The ten jobs of a founder ops stack

For each job, write down the tool you use today, the owner, the cost and the renewal date in your vendor register. Then answer the questions. The purchasing rules for new tools are in the software approval policy.

See Dropbox, Box and SharePoint, and the Dropbox migration guide for how a move is sequenced.

• Who needs to share files outside the company, and how many links are already out there?
• How much do we store, and how much of it is archive nobody opens?
• What do our customer contracts say about where files may live?

See Slack and Zoom.

• Do we need history searchable years later, or only the last few months?
• Which integrations would break if we changed tools?
• Do meetings need recording, and where do recordings go?

See Notion and Confluence.

• What do we write down: notes, a wiki, specs, policies?
• Who may edit, and who may only read?
• Can we export everything as plain files?

Email is usually the identity for every other tool, so protect the admin account first. We do not cover an email product page yet; ask the questions of your current plan.

• Which domain do we send from, and who controls its settings?
• Who manages accounts when someone joins or leaves?
• Where do shared mailboxes such as support or billing live?

For booking links, see Calendly.

• Is the calendar bundled with email, and do we pay twice?
• Do outside people book meetings with us?

See 1Password and LastPass.

• Is there one shared vault, and who has admin on it?
• What happens to a person's access the day they leave?
• Where is the recovery path if the main admin is unavailable?

See Asana and Trello.

• Is the work tracked as tasks, boards or tickets?
• Do customers or contractors need to see it?
• Can we export tasks with their history?

Billing tools touch money and tax. We do not cover a billing product page yet; put them under the same owner, export and renewal rules as everything else.

• How do we invoice and collect, and where is the customer list?
• Who sees payment details, and who can issue a refund?
• Do the invoices reach the books without retyping?

The books are also where software spend shows up. Start the inventory with find software in QuickBooks Online or find software in Xero.

• Who closes the month and who reviews it?
• Do the bank and card feeds land with the vendor name intact?
• Can an accountant get in without sharing a password?

See Google Analytics.

• Which two numbers do we look at every week?
• Who may see visitor data, and what do our privacy commitments say about it?
• Could we answer the same questions with a simpler tool?

Run the free audit on your own vendor report to see these ten jobs ranked by what they cost, and read how we get paid if you want help with a replacement. Whether to run something yourself is a separate question; the self-hosting math guide shows how to cost it.