Technology Assessment | Arkwright Consulting

Arkwright Consulting

Technology Assessment

Step 1 of 5 — About your business

Let's start with the basics

This helps us understand your world before we ask anything else.

What's your name?

What industry are you in?

Retail / restaurant / hospitality Real estate / property management Healthcare adjacent (spa, wellness, therapy) Professional services (legal, accounting, consulting) Trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, construction) Other

How many employees do you have?

Just me 2–5 6–15 16–50

Step 2 of 5 — Tools & technology

What are you working with?

Tell us about the software your business runs on day to day.

Which of these do you use? Select all that apply.

Point of sale system (Square, Toast, Clover, Lightspeed, etc.) Accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Wave) CRM or customer database (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, or similar) Email marketing (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Klaviyo, etc.) Online booking or scheduling (Calendly, Acuity, Square Appointments, etc.) Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace (your business email and office apps) Project management tool (Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Basecamp, etc.) Other

When information needs to move between your business tools — say a new sale updating your books, or a new customer landing in your email list — how does it usually happen?

Someone does it by hand A mix — some automatic, most manual Mostly automatic, with occasional check-ins Everything flows on its own

How do you track customer information?

Paper, notebooks, or in someone's head Spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) A dedicated system (CRM, POS, booking software) A dedicated system with automatic updates and backups

What do you actually do with that customer information? Select all that apply.

Send invoices or bills Follow up after a purchase or appointment Send promotions, newsletters, or marketing emails Book repeat appointments or remind customers of upcoming ones Track who our best customers are Share it with other tools or services (accountant, CRM, etc.) Honestly we collect it but don't do much with it

If someone built a custom tool or integration for your business, do you know how your business credentials and API keys are stored in that code?

We have no idea — it just works We trust whoever built it handled it correctly We have some documentation but haven't verified it We've had it reviewed and know exactly how credentials are managed We haven't had anything custom built

Step 3 of 5 — Identity & access

Who has access to what?

This is where most businesses have their biggest hidden risks.

How does your team handle usernames and passwords for devices and business accounts?

We share logins for most things Everyone has their own login but passwords are simple or reused Everyone has their own login and we use a password manager (like 1Password, LastPass, or Bitwarden) Own logins, password manager, and we review access when someone leaves

Do you use multi-factor authentication?

The extra code that gets texted or emailed to you when you log in to verify it's really you.

No On some things On most important accounts (email, banking, accounting) On everything

When an employee leaves, how do you remove their access?

We don't have a process for that — it happens whenever we get around to it We change any shared passwords eventually We go through their accounts but it usually takes a few days We have a checklist and it happens the same day they leave

Step 4 of 5 — Data & risk

What are you protecting?

Understanding your data helps us understand your real exposure.

What kind of customer data do you store? Select all that apply.

Names and contact information Payment information Health or medical information Social security numbers or financial records We don't store customer data

Where does your important business data live?

On one computer in the office On a few computers and maybe some USB drives or external hard drives In cloud software (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) In cloud software with automatic backups we've actually tested

We talk to a lot of business owners. Which of these situations sounds most familiar?

"My employee handles all the tech stuff — I don't really know what we have or how it works" "We have the tools but nobody has time to set them up properly" "I know we probably have gaps but I don't know where to start" "Something went wrong once and it was a wake up call — we've been more careful since" "Honestly technology just isn't something I think about much"

If your most sensitive business data was stolen or your systems went down for a week — what would happen to your business?

Honestly I haven't thought about it It would be bad but we'd figure it out somehow We've thought about it but don't have a formal plan We have a documented plan and we've actually tested it

Step 5 of 5 — The real questions

Now the part that matters most.

Two questions. Be honest — this is what helps us actually help you.

What keeps you up at night when it comes to running your business?

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about how your business operates, what would it be?

What this means for you

Where to start

Ready to talk?

We review every assessment personally and follow up within 24 hours. No sales pitch — just a conversation about what we found and whether we can help.

Contact Arkwright Consulting →