--- title: "Three steps. The first one is small." url: "https://www.octalhq.com.au/how-it-works" kind: page description: "We start by finding out how your business really runs, for a fixed fee, and you keep what we find. Then we build only what that shows is worth building, and stay on to keep it working." --- # Three steps. The first one is small. We start by finding out how your business really runs, for a fixed fee, and you keep what we find. Then we build only what that shows is worth building, and stay on to keep it working. ## The three steps 1. **The diagnosis** (Fixed fee). We map how you really run and find what’s worth fixing. Stop here and keep the map. 2. **The build** (Fixed quote). Only what the map says is worth it, built around how you work. Your data, yours from day one. 3. **Looking after it** (Flat monthly fee). We stay on, so it keeps up as the business changes. Leave any time, take everything. ## What each step looked like for a four-studio school. A real client, anonymised at their request. Follow them through, and see what you’d have at the end of each step. ### Before: Four studios, run from four front desks. The school ran on a premium booking platform built for gyms and memberships. A performing arts school doesn’t work that way: students enrol once a term, but attendance has to be taken in every class. At the school: So the real work happened in spreadsheets. Attendance in one, assessments in another, enrolments reconciled by hand across both. Nothing was a single source of truth, and every studio needed admin staff on site just to keep the paperwork moving. The school, at this point: Admin, A desk in every studio; Double entry, Most things, every week; Retention, Couldn’t be seen. What it was costing them - The same details entered more than once, every week - An admin wage at every location, growing with each new studio - No way to see retention across the group ### Step 01 · The diagnosis: First, we find out what’s really going on. We sit with the people who do the work, map how your operation actually runs, and find where the time and money go. It’s a short, fixed piece of work, priced before it starts. At the school: The gap wasn’t a missing feature. The platform assumed memberships; the school runs on terms. Enrol once a term, mark attendance every class: that one mismatch explained nearly all the double-handling. The school, at this point: Admin, A desk in every studio; Double entry, Traced to one mismatch; Retention, Couldn’t be seen. You leave with - A map of how work actually moves through the business - Where the hours and the money are going - What to automate, what to streamline, and what to leave with people - What’s worth building first, with a fixed quote for it Diagnosis report: - How the work moves today: Every step, who does it, and what it waits on - Where the time goes: The hours spent re-entering, chasing and checking - What to change: Automate, streamline, or leave with your people - What to build first: The changes worth the most, in order - A fixed quote: For the build, if you decide to go ahead What we need from you: A few hours with the people who do the work, and a look at the tools and spreadsheets you use today. If you stop here: The report is yours to keep, whatever you decide next. ### Step 02 · The build: Then we build exactly that, and nothing else. Every build comes off the map with a fixed quote, so there’s no hourly billing and no scope surprises. We build the system your business runs on, shaped around how you work and plugged into the tools you keep. At the school: One system shaped around terms. Families enrol themselves online, attendance is marked class by class against each enrolment, fees go out by direct debit, and all four studios sit under one roof with the right access for every role. The school, at this point: Admin, One system for all four; Double entry, Gone; Retention, Reported live. You leave with - Your system, live and hosted in your name - Your existing records brought across - The tools you keep, connected to it - Your team shown how to run it Go-live: - Self-serve enrolment, by term - Attendance, class by class - Billing and direct debit - Four studios, one system - Retention reporting across the group What we need from you: One person who can make decisions, and a short check-in each week while we build. If you stop here: Every bit of your data is yours, from day one. ### Step 03 · Looking after it: Then we stay, so it keeps getting better. Most systems don’t fail on day one. They fail months later, when nobody is minding them. So we stay on for a flat monthly fee, tuning and improving the system as the business changes. Never charged per user. At the school: The school now saves more than 40 staff hours a week, has doubled customer retention with timed email built in, and no longer needs an admin on every premises. One person runs all four studios, remotely. The school, at this point: Admin, One person, remotely; Double entry, Gone, 40+ hours back; Retention, Doubled. Every month, you get - Tuning as the way you work changes - Improvements, prioritised with you - Someone who already knows your system when you need help - 40+ staff hours saved every week - 2× customer retention - 1 admin running all four studios What we need from you: Tell us when something in the business changes. If you stop here: Take everything with you, whenever you like. No notice games, no exit fee. [Read the case study](https://www.octalhq.com.au/insights/case-studies/performing-arts-education) ## What people ask before they start. ### What does it cost? Every step is priced before it starts. The diagnosis is a small fixed fee, the build is a fixed quote off what we find, and looking after it is a flat monthly fee sized to your operation, never per user. On a first call we’ll give you an honest range for a business like yours. ### What if the diagnosis says we don’t need a new system? Then that’s the answer, and it’s still worth having. Some businesses fix what we find with the tools they already own. The report is yours either way. ### Will we have to replace the tools we use now? Usually not. We build around the systems worth keeping, like your accounting package, and connect them so information moves once instead of being retyped. ### How long does it take? The diagnosis is short. Most builds are up and running in weeks rather than months, and you’ll know the timeline before anything starts. ### How much of our time will it need? Less than you’d think. A few hours with the people who do the work during the diagnosis, then one decision-maker and a short weekly check-in during the build. ### What happens if you disappear? The system keeps running. It’s hosted in your name, you hold the credentials, and all of your data is handed over in full, in a structured format you can take anywhere. [Security, data & exit](https://www.octalhq.com.au/security) See where your operation is fighting its tools first. The Friction check takes five minutes and doesn’t ask for an email.