The Reality Check
An honest conversation with your leadership team. We identify your top 5 time wasters, your 3 most error-prone processes, and the quick wins hiding in plain sight. Delivered as a one-page Reality Check.
The AI Audit · 14-day diagnosticKnow exactly
Know exactly
where AI fits in
your business. In 14 days.
The AI Audit maps your operation, scores every opportunity, and hands you a prioritized roadmap your team can execute — not a list of software recommendations. 14 days. Fixed-price. Money-back guarantee.
- ✓ Fixed-price first phase
- ✓ 100% code ownership
- ✓ Senior-only team
- ✓ 30-day warranty
§ 01 / Is this for you?
Straight talk: who this fits, who it doesn't.
We'd rather turn down the wrong project than sell you one. Here's how to tell if we're a match.
✓ This is for you if
- ▸SMEs with 20–500 employees and $1M–$100M in revenue who need a real plan, not another deck.
- ▸C-suite executives or senior leaders with budget authority and a board asking about AI.
- ▸Companies that have an AI mandate but no clear roadmap and are tired of vendor demos.
- ▸Teams that tried AI tools and didn't see ROI — usually because they were applied to the wrong workflows.
- ▸Leaders who need a board-ready AI strategy in weeks, not quarters.
— Probably not a fit if
- ✕You have fewer than 20 employees — the ROI math doesn't work yet at that scale.
- ✕You want someone to build the AI for you right now — that's our other services. The audit comes first.
- ✕You've already completed a strategy and just need implementation.
- ✕You're not willing to commit 4–5 people for ~10–15 hours of collaboration over 14 days.
§ 02 / Deliverables
What you actually walk away with.
No slideware. Every item below is a real artifact in your GitHub, your cloud, or your vault — on day one of launch.
Process maps + cost analysis
We pick your 3–5 highest-impact processes and map them step by step. Pain points in red. Bottlenecks costed. You'll see what your current state costs annually — and what 'if automated' looks like in real numbers.
Competitive gap analysis
What are your competitors doing with AI? What off-the-shelf tools already exist? Where are you falling behind — and where can you leapfrog? Delivered as a 2-page gap analysis with pricing and priority gaps.
Prioritized action list
Every opportunity scored on three dimensions: Impact, Effort, and Readiness. Ranked. Sequenced. With budget requirements and expected ROI. Delivered as a working Google Sheet you own forever.
The Action Plan
Your board-ready document. A 30-day sprint plan, 90-day roadmap, 12-month vision, budget breakdown, and success metrics. This is the plan your team executes on Day 15.
30-day Slack access
After delivery, you get direct access to the Softpers team for 30 days. Pressure-test decisions. Ask questions as you start executing. We stay close while you launch your first automation.
§ 03 / How it works
A simple, four-step process.
You always know what's happening, what it costs, and what's next. Weekly demos. No surprises.
STEP 0101 / 04
Discovery call
30 minutes, free. We talk about your business, your mandate, and whether the audit is the right fit. If it isn't, we'll tell you. No pitch. No obligation.
STEP 0202 / 04
Kickoff
Your team commits 4–5 people: decision maker, ops lead, IT/tech person, finance. We share a questionnaire so we don't waste interview time on basics.
STEP 0303 / 04
The 14-day audit
Reality check → process maps → competitive analysis → prioritization → the action plan. You're involved throughout. We do the heavy lifting — ~10–15 hours total from your team.
STEP 0404 / 04
Execute
Day 15+: you walk away with five deliverables and 30 days of Slack access. Your first automation should be live within 30 days — with us or any other vendor.
§ 04 / Use cases
What we've actually shipped.
Three examples of real client work. Names redacted where clients asked; outcomes are real.
$600k / year in hidden waste
Audit identified 3 use cases worth $600k/year combined across ops and customer service. They built two with us, handed the third to their internal team. The CEO stopped taking vendor calls.
Outcome$600k / yr identified
Board pressure, 6-month runway
We killed 4 vendor proposals (none fit), recommended 1 pilot, and coached them through internal hiring. They didn't spend $400k on the wrong tool — and showed the board a real plan.
Outcome$400k saved
Compliance-first AI strategy
Identified 2 HIPAA-safe AI use cases (transcription, intake triage) and 3 that weren't worth the regulatory risk. Clear yes / no list the exec team could defend to their regulator.
Outcome2 pilots launched
The audit paid for itself in the first week. We walked in with a board mandate and no plan. We walked out with a sequenced 12-month roadmap, killed four vendor proposals we were about to sign, and saved about $400k on the wrong tool. This wasn't a consulting engagement — it was a diagnostic.
David K. · COO, QMB.AI
§ 05 / Tools & stack
Boring, reliable tools — picked for you, not us.
We have no kickbacks or partner commissions. We pick the tool that fits your problem, your budget, and your team.
The five deliverablesEvery audit ships the same five artifacts. Yours to keep forever.
One-Page Reality CheckProcess Maps + cost analysisCompetitive Gap Analysis (2pp)Prioritized Action List (Google Sheet)The Action Plan (3–5pp)
What we reviewNo stack ideology — we'll tell you what fits.
Your tools & SaaS inventoryYour data sourcesYour workflows & opsYour team's skillsYour compliance postureYour AI mandate & budget
Vendor landscape we trackNo kickbacks, no 'preferred vendor' lists. Ever.
Claude / OpenAI / GeminiPerplexity / Glean / DustZendesk / Intercom AIMicrosoft CopilotNotion / Linear AIDomain-specific tools
§ 06 / Engagement
Three ways to start working with us.
Every engagement is fixed-price for the first phase. No lock-in. All pricing is scope-dependent — tell us what you're trying to do and we'll quote a clear number.
The AI Audit
14 days, fixed-priceMoney-back guarantee
- ▸Reality Check (1 page)
- ▸Process Maps + annual cost analysis
- ▸Competitive Gap Analysis (2 pages)
- ▸Prioritized Action List (Google Sheet)
- ▸The Action Plan (3–5 pages, 30/90/365)
- ▸30 days of Slack access post-delivery
Fractional AI lead
Monthly retainerScope-dependent
- ▸Weekly time from a senior AI lead
- ▸Vendor evaluation & contract review
- ▸Implementation steering & QA
- ▸Team coaching & hiring support
- ▸Roadmap kept current quarterly
- ▸Month-to-month, no lock-in
AI Build
Scope-dependentFixed-price pilots
- ▸We build the top opportunity from the roadmap
- ▸Works with any audit — ours or someone else's
- ▸Fixed-price pilot, live in 2–8 weeks
- ▸30-day warranty + handover
- ▸You own 100% of code & model weights
- ▸Optional ongoing retainer
§ 07 / FAQ
Questions we actually get asked.
Straight answers, no jargon. If yours isn't here, just ask below.
01How much does the audit cost?
Fixed-price — no hourly billing, no surprise invoices, no hidden fees. The exact number depends on your size and scope and we'll quote it on the discovery call before you commit a cent.
02How long does it take?
03Who needs to be involved from our side?
04What do we actually get?
05What if we already have AI tools in place?
06Can you also build what you recommend?
07What's the money-back guarantee?
08How is this different from McKinsey, Deloitte, or a big consultancy?
09Do you sign NDAs?
010How do we get started?
§ 08 / Start hereRequest a quote.
Request a quote.
We'll reply within 24 hours.
Tell us what you're trying to figure out. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, what it would cost, and how fast you'd see results. No sales pitch. No follow-up sequence.
- 30-min free discovery call if we're a fit
- Fixed-price first phase — no surprises
- We read every inquiry personally
- NDA signed before any details are shared
§ 09 / Related
Other ways we can help you ship.
Three other services the Softpers studio offers. Clients often combine two or three.