Guides for people businesses
Practical playbooks for agencies, accounting firms and law firms - each one solves the problem with the tools you already have first, then shows what a custom build looks like if you outgrow them.
Guides for agencies
AI for agencies: the complete adoption guide
A practical guide to AI for agencies - how to adopt AI, get your team to actually use it, set up AI workflows, stay safe with client data, and roll it out so it sticks.
Read the guide →GuideClient portals for agencies: the complete guide
What a client portal is, why agencies use one, what to include, and how to set one up - build vs buy vs a managed tool - plus free templates to fill it.
Read the guide →GuideClient onboarding for agencies: the complete process
A step-by-step client onboarding process for agencies - kickoff, welcome pack, the first 30/60/90 days, and the portal that runs it - so new clients start smoothly and stay.
Read the guide →GuideHow to price agency services: models that actually work
The main agency pricing models - hourly, project, retainer, value-based and productized - how to choose between them, and how to set a rate that protects your margin. With a free calculator.
Read the guide →GuideAgency time tracking and utilization: the profitability guide
How to track billable hours, calculate utilization, and turn time data into profit - the metrics that matter, capacity planning, and the trick to getting your team to actually log time.
Read the guide →GuideClient reporting for agencies: keep clients in the loop
How to report to clients without drowning in it - the status updates that build trust, the right cadence and format, and a live status page that answers 'where are we?' before they ask.
Read the guide →GuideProductized services for agencies: package, price and scale
How to turn custom agency work into productized services - pick the offer, standardise delivery, price it, and run it on systems - so your agency scales like a product, not a project shop.
Read the guide →GuideAgency finance & metrics: the numbers that decide profit
A practical guide to the finance metrics that decide agency profit - MRR, gross margin, LTV, CAC and cash flow - what each one is, what good looks like, and the levers that move it.
Read the guide →GuideHow to systemise your agency: SOPs, operations & a team hub
A practical guide to systemising a small agency - what an operations manual contains, SOPs your team will actually use, clean handoffs, and the team hub where it all lives.
Read the guide →Guides for accounting and bookkeeping firms
Client onboarding for accounting firms: how to stop rekeying every new client
How accounting and bookkeeping firms get a new client from accepted proposal to signed engagement letter to set up in Karbon, Xero or QuickBooks without typing the same details three times - free fixes first, then the custom build.
Read the guide →GuideChasing clients for documents: how accounting firms get year-end and tax records in on time
A practical guide for accounting and bookkeeping firms on collecting year-end and tax documents without weeks of chasing emails - request lists, reminders and Dext or Hubdoc set up properly, then the custom build for firms that outgrew them.
Read the guide →GuideXero and QuickBooks out of sync with your practice management tool? Here's how to fix it
Why Xero, QuickBooks, Karbon, TaxDome and Ignition disagree about your clients, how to get them in sync with native integrations, and what a custom sync looks like for accounting firms that outgrew them.
Read the guide →GuideTax season and year-end capacity planning: how accounting firms see the crunch coming
How accounting and bookkeeping firms plan capacity for tax season and year-end - spreading deadlines, seeing who has room, and spotting jobs at risk early with Karbon, TaxDome and a spreadsheet, then the custom build when that runs out.
Read the guide →GuideClient portal for accounting firms: buy TaxDome, Karbon or Suralink, or build your own?
A fair comparison for accounting and bookkeeping firms choosing a client portal - what TaxDome, Karbon and Suralink include and cost on their own pricing pages, when buying is right, and when a custom portal makes sense.
Read the guide →GuideAI for accounting firms: what to automate first, what to leave alone, and how to get seniors to trust it
A practical guide to AI for accounting and bookkeeping firms - which tasks to automate first, which to keep with your people, and how to roll it out so your seniors actually trust it. Free options first, then custom builds.
Read the guide →Guides for law firms
Client intake for law firms: from first enquiry to open matter without rekeying
How small law firms take a new enquiry to a cleared conflict check, signed engagement letter and open matter without rekeying - using Clio, PracticePanther or MyCase properly first, then a custom intake build for firms that outgrew them.
Read the guide →GuideMatter status updates: how law firms keep clients informed without writing every update by hand
How small law firms keep clients updated on their matter without fee-earners writing every update by hand - Clio for Clients, MyCase and PracticePanther portals used well, then a custom matter status page for firms that outgrew them.
Read the guide →GuideDocument collection for law firms: how to get client documents in securely, without the chase
How small law firms collect documents from clients securely and on time - Clio, MyCase and PracticePanther portals and NetDocuments set up properly first, then a custom document collection build for firms that outgrew them.
Read the guide →GuideAI in small law firms: what's safe to automate, and how to protect confidentiality and supervise it
A practical guide for small law firms using AI - what's safe to automate, what to keep with lawyers, and how confidentiality, data protection and supervision duties apply under SRA and ABA guidance. Not legal advice.
Read the guide →What it costs: honest pricing guides
How much does custom software cost for a small business? (2026, US & UK)
Real 2026 price ranges for custom software for small businesses - automations, portals, dashboards, custom CRMs - plus what dev shops leave out of the quote and when custom actually pays off.
Read the guide →GuideFractional CTO cost in 2026 (US & UK) - and when you need an engineer instead
What a fractional CTO costs in 2026 - hourly, day rates and monthly retainers in the US and UK - and why most small people businesses need an engineer who builds and runs things, not a part-time executive.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does an AI consultant cost in 2026?
AI consultant cost in 2026: hourly, day, project and retainer rates in the US and UK, from published rate guides - plus why the expensive part is building the thing and keeping it running, not the advice.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does an AI automation agency cost in 2026?
AI automation agency pricing in 2026, from published guides: per-automation, project, retainer and subscription offers, what each includes, the platform and AI usage fees on top, and how to compare quotes like for like.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does a business automation consultant cost in 2026?
What business automation consultants charge in 2026 - freelancers, consultancies and agencies, plus Zapier, Make and n8n specialists - from published rate data, and who looks after the automation once it's handed over.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does an operations audit cost for a small business in 2026?
What an operations, workflow or automation audit costs a small business in 2026, what two weeks of one looks like day by day, what you should get at the end, and a free DIY version you can run yourself.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does a client portal cost in 2026?
Off-the-shelf portals run about $19-600 a month; a custom portal typically costs $8,000-18,000 to build, plus upkeep.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does a custom CRM cost in 2026?
A custom CRM typically costs $15,000-50,000 to build for a small business, plus 10-20% a year to maintain. Most should buy one instead.
Read the guide →GuideHow much does a developer on retainer cost in 2026?
A software development retainer typically costs $1,000-8,000 a month for a small business; UK developers contract at about £525 a day.
Read the guide →GuideHow much do accounting and law firms spend on software in 2026?
Accounting firms spent about $21,000 on technology in the past year on average; law practice software runs $49-150 per user a month.
Read the guide →Stop reading - have it built for you.
Forge builds custom software for people businesses - agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters - and rolls it out, training your team so people actually use it, then looks after it on a monthly plan. It starts with a 2-week ops audit.