Sample Business
Eleven forms and a call script. Each one says which files it fills. Print or save as PDF.
Eleven forms and a call script. Together they produce every answer the knowledge base needs.
Each form declares which files it fills. That mapping is the quality gate in both directions: no question gets asked that has nowhere to live, and no file ends up with no question behind it.
PDF versions for sending or printing are in pdf/.
Form 00 is research. You answer most of it yourself, from outside, before you speak to anyone again. What exists, what state it is in, who controls it.
Forms 01 to 10 are conversation. These are things only someone inside the business knows. Some arrive in the discovery call, some come back as filled forms, most are a mix.
| Form | Fills |
|---|---|
| 00 source inventory | No single file. Produces the harvest list and feeds marketing/channels.md, marketing/reviews-and-reputation.md, operations/tools-and-systems.md |
| 01 business basics | company/identity.md, company/people-and-roles.md |
| 02 what we sell | company/offering.md, company/pricing.md, sales/quoting.md |
| 03 who buys | company/customers.md, sales/how-inquiries-arrive.md, sales/objections.md, sales/follow-up.md, service/common-questions.md |
| 04 how the work gets done | all four files in delivery/ |
| 05 money and terms | operations/money.md |
| 06 suppliers and equipment | operations/suppliers-and-vendors.md, operations/equipment-and-assets.md, operations/tools-and-systems.md |
| 07 licences, insurance, safety | operations/compliance-and-safety.md |
| 08 voice and vocabulary | company/voice.md, _system/glossary.md |
| 09 marketing and reputation | all three files in marketing/ |
| 10 when it goes wrong | service/complaints-and-callbacks.md |
| discovery call script | Spoken version of 01, 02, 03, 04 and 08 |
Do not send all eleven to one person. You will get one document back, late, half filled, in a single voice.
| Form | Best answered by |
|---|---|
| 00 | You, alone, before asking anything |
| 01, 02, 03 | The owner or whoever runs the business day to day |
| 04 | Whoever actually does the work, not whoever sells it |
| 05 | Whoever does the books |
| 06 | Whoever orders materials and runs the equipment |
| 07 | Whoever owns safety and licensing, which is often not the owner |
| 08 | Whoever has been there longest |
| 09, 10 | The owner, or whoever handles {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}s |
Form 04 answered by the salesperson instead of the person doing the work is the most common mistake, and it produces a description of how the work is supposed to go rather than how it goes.
Full sequence in the build checklist.
Record "does not exist" rather than leaving a field blank. A blank looks like an oversight and gets skipped. "No website" is a finding and gets acted on.
Never guess to fill a gap. Mark it "do not know yet." A guess becomes a fact nobody rechecks.
Capture the words people use, not a tidied version. The exact phrasing is the point, especially in forms 03, 08 and 10.
Do not put passwords, account numbers or card details on any of these. Record where a credential is held and who holds it, never the credential itself.
Answered by: you, alone, before speaking to them again Time: 45 to 90 minutes Fills: the harvest list, plus marketing/channels.md, marketing/reviews-and-reputation.md, operations/tools-and-systems.md
This is a scavenger hunt, not a questionnaire. Most of it you can answer from outside. Do that first, then confirm the rest with them.
Mark every line one of three ways: exists, does not exist, or do not know yet. Never leave one blank and never guess. "Does not exist" is a finding worth as much as a URL.
Business: {{BUSINESS_NAME}} · Researched by: ________ · Date: ________
| Finding | |
|---|---|
| Does a website exist | |
| Address | |
| What it is built on | |
| Roughly when it was last updated | |
| Is it secure, does it load, does it work on a phone | |
| Who can make changes | |
| Where the domain is registered, and who controls it | |
| Where it is hosted | |
| Is analytics installed | |
| Honest condition in one line |
| Finding | |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile exists | |
| Claimed or unclaimed | |
| Review count and average | |
| Date of most recent review | |
| Has anyone replied to any review | |
| Photos, how many and how recent | |
| Hours correct | |
| Apple Maps, Bing Places | |
| Name, address and phone consistent everywhere |
Check the platforms that matter in this trade specifically, not just the general ones.
| Platform | Exists | Count | Average | Last one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What do the negative reviews have in common:
| Platform | Exists | Handle | Last post | Followers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | ||||
| TikTok | ||||
| Other |
Any account abandoned but still visible:
Trade associations, chambers, licensing registers, sector directories, marketplaces, co-ops.
| Where | Listed | State of the listing |
|---|---|---|
Ask about these; you cannot see them from outside.
| Finding | |
|---|---|
| Scheduling or job management | |
| Quoting and invoicing | |
| Accounting | |
| {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} records | |
| Payments | |
| Email platform | |
| Phone and messaging | |
| File storage | |
| Anything industry specific | |
| Email list, and roughly how big |
For each, note who holds the login. Logins held by a former employee or a lapsed agency are common and nobody finds out at a good moment.
| Exists | Where | Condition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price list | |||
| Written procedures | |||
| Safety documentation | |||
| Employee handbook | |||
| Standard contract or terms | |||
| Warranty terms | |||
| Licences and certificates | |||
| Insurance certificates | |||
| Product or service catalogue | |||
| Previous marketing material | |||
| Brand or logo files, originals |
| Finding | |
|---|---|
| Photos of the work, how many and how good | |
| Photos of the team or premises | |
| Video of any kind | |
| Who owns the rights | |
| Where they are kept |
| Available | |
|---|---|
| Website analytics | |
| Search console | |
| Advertising accounts | |
| {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} list export | |
| Sales history | |
| Enquiry records |
| Finding | |
|---|---|
| Was the first call recorded | |
| Is it transcribed | |
| Any other recorded calls or meetings | |
| Do they record calls as a matter of course |
The most valuable output of this form. Everything that does not exist, is broken, abandoned, or controlled by the wrong person.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Specific things to request, and who to request each from.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Best answered by: the owner, or whoever runs it day to day Time: 20 minutes Fills: company/identity.md, company/people-and-roles.md
Answer in your own words. Short is fine. Sounding professional is not the goal here, and polished answers are usually less useful than blunt ones.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
Legal name:
Name you trade under:
Year you started:
Where you are based:
How far you travel for work:
How the business is structured:
Website, or "none":
What does the business do? Say it the way you would to a stranger at a counter, not the way it would appear on a website.
Why does this business exist? What were you doing before?
What can you do, or do better, than the others around you? Be specific. If the honest answer is "nothing much, we just do it properly," that is a real answer and more useful than most.
What do people assume you do that you do not? What work do you turn down?
The thing you would mention without being asked.
Growing, holding steady, changing direction, winding down toward a sale or handover? Be honest. Nobody outside sees this and it changes what advice is worth giving.
How many people, and what is the split between full time, part time and seasonal?
List every role and what it covers. Roles, not names.
| Role | Responsible for | Can decide on their own |
|---|---|---|
Who can approve a discount, authorize spending, or turn down a job? Include the limits.
Who deals with {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}s, and who does not?
Outside help you rely on. Accountant, bookkeeper, subcontractors, seasonal workers, whoever does the website.
| Who | What they do | How often |
|---|---|---|
What can only one person do? Every business has something. What breaks if they are away for a month?
Does the headcount change through the year? When, and by how much?
Best answered by: the owner, or whoever sets prices Time: 30 minutes Fills: company/offering.md, company/pricing.md, sales/quoting.md
Prices go out of date. Put the date on this form and it stays useful.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
What is the main thing, and roughly what share of the money does it bring in?
Everything you offer:
| What it is | Who it is for | Sold by the... | Rough share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
"Sold by the" means the unit: hour, {{THE_WORK}}, item, month, acre, head, seat, visit.
Work you turn down, and the reason for each. Too small, too far, wrong equipment, went badly last time, needs a licence you do not hold.
And where you send them, if anywhere.
Anything only available at certain times, or dependent on weather, supply or licensing.
How much can you genuinely take on at once? What is the limit: people, equipment, materials, or space?
Prices as at: ________
How do you price? Hourly, fixed, per unit, cost plus a margin, market rate, subscription, a mix?
Why that way rather than another?
The actual numbers:
| What | Price | Per | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
If nothing is fixed, what drives the number, and what is a realistic range?
Minimum charge, call out fee, or minimum order:
What makes a price go up? Distance, urgency, access, out of hours, difficult site, small quantity.
Do you discount? What for, and what will you never discount?
When did prices last change, by how much, and how did it go?
Honestly, do you think you are priced right? Where do you suspect you are leaving money behind? Nobody outside sees this answer.
What do you actually send: a verbal number, a written quote, a formal proposal, or a checkout?
Walk through the steps from first contact to agreed work.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
How long from enquiry to a quote in their hands?
How long does a quote stay valid?
What has to happen before you can quote? Site visit, measurements, photos, specifications.
What is in a quote? What is explicitly excluded? Exclusions matter most, because nearly every dispute traces back to something nobody wrote down.
Roughly what share of quotes turn into work?
Best answered by: the owner, or whoever talks to {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}s most Time: 30 minutes Fills: company/customers.md, sales/how-inquiries-arrive.md, sales/objections.md, sales/follow-up.md, service/common-questions.md
Write what people actually say, in their words. Do not tidy it into business language. The exact phrasing is what makes these answers usable.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
Describe your typical {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}. Real description, not a demographic bracket.
Do you have distinct types? Most businesses have two or three that behave differently.
Who they are: What they care about most: What they worry about: How they find you: Typical value:
Who they are: What they care about most: What they worry about: How they find you: Typical value:
Who they are: What they care about most: What they worry about: How they find you: Typical value:
Not the biggest. The one you would take ten more of. What makes them good?
The kind that costs more than they pay, in money or patience. What is the early warning sign?
What do they actually say? If you do not know, say so. It is the best question to ask the next five people who buy.
| How they get in touch | Rough share | Who handles it | How fast you reply |
|---|---|---|---|
What do you need to know before you can usefully respond?
What are the first two or three questions you ask?
What do you not respond to at all, and how do you tell?
Where do enquiries get lost? Voicemail nobody checks, a form going to an old address, a platform nobody logs into.
Write the objection in their words, then what they are really asking underneath it.
They say: " What they really mean: How you answer: Does it work:
They say: " What they really mean: How you answer: Does it work:
They say: " What they really mean: How you answer: Does it work:
They say: " What they really mean: How you answer: Does it work:
After you send a quote and hear nothing, what do you do? "Nothing" is a common and honest answer.
After a {{THE_WORK}} is finished, does anyone check in? When, and what do you ask?
Do you contact people who used you once and never came back?
At what point do you stop chasing?
Where does a pending quote live so it is not forgotten?
Write them the way people ask them.
Before they buy:
While the work is happening:
After it is finished:
Questions you would rather not be asked, and your honest answer.
Best answered by: whoever actually does the work, not whoever sells it Time: 45 minutes Fills: all four files in delivery/
This is the most important form here and the one most often given to the wrong person. A salesperson describes how the work is supposed to go. Someone doing it describes how it goes.
Describe what really happens, including the informal parts and the shortcuts. Nobody outside the business reads this.
Completed by: ________ · Role: ________ · Date: ________
Walk through a {{THE_WORK}} from the moment it is agreed to the moment it is finished and paid. Add or remove steps as needed.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
How long does a typical one take? And a bad one?
What sets the pace: your time, materials, weather, a third party, or the {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}?
Which role handles which step?
What has to be true? Access, deposit, materials, permit, weather, a signed agreement.
What happens when you start anyway without one of those?
Which steps slip most often, and why? Be blunt.
What do you do when they do? Who gets told, how fast, and who decides?
Does a small one follow a different path from a large one? Describe both.
What gets skipped on a rush or emergency job, and what does that cost you?
What does the {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} end up with? Include paperwork, certificates, warranties and instructions.
What separates acceptable work from good work in your trade? Be concrete. Give numbers if there are numbers.
What gets checked, when, and by whom?
| Check | When | Who | What passing means |
|---|---|---|---|
What outside standards do you work to? Codes, regulations, manufacturer specifications, certification schemes. Include the year or version.
What would you never sign off, whatever the pressure to get finished?
Who decides a {{THE_WORK}} is done? Is the {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} part of that?
What happens when work does not meet the standard and it is found late?
Do you count anything? Callbacks, rework, complaints, inspection results.
How is work scheduled? Name the actual system, including the informal one people really use.
How far ahead are you booked? How much does that move through the year?
Busiest period, quietest period, and what drives each?
What breaks when you are at your busiest?
Do you take emergency work? What does it cost, and what gets displaced?
Who can commit to a date? Who can move one?
What causes delay most often?
How much notice does a {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} get when a date moves?
What exactly does "finished" mean?
Does someone walk the {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} through the completed work? If not, why not?
What state do you leave the site in?
When does the final invoice go out?
What is the warranty or guarantee, and what voids it?
What do you record about a finished {{THE_WORK}}, where, and for how long? Photos, measurements, serial numbers, what was actually installed.
Best answered by: whoever does the books Time: 25 minutes Fills: operations/money.md
Do not write account numbers, card details or banking passwords on this form. Where a credential is held and who holds it is enough.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
How can people pay you? Which do you prefer, and which would you rather stop accepting?
What are your terms? Deposit, staged payments, on completion, net 30?
Do terms differ by {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} type or job size?
Who raises invoices?
How long after the work finishes does the invoice go out? Be honest.
What goes on an invoice?
What is the chase sequence, and who does it?
At what point do you stop working for someone who owes you?
At what point does it go further, and to whom?
Roughly how much is outstanding at any given time? How old is the oldest?
As at: ________
Main costs in rough order of size:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
What has to be paid whether or not any work happens? Roughly how much a month?
Which months are tight and which are comfortable? What causes it?
Anything you have to pay for well before you get paid?
What does a good month look like? Revenue, number of {{THE_WORK}}s, or whatever you actually watch.
What does a bad one look like, and how early can you tell?
Bookkeeper: Accountant: Who reconciles the bank: Who can authorize payments, and up to what:
Which system holds the financial records? Who has access? How far back does it go?
Nobody outside sees this. Cash, a debt, a {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} who owes too much, an increase you have been putting off.
Best answered by: whoever orders materials and runs the equipment Time: 30 minutes Fills: operations/suppliers-and-vendors.md, operations/equipment-and-assets.md, operations/tools-and-systems.md
If the business owns almost nothing, say so and skip to the systems section. That is a real answer.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
| Supplier | What you get from them | Terms | What happens if they stop tomorrow |
|---|---|---|---|
Anything you can only get from one place? What would you do?
How long do things take to arrive? What is unpredictable?
Who orders, who approves, and is there a spending limit?
How often do your costs move, and how much notice do you get?
Does that flow through to your prices, or do you absorb it?
| Who | What they do | When you use them | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
Do you check their insurance and licensing? When last?
Co-ops, distributors, marketplaces, agents, wholesalers. Anyone between you and the end buyer, and what they take.
| What | Age | Condition | Needs servicing or calibration | Replace when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vehicles: what, how many, what for. Anything needing a particular licence to drive?
Premises: owned or leased, what it is, and any constraint it puts on the work. Lease end date if leased.
Stock and materials: what is held, roughly how much, and how it is tracked. Anything perishable or dated?
What piece of equipment limits what work you can take on?
What gets serviced, how often, and who tracks it?
If something critical failed tomorrow: hire, borrow, subcontract, or stop?
What do you use for each of these? Write "nothing" or "paper" where that is the answer.
| For | What you use | Who holds the login | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | |||
| Quoting and invoicing | |||
| Accounting | |||
| {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} records | |||
| Payments | |||
| Phone and messaging | |||
| File storage | |||
| Website | |||
| Anything industry specific |
Which of these pass information to each other automatically?
Where does someone type the same thing twice?
What do you pay for and not use?
What gets backed up, where, and when was that last checked?
Who do you call when something breaks?
Best answered by: whoever actually owns this, which is often not the owner Time: 25 minutes Fills: operations/compliance-and-safety.md
If none of this applies to your trade, write one line saying so and return the form. That is useful information and takes thirty seconds.
Record where a document is kept, not the number on it.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
| What | Where the document is kept | Renewal date | Who is responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
The renewal dates are the point of this table.
Held by the business:
Held by individuals:
Which work legally requires which qualification, and who currently holds it?
| Cover | Where the certificate is kept | Limit | Renewal date |
|---|---|---|---|
Anything you suspect you are underinsured for?
What governs your trade? Health and safety, environmental, food safety, animal welfare, data protection, building codes, transport, professional standards.
Who inspects you, how often, and what do they look at?
How did the last one go? Anything outstanding from it?
What are the actual safety practices? Protective equipment, procedures, training, first aid.
How are incidents reported and recorded?
What training is required, who has it, and when does it expire?
Work refused on safety grounds. Who has the authority to refuse? It should be everyone.
What must be retained, for how long, and where? Training, inspections, incidents, certificates, disposal, traceability.
What do you require of subcontractors? When was it last verified?
Expired items, gaps you know about, things you have been meaning to sort. Better written down than remembered.
Best answered by: whoever has been there longest Time: 25 minutes Fills: company/voice.md, _system/glossary.md
The vocabulary half of this form is the highest value thing in the whole pack. An AI that does not know your words writes brochure language, and everyone who does the work can tell instantly.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
What do you call the people who pay you? Customer, client, patient, member, buyer, guest, something else?
What do you never call them?
What do you call one unit of your work? Job, project, order, appointment, run, batch, season?
What do you never call it?
Words specific to your work that an outsider would not know. Do not stop at five. Twenty is normal.
| Word | What it means | Anything worth knowing about it |
|---|---|---|
Ordinary words that mean something specific in your trade. These cause the most confusion because nobody thinks to ask.
| Word | What an outsider assumes | What it means to you |
|---|---|---|
| Short | Full | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Suppliers, products, places, standards. Anything autocorrect or transcription gets wrong.
| Correct | Usually mistyped as |
|---|---|
Describe how the business should sound in one sentence.
Where do you sit? Mark each line.
Formal ____________________ Casual
Serious ____________________ Light
Technical ____________________ Plain
Brief ____________________ Thorough
Confident ____________________ Modest
Words you never want to see written about your business. Every business has some.
What do you say instead?
| Instead of | You say |
|---|---|
Paste a real paragraph you were happy with. An email, a quote, a sign in the window. Anything.
Paste something that made you uncomfortable, and say what was wrong with it.
Do you talk differently to a long standing {{CUSTOMER_WORD}} than to a stranger asking a price? How?
Anything you are particular about. How you write prices, how your own service names are capitalized, whether you use contractions, punctuation you dislike.
Best answered by: the owner, or whoever handles marketing Time: 25 minutes Fills: all three files in marketing/
Form 00 already recorded what exists from the outside. This form is about intent: what you do on purpose, what you have tried, and what you think works.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
| Source | Rough share | Are they good {{CUSTOMER_WORD}}s | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
Word of mouth, repeat business, search, maps, social, signage, vehicle livery, directories, trade associations, referral partners, advertising.
How do you know? Do you ask people, track it, or is this an estimate? An honest estimate is fine if it is labelled as one.
Everything active, including informal things. Being in an association, sponsoring a team, turning up to a market, answering questions in a local group.
And why, if you know.
Roughly, and on what. As at ________
Who sends you work?
Do you thank them, or do anything for them? Is that systematic or does it just happen?
Places people look for a business like yours where you do not show up.
Who asks for reviews, and when? "Nobody" is the most common answer.
What do the good reviews say? Use the words people actually use.
What do the bad ones say? Read them as data, not as attacks. Three people describing the same problem is a process fault.
Who replies to reviews, how quickly, and in what tone?
What are you known for locally or in the trade? This is often stronger than anything online and almost never written down.
{{CUSTOMER_WORD}}s who would act as a reference or appear in a case study. What exactly did they agree to, and when did they agree to it?
Anything Form 00 could not answer from outside.
Who built the website, and can you change it yourself?
Who controls the domain and the hosting?
Do you have the original logo files?
Is there an email list? How big, and when was it last used?
Any account or listing you have lost access to?
If one marketing thing could be fixed tomorrow, what would you pick?
Best answered by: the owner, or whoever fields complaints Time: 20 minutes Fills: service/complaints-and-callbacks.md
The most useful form here for improving the business, and the one people are most tempted to answer diplomatically. Answer it honestly. Nobody outside sees it.
Completed by: ________ · Date: ________
| What happens | How often | Usual cause | What you do about it |
|---|---|---|---|
How does a complaint reach you? Phone, email, in person, a review, or through someone else?
How long before it reaches somebody who can actually do something?
Who responds?
Who can authorize putting it right, and up to what value without asking?
Walk through what happens from complaint to resolution.
1. 2. 3. 4.
How quickly do you aim to respond first?
Redo the work, refund, partial credit, replace, something else?
Where is the limit? What will you not do?
What counts as covered, and what is chargeable?
Who decides?
Roughly how often do you go back to a finished {{THE_WORK}}?
Anything you actually changed because of a complaint. This is the most valuable question on the form. If the answer is nothing, that is worth knowing too.
Recurring problems you have not solved. Naming them is not failure.
The complaint that stuck with you. What happened, what you did, and what you would do differently. Nobody outside sees this, and it is usually where the most useful lesson in the business is sitting.
Time: 60 to 90 minutes Covers: the spoken version of forms 01, 02, 03, 04 and 08 Before you start: Form 00 filled in as far as you can get it alone
Do form 00 first. This call goes badly if you spend it asking things you could have found out yourself, and it goes well if you spend it confirming what you found.
Start recording before the conversation properly begins.
"Before we get into it, I record these so I can build your notes properly instead of scribbling while you talk. Is that alright?"
Wait for the answer. It is now captured in the same file as the conversation.
"This is going to be a lot of questions, and some of them will sound basic. That is deliberate. I would rather ask something obvious than assume it."
Then put the pen down. Do not take notes. The recording is taking notes. Your job is to notice.
*Form 01*
*Form 02*
*Form 04. Slow down here. This is the richest part of the call.*
Ask "and then what happens" repeatedly. People compress the middle of a process without noticing, and the compressed part is usually where the real work lives.
*Form 03*
*Form 03*
*Form 10. Ask this once they are comfortable, not at the start.*
*Form 08. Ask this throughout, not only here.*
Every time they use a word you do not know, stop and ask. Do not save it for the end.
*Form 00. Confirm rather than ask.*
Go through your gap list as statements.
that deliberate?
This part sounds different from every other conversation they have had with someone selling to them, and it is the part they remember.
That last question is how you find out that the person who actually knows the work, the books, or the safety file is somebody else. It is usually the most useful ninety seconds of the call.
_system/glossary.md