.

We test it on work you've already done and fix whatever's off. Then you try it yourself, and it only goes live once you've approved it.

Sample

  1. 1We build it on your own records

    You give us logins you create and control, and we build the first piece on your real data, not a demo.

  2. 2We test it on your past jobs

    We run it on work you've already done and compare what it drafts with what your team sent. Every difference gets fixed or explained, because close isn't good enough.

  3. 3You try it before you approve it

    On a call, you use it while we watch. Anything that's wrong gets fixed, and it goes live once you've approved it in writing.

  4. 4It moves to your accounts, and we train your team

    From then on the code, the hosting and the data are yours. Each screen gets a short video, and we train your people before they rely on it.

How the AI works

AI does the reading and typing. Your people make the calls.

Here's what your team sees once it's live, on a quote AI drafted from a customer's drawing.

Sample

  1. 1It's marked as AI's work

    Anything AI drafts says so, so nobody takes a draft for a decision.

  2. 2It shows where each answer came from

    Every line points back to its source, like the drawing or the last time you ran the part, so checking it takes seconds instead of a search.

  3. 3It flags what doesn't fit

    Simple rules you set, not the AI, decide what a person double checks, like a tighter tolerance or a new customer.

  4. 4A person approves it

    Nothing goes to a customer or into your ERP until someone on your team says so, and every step is logged.

Defense and NDA work

If your contracts call for CMMC, here's who does what.

CMMC Level 2 checks the 110 security requirements in NIST SP 800-171. We build your system to support them and hand you the proof. You and your assessor make the calls, and we'll never tell you that you pass.

See Private AI
  • The AI can run in your building

    On a computer on your own network, with no connection out to an AI company. Clouds built for government data work too, though they cost more and bring more paperwork.

  • Controlled files never sit on our computers

    We work on them through your own systems, like your remote desktop, and we sign your NDA before we see anything.

  • You get the proof

    A map of where your data lives, a drawing of how it moves, which requirements each part is built to support, and the logs, ready for your assessor.

  • We work with your compliance lead

    If you have one, or an outside CMMC consultant, they stay in charge of your program, and we build to what they need.

Your systems

Built into what you have, or a new system that replaces it.

Most shops keep their ERP, and we build around it. If your ERP is the problem, we build one around how your shop works, a piece at a time.

Built into your ERP

AI works alongside the system you have. It reads what it needs and drafts the work, and your people check it in the screens they already know. Nothing goes into your ERP until someone sends it.

See AI for Your ERP

A new system that replaces it

The average ERP budget is $9,000 per user over five years, about $270,000 for a shop with 30 people in the system, and most are rented by the user for as long as you use them. We build yours around how your shop works, starting with the piece that costs you the most, and once it's done it's yours, with no fee for each person who uses it.

See Custom ERP Systems

Questions

Before you book a call.

What does it cost?

It depends on what we build, so we won't guess before we've seen your shop. You'll know the price before anything starts, because it's in the written plan you approve. If you ask for something new later, we price it and you agree to it before we build it.

How long does it take?

That depends on what we build too, and the plan you approve says when each piece will be ready. We start with one piece, so you see it working on your own jobs before we build the next one.

Do we have to replace our ERP?

No. Most shops keep theirs, and AI works alongside it, doing the reading and typing your people do by hand now. If your ERP is the problem, we'll show you what a system built around your shop would cover, so you can compare it with what you pay today.

See AI for Your ERP
Will our people have to learn new software?

Not much. If we build into your ERP, your people keep working in the screens they know, and AI's drafts are waiting there for them to check. If we build you a new system, it's built around how they already work, and we train them on it before it goes live.

Who owns it when it's done?

You do. Once it's done and you've approved it, we move it into your own accounts, and from then on the code, the hosting and the data are yours.

What happens when something breaks?

You tell us, and we fix it. What we fix, how fast and for how long are written into your plan before you sign, so you're never left guessing.

What should we have ready for the call?

Nothing you have to prepare. It helps to think about the part of your week you'd most like back, or a recent job that went wrong, because that's usually where we start.

What if AI isn't the answer for us?

Then you'll hear it from us. Sometimes the fix is a better spreadsheet, a setting in your ERP or a change in who does what. We'd rather tell you that on the call than build something you don't need.

Sources

Christian Hostetler

Who runs your project

You'll work with me from start to finish.

I'm Christian Hostetler, the founder. I'll learn how your shop really works, build your system around it, and stay with you after it goes live.

$50M+

in revenue I've driven across all the clients I've managed and consulted for over the last five years

Let's see what we'd build for you.

We'll look at your current systems and show you what a custom system could look like for your business.