AI can transform your business. Most attempts make a mess, because they're missing the plan.
Margin Shift builds the plan. The Leverage Audit is a fixed-fee, ~2-week independent diagnostic that maps where the work breaks, ranks every opportunity, and ships a clear path your team can execute.
$3,950–$8,000 fixed fee. Four deliverables. You own everything. No lock-in.
Prefer a written proposal? Request a Leverage Audit instead →
What you receive
Four standalone documents that form a complete planning package. No follow-up engagement required to get value.
Workflow Evidence Map
Where the work moves and where it stalls. Every handoff gap and friction point documented from structured discovery and workflow review.
Replaces assumptions with evidence so leadership makes decisions from facts, not hunches.
See the evidence map
Opportunity Matrix
Every improvement opportunity ranked by business value, implementation effort, and organizational readiness. Prioritized, not just listed.
Shows exactly where your first automation dollar will generate the highest return.
View ranked opportunities
Delivery Plan
Now / Next / Later phasing with dependencies, rationale, and success indicators for each initiative. Actionable enough for any competent team.
Walk out with a plan you could hand to any implementer tomorrow.
Preview the phased plan
Next-Steps Memo
A decision memo with paths forward, trade-offs for each option, and a clear recommended next action. You choose the path.
No ambiguity about what to do next. One recommended path, two alternatives, your call.
Read the decision memo
Why I built the Leverage Audit
I've spent over a decade helping firms untangle their operations before they spend on technology. Most automation projects fail because nobody mapped the work first. I kept watching firms invest in tools that solved the wrong problem, then spend the next six months unwinding the decision. The Leverage Audit is the engagement I wish those firms had bought first.
I show up on every call. No SDR, no gatekeeper.
Why Margin Shift first
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1
Vendor-neutral analysis
We don't sell software or take referral fees. Recommendations are shaped by your operations, not by which vendor pays us. If the best answer is a spreadsheet, we'll tell you.
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2
Fixed fee, locked before work starts
$3,950 to $8,000 depending on scope. Pricing, deliverables, and timeline agreed in writing before the engagement begins. No overages, no change orders, no surprises.
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3
You own every deliverable
Have your existing team implement it, hand it to any implementation partner, or engage us for the implementation phase (SOW 2). The plan stands on its own. There's no lock-in, no proprietary platform, and no ongoing dependency on us.
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4
Evidence over opinion
Every recommendation traces back to documented evidence from your workflows. No generic best practices. No assumptions about what "firms like yours" should do.
What a Leverage Audit isn't
Most AI consulting engagements fail in predictable ways. The audit is structured to remove each one. If a vendor can't make these four commitments, ask them why.
Not a sales pitch for software we sell
We sell zero software and take zero referral fees. Recommendations are shaped by your operations, not by a vendor's commission. If the right answer is a spreadsheet, that's what the plan says.
Not a vague roadmap deck
Every recommendation traces back to documented evidence from your workflows, with effort, dependencies, and success indicators. It's specific enough to hand to any competent implementer tomorrow.
Not a six-month timeline that hides cost
Plan in hand in about two weeks. Fee fixed in writing before kickoff. No hourly overruns, no surprise change orders, no scope creep.
Not a hostage situation
Have your existing team implement it, hand it to another partner, or engage us for the implementation phase. The plan is fully portable, with no proprietary platform and no ongoing dependency on us. You decide who executes.
engagements
completion rate
& service businesses
available on request
Most firms try one of three things first
Then they end up here. Save the loop.
Hire a Big-4 firm
- Cost$50K–$250K+
- Time3–6 months
- OutputA slide deck and a SOW for phase 2
- OwnershipTheir templates, their methodology
Do it internally
- Cost3–6 months of partner attention
- Time3–6 months calendar
- OutputNotion docs, Slack threads, no audit trail
- OwnershipYours, until staff turn over
Buy software first
- CostLicense + integration + retraining
- Time3–12 months to "value"
- OutputA platform bolted to a broken process
- OwnershipLicense, lock-in, recurring fees
How the engagement unfolds
Six stages from first conversation to plan in hand. Evidence at every step.
Quick answers
Can we use the plan without hiring you for implementation?
Yes. That's the entire point. The four deliverables are designed to be portable, and the audit is structured so your existing technical team can run with the plan. Three paths forward: implement with your own team, hand it to another implementation partner, or engage us for the implementation phase (SOW 2). Your call. Advisory support is optional and separately scoped.
Why this instead of hiring a Big-4 firm?
Faster, fixed-fee, evidence-based, and you own the work product. A Big-4 engagement typically runs $50K+ over 3–6 months and produces a slide deck plus a SOW for phase 2. The Leverage Audit ships a planning package you can act on tomorrow, in about two weeks, for $3,950–$8,000. No vendor commissions shaping the recommendations.
We're already in vendor conversations. Is it too late?
No. That's exactly when this is most useful. The audit is the way to validate (or kill) those conversations with evidence instead of demos. You walk into the next vendor call with a workflow map and a prioritized list of what actually moves your margins, instead of being sold to.
Do you sign NDAs? What access do you need?
Yes, NDAs are standard practice and data-handling requirements are detailed in the SOW before any work begins. We don't need system admin access. We capture enough through structured discovery and process observation to map workflows without touching client data or confidential engagement files.
Stop missing the plan. Start with the Leverage Audit.
In about two weeks, you'll have a complete planning package: every workflow mapped, every opportunity ranked, and a phased plan ready to execute.
Use the plan internally, hand it to an implementation partner, or ask us to advise on next steps.
Book a pre-discovery call →Or request a written proposal →
Questions? hello@marginshift.tech