How I work
These aren't slogans. They're habits you can see in twenty-four years of my own invoices.
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No question is a stupid question
Anyone who earns enough to pay someone for help with simple tasks must be very good at something else. Nobody should feel foolish for asking how something works, or for asking twice.
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Honest time, shown openly
If a job took longer than it should have, I bill less and say so on the invoice, for example "3.5 hours reduced to 2.5". Follow-ups and anything I didn't finish are marked no charge. Hundreds of my invoice lines read that way.
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Tested before it's called done
"Tested successfully" appears on thousands of my invoice lines. I confirm that the fix works, for the person who needs it, before I call the job done.
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Followed up
The job ends when you are working again, not when the setting has been changed. I check back by email or phone to make sure it stayed fixed.
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Written up in plain language
Every visit is recorded: who I helped, what was wrong, what I did and how it turned out. My invoices double as a record of your systems that you can read without a dictionary.
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Careful with risk
I put effort into backups that are tested, password managers, two-factor sign-in and careful migrations. I avoid clever changes that would leave a small office with something fragile that nobody can support.
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There when it matters
Most of my work is small, frequent requests, most of it under an hour. When something breaks on an evening or a weekend, I answer.
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Knowing my limits
I'm a generalist, and I say so. When a job needs a specialist, I bring one in and stay involved, rather than learning at a client's expense.
On privacy: Supporting a small business means seeing its email, files and finances, and hearing about a lot of confidential matters. Discretion isn't optional. That is why this site describes my work without naming anyone.