Free

A free look at how your business runs on technology.

Fifteen to twenty minutes, six areas, and a short written summary afterwards. No access to your systems, nothing installed, and nothing to sign.

  • Fifteen to twenty minutes
  • No access to your systems
  • No obligation
Who it is for

Small businesses in Fife and Edinburgh.

Owner-operators and small teams. Barbers, salons, cafes, garages, trades, shops, accountants, holiday lets. Anyone running a business without someone in-house who looks after the technology.

Who it is not for

Larger organisations with their own IT function, and anyone who needs a formal security audit or a compliance assessment. This is not that, and I would rather say so now than waste your twenty minutes.

What I look at

Six areas.

The same six every time, so nothing important gets skipped because it did not come up in conversation.

  1. Website

    Whether you have one, how it reads on a phone, and whether it says what you do.

  2. Google Business Profile

    Whether it exists, who controls it, and whether the details are right.

  3. Reviews

    How many you have, how recent they are, and whether anyone replies to them.

  4. Enquiries & Bookings

    How a customer actually gets hold of you, and what happens out of hours.

  5. Email & Accounts

    What address the business runs on, and how the important accounts are secured.

  6. Data & Devices

    Where your files live, whether there is a second copy, and what you would do without them.

How it works

Three parts, and none of them are hard work for you.

  1. Before we meet

    I spend a few minutes looking at what is already public. Your website if you have one, your Google listing, your reviews. Nothing private, nothing logged into.

  2. Fifteen to twenty minutes

    In person where that suits, or on the phone. Mostly questions, in normal words. You can stop me at any point.

  3. A short written summary

    Sent to you afterwards. What is working, what I would look at, and anything you can sort yourself for nothing.

The summary

What lands afterwards.

A short written summary, sent using whichever way of getting hold of you we agree on.

  • What is already working, and worth leaving alone
  • The thing I would look at first, and what it would cost
  • Anything you can sort yourself, for nothing

The summary I write has no score, no grade and no rating. It is a short list of what I would do next, in the order I would do it. If you would rather start with a number of your own, there is a self-check below that does its arithmetic on your screen.

Score yourself first

Sixteen questions, two scores, nothing sent anywhere.

If you want a rough idea of where you stand before speaking to anyone, work through these. It takes about three minutes and the answers never leave your screen.

Your answers stay in this page. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is saved, and closing the tab loses the lot. If you choose to carry the result into an enquiry at the end, what travels is the two scores and the headings, never the answers themselves.

This is a self-assessment, not a test of anything. It does not look at your systems. It is a way of working out which conversation is worth having first.

Keeping the business safe

Eight questions about how the business is set up day to day. Answer them as things actually are, not as they are meant to be. Nobody sees these answers.

  1. Does logging in to the business email need a second step, like a code or an app?

    Often called two-step or two-factor login.

  2. Are the files the business would miss copied somewhere separate?
  3. Does each person have their own login?
  4. Do the computers and phones install their updates?
  5. How are passwords kept?
  6. If a work laptop or phone went missing today, would you know what to do?
  7. Is there security software running, and would you find out if it flagged something?
  8. If the main computer stopped working this morning, when would you be working again?

Being found online

Eight questions about what somebody finds when they go looking for you. Same as above: answer them as things are.

  1. Is there a Google Business Profile for the business?

    The panel that appears on the right when someone searches for you by name.

  2. Are the opening hours, phone number and address right everywhere they appear?
  3. Roughly how many Google reviews are there?
  4. Do customers get asked for a review?
  5. Is there a website, and who owns the address it sits on?
  6. How does the website behave on a phone?
  7. Are there recent photos on the Google listing?
  8. Search what you do and the town you do it in. Do you find yourself?

Answer the questions above and the two scores appear here. The scoring needs JavaScript, so if it stays blank the questions are still worth reading on their own.

13 or more: In good shape. 9 or more: Mostly there. 5 or more: Some real gaps. 0 or more: Worth a proper look

Tech Check

Questions about the Tech Check

  • Is it really free?

    Yes. No fee, no obligation afterwards, and nothing to sign. If the honest answer is that you do not need anything from me, that is what you will get.

  • Will you try to sell me something?

    I will tell you what I would look at first and what it would cost, because that is the useful bit. If the thing you need is not something I do, I will say so and point you elsewhere. You are not signing up to anything by asking.

  • How long does it take?

    Fifteen to twenty minutes. I keep to it, because you are running a business.

  • Do you need access to anything?

    No. I look at what is publicly visible and ask you questions. Nothing is logged into, installed or changed.

  • Do you cover my area?

    Fife and Edinburgh in person, and it can be done on the phone from anywhere. The form asks for your town so I know which applies.

  • What if I do nothing afterwards?

    Then you are still ahead, because the summary usually includes a couple of things you can do yourself for nothing. That is fine by me.

Book your free Tech Check.

Five things, and then I will be in touch to arrange a time that suits you.

Enquiries can be submitted at any time. Support hours are Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00.

Would rather talk? 07857 272679 or WhatsApp.

Please do not send passwords, PINs, recovery codes or card details through this form. See the privacy policy for how your details are handled.

Would rather just talk? Call 07857 272679 or send a WhatsApp message. Enquiries can be submitted at any time.

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