Custom systems for growing businesses

Your business runs on a hundred spreadsheets.

Tabs that break when someone adds a row. Approvals typed into a cell. One person who knows how it all fits together.

Book a free systems check See ZI Ops
Step one · the audit

We find the order in it.

We map how your data actually moves: who enters it, who approves it, which files depend on which, and exactly where it breaks.

Step two · the build

Then we build it into one system.

A secure app with a login for every team, approvals that leave a trail, and reports you can trust. Simplify complexity. Amplify growth.

Book a free systems check How it works
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Sound familiar?

Spreadsheets got you here. They won't get you further.

Google Sheets is a great way to start a business. Past a certain size it quietly becomes the thing holding it back. These are the signs we see in every audit.

#REF!

Formulas break without warning

Someone inserts a row or renames a tab and totals three files away go wrong. Nobody notices until payday.

"Approved – JS"

Approvals live in a cell

Anyone can type "approved". There is no record of who actually signed off, or when.

Copy of Copy of…

A new file for every person

Files get duplicated just to control who can see what, and every copy drifts a little further from the truth.

Ask Sam

One person holds it together

The whole system lives in one head. When that person is away, the business waits.

How it works

From audit to switch-over, without stopping the business.

You keep working in your sheets while we build. The new system runs beside them until the numbers match, and only then do you switch.

01

Systems check

A free first look at how your files, tabs and scripts connect. You get a plain-English list of what's fragile and what it's costing you.

Free · about an hour
02

Plan

We agree what the system needs to do, who uses each part, and what can stay in Sheets for now. Quick fixes and automations go in first.

Fixed scope and price
03

Build alongside

Your app is built on a secure database, with your real data loaded and checked against the sheets week by week.

Runs in parallel
04

Switch over

Your team gets logins, a short walkthrough and help screens. We stay on for support as your business grows into it.

Ongoing support
The platform

ZI Ops

The platform we build client systems on. Every business gets its own setup, shaped around how it already works. See the numbers when you need detail, or the picture when you need the whole week at a glance.

  • A login for each person, showing only what their role needs
  • Approvals with a full trail of who signed off and when
  • Payroll, recruitment, purchasing and HR in one place
  • Owner reports that combine every business you run
Recent work

Real businesses, real spreadsheets.

Client names are kept private. Here's what we started with and what each business runs on now.

Staffing agency group

Payroll and recruitment for several agencies, in one app

Before
  • Hundreds of linked Google Sheets across agencies
  • Separate files per office just to limit access
  • Approvals stamped as text in cells
After
  • One app on a secure database
  • Logins by role for recruiters, payroll and managers
  • Owner view across any mix of agencies
Launching to agency staff
Import and wholesale

Sourcing, shipping and supplier payments, connected

Before
  • Sourcing, logistics and accounting in separate files
  • Payments couldn't see what had actually arrived
  • Purchase orders built by hand
After
  • Files linked through one payments tracker
  • Purchase order PDFs created automatically
  • Managers approve payments by email from their phone
Live · moving into ZI Ops
About

A small studio, on purpose.

ZI Enterprises is based in Ontario, Canada. You work directly with the person who audits, designs and builds your system. No account managers, no hand-offs, and no one-size-fits-all software.

Company
ZI Enterprises Inc.
Based in
Ontario, Canada
Clients in
Canada and the US
Built on
Google Sheets, Apps Script, ZI Ops
Free systems check

Show us the spreadsheet you're afraid to touch.

Tell us a little about how your business runs today. We'll set up a call, walk through your files together, and tell you plainly what we'd fix first, even if the answer is "leave it in Sheets."