20 places to find margin
20 places a consulting practice finds margin.
Most of these run inside the AI tools you already pay for. A few become custom builds. What we build for each client stays theirs, so instead of showing it, here are the kinds of problems it solves.
Winning work
1
Proposal drafting
A discovery call or voice memo becomes a draft proposal in your format and pricing.
2
Funder and RFP research
Opportunities and guidelines summarized against your clients' fit, with deadlines flagged.
3
Win and loss patterns
Past proposals reviewed for what wins, to sharpen your pricing and focus.
4
Case study builder
Finished engagements turned into short case studies and bios, ready to adapt.
5
Discovery prep
Background on a new client gathered and summarized before the first call.
Delivering the work
6
Interview synthesis
Transcripts coded into themes and quotes using your framework.
7
Survey analysis
Open-ended responses grouped and summarized, with representative quotes.
8
Deliverables from templates
Plans, reports, and decks start from your best past work, not a blank page.
9
Workshop and retreat kits
Agendas, pre-reads, and facilitator guides built in your method.
10
Time capture
Billable time logged from your calendar and documents, ready to review.
Running the practice
11
Invoices and reminders
Invoices drafted at month end and polite reminders sent on schedule.
12
Subscription and AI cost check
Software and AI charges checked against real use, so you pay only for what helps.
13
Contracts and scopes
Engagement letters and scope changes drafted from your standard terms.
14
Client updates
Weekly or monthly status updates assembled from your notes and files.
Client relationships
15
Meeting follow-up
Decisions and next steps sent to clients within the hour.
16
Board and committee packets
Meeting materials assembled and summarized from each client's documents.
17
Client knowledge base
Everything you know about each client, searchable in one confidential workspace.
Growing your practice
18
Thought leadership drafts
Articles and posts drafted from your own notes and talks, in your voice.
19
Newsletter and outreach
A monthly note to past clients and referral sources, drafted for you to send.
20
Effective rate tracker
What you really earn per hour on each engagement, so you price the next one right.
Which ones matter for your practice? That's what the Margin Map™ finds.
Custom tools, when they're worth it
Tools that fit a consulting practice.
Most practices never need custom software. But sometimes the Margin Map™ turns up work no off-the-shelf tool handles well. When it does, we can build a small tool sized to your practice, often for less than a year of the subscription it replaces.
Client intake
Inquiry forms and discovery questionnaires that feed straight into your proposal workflow.
A relationship tracker
Built for relationships and referrals, not sales funnels, without paying for features you never use.
Proposal and pricing builder
Your services, rates, and past scopes turned into consistent proposals in minutes.
Engagement tracker
Every client engagement moving through clear stages, with deadlines and deliverables in one view.
Client portals
A secure place for clients to share documents, answer questions, and see progress.
Practice dashboard
Billable hours, pipeline, and your effective hourly rate, pulled together automatically.
Right-sized
Sized to your practice, so you can drop subscriptions you pay for but barely use.
Secure by design
Access controls, encrypted data, and ongoing penetration testing to keep your information protected.
Yours
The tool, the code, and the data belong to your practice.
Builds are a separate scope of work from the Margin Build. We scope and price each one case by case, and only recommend a build when it clearly pays for itself.
Have a tool in mind?
Most builds start with a Margin Map™, so we know the tool will pay for itself. Start with a 30-minute call.
Book a 30-minute call