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A finished Business X-Ray, sampleA fixed-price AI readiness audit.

What the paid step delivers, page by page. The subject is a 40-person wholesale and service company. The company and every number on this page are an illustration of the format, not a client.

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Page one, the summary

The first page of the X-Ray. Everything below is the detail behind its numbers.

Business X-Ray · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration
  • 23processes mapped
  • 61hand-offs
  • 38manual steps
  • 7opportunities
  • about$150,000a yearvalue in reach

The three opportunities worth the most

  1. 01Customer service AIOrder-status questions answered by hand. An AI agent answers from the system.$33,600a year
  2. 02Billing AutomateOrders are re-typed into invoices.$28,800a year
  3. 03Collections AutomateUnpaid invoices chased by hand. Automated reminders and a weekly list.$25,000a year

AI readiness today 3 of 10, after the rebuild 9 of 10

Rebuild: $40,000, two phases, 12 weeks. Fixed.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you

Pages from the Operating Manual

Your Operating Manual (your SOPs, roles and rules in one place) writes down how the company really runs, in plain words that new staff and AI tools can both follow. Five entries from across the business, each with a worked example, where it was found and the owner's check.

Operating Manual · 1.2 Quote approvalIllustration

A quote over $10,000 goes to the owner for approval before it is sent.

Given a quote over $10,000 for a repeat customer. When the sales lead finishes it. Then it waits in the owner's inbox for a yes, 3 days on average.

Found in the quotes spreadsheet, the owner's inbox and an interview with the sales lead.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you
Operating Manual · 3.1 InvoicingIllustration

Every delivered order is invoiced by Friday, at the price on the quote.

Given order 1042 for $5,000, delivered on Tuesday. When the Friday billing runs. Then the office manager types invoice 1042 into the accounting package by hand, line by line.

Found in the order database, the accounting package and an interview with the office manager.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you
Operating Manual · 6.1 ReorderingIllustration

A product is reordered when its stock falls below its minimum.

Given a product with a minimum of 50 units, known only to the warehouse lead. When a sale leaves fewer than 50 on the shelf. Then the warehouse lead reorders from the usual supplier, if they notice in time.

Found in an interview with the warehouse lead and the stock spreadsheet.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you
Operating Manual · 7.1 First interviewIllustration

Every CV gets a reply, and the first interview is booked by email.

Given a CV for an open warehouse job. When it lands in the hiring inbox. Then the office manager reads it, replies and agrees a time by email.

Found in the hiring inbox, the shared calendar and an interview with the office manager.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you
Operating Manual · 9.1 Month-end reportsIllustration

After each month-end the owner gets four reports, on sales, margin, stock and unpaid invoices.

Given a closed month with every invoice in. When the office manager builds the reports. Then four workbooks are filled by hand from exports.

Found in the four month-end workbooks and an interview with the owner.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you

The operating blueprint

How the work really moves, on one page. Each lane shows its stations and the old tools under them. The words in a station show where work waits or is done by hand, and the fix it gets.

Operating blueprint · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration
Sell to cashSellQuotes spreadsheetOwner's inboxBottleneckAIemailDeliverOrder databaseCalls and emailManualAIre-typedBillOrder databaseAccounting packageManualAutomateCollectAccounting packageEmail remindersManualAutomateSupplyBuySupplier emailsStockStock spreadsheetOne person's memoryManualFixPeopleHireHiring inboxShared calendarManualAIOnboardPaper checklistMonth-endReportFour workbooksAccounting exportsManualAutomate
In each station, the word on the left is what the X-Ray found, Manual where work is done by hand or Bottleneck where it waits. The word on the right is its fix on the Opportunity Map.

The data health check

One page, in plain words. What to clean before any AI tool reads the data.

Data health · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration
  • Customers One duplicate customer list, and the same customer typed three ways.
  • Orders Two columns are never filled.
  • Stock One date column is stored as text.
  • Quotes Prices typed in by hand, not read from the price list.
All four are cleaned during the rebuild, before any AI tool reads the data.

The Opportunity Map

Every task worth fixing, automating or handing to AI, ranked by what it saves a year, with the effort each fix takes. Value a year counts the hours given back at $40 an hour.

Opportunity Map · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration
Customer serviceAI
Order-status questions answered by hand.
An AI agent answers from the system.
Hours a month70h
Value a year$33,600
EffortHigh
BillingAutomate
Orders are re-typed into invoices.
Hours a month60h
Value a year$28,800
EffortLow
CollectionsAutomate
Unpaid invoices chased by hand.
Automated reminders and a weekly list.
Hours a month52h
Value a year$25,000
EffortLow
QuotesAI
Approvals wait in the owner's inbox, 3 days on average.
AI drafts, the owner approves in one click.
Hours a month45h
Value a year$21,600
EffortMedium
Month-endAutomate
Four reports built by hand.
Hours a month40h
Value a year$19,200
EffortMedium
HiringAI
CVs sorted and interviews booked by email.
AI screening and self-booking.
Hours a month25h
Value a year$12,000
EffortMedium
StockFix
Reorders from memory.
A reorder rule and an alert.
Hours a month20h
Value a year$9,600
EffortLow
Total
Hours a month312h
Value a yearabout$150,000

About $150,000 a year against a $40,000 rebuild, which pays for itself in about 3 months at these figures.

AI readiness today 3 of 10, after the rebuild 9 of 10

The AI readiness scorecard

Ten plain lines on how ready the business is for AI, today and after the rebuild.

AI readiness scorecard · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration
  1. Processes written downNo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  2. Data in one placeNo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  3. Systems connectedNo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  4. Every change recordedYes, todayYes, after the rebuild
  5. Problems flagged earlyNo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  6. Reports without manual workNo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  7. Clear owners for each stepYes, todayYes, after the rebuild
  8. Data clean enough for AINo, todayYes, after the rebuild
  9. Access rights by roleYes, todayYes, after the rebuild
  10. Value of each fix measuredNo, todayNo, after the rebuild
Today 3 of 10. After the rebuild 9 of 10.The last line comes with Run and improve, which tracks the value of each fix every month.

The rebuild and its fixed price

The last page. What gets rebuilt, in what order, and the fixed price, in writing before any work starts.

Rebuild, week by week · a 40-person wholesale and service companyIllustration

Phase 1 · Weeks 1 to 6One connected system

  1. Weeks 1 and 2Sell to cashQuotes, orders, billing and collection in one connected system. Invoices are made from orders, so nothing is typed twice, and unpaid invoices get reminders and a weekly list.
  2. Weeks 3 and 4Supply, people and month-endStock with a reorder rule and an alert, hiring and onboarding in the same system, and the four month-end reports as live dashboards.
  3. Weeks 5 and 6Monitoring and the switchDashboards that flag problems early and a record of every change go live. Each part switches over on a day you choose.

Phase 2 · Weeks 7 to 12AI on top

  1. Weeks 7 and 8Customer answersAn AI agent answers order-status questions from the system and passes anything unusual to a person.
  2. Weeks 9 and 10Quote draftsAI drafts each quote from the price list and the customer's past orders, and the owner approves it in one click.
  3. Weeks 11 and 12HiringAI screens each CV against the job, and candidates book their own interview. No more booking by email.

Then Run and improve, from $750 a month. The value of each fix on the Opportunity Map is tracked every month, and new automations and AI uses are added one by one in order of value.

Rebuild: $40,000, two phases, 12 weeks. Fixed.Owner check: Right / Wrong / Not sureApproved by you

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Check my AI readiness

Free · 3 minutes · no files, no sign-up · your estimate on screen