Operational systems for growing Maine companies

Your business shouldn't need you to run it.

Your operation runs on spreadsheets, scattered documents, and a few people who know how everything really works. I turn one costly workflow into a simple system your team can use and your company owns.

Overlapping spreadsheets, documents, email, duplicate files, and approval notes transforming into one organized dashboard and connected workflow.
From scattered spreadsheets and documents to one clean workflow.Keep what works. Connect, automate, and speed up what slows you down.
$5k
Department dashboards start here
3 Weeks
Typical dashboard delivery
No subscription or required retainer.
100%
Based in Maine and available in person
Customer Outcomes

Three operational problems, three working systems.

See the previous workflow, what was built, how the team adopted it, and the result. Each full case study includes a representative screenshot and explains where its numbers came from.

Inventory Tracking
Inventory dashboard on desktop and phone showing total inventory value, low stock and out of stock counts, a live item list with on hand and available quantities, and inventory value trends.
Inventory automation and insights
Automatic reorders, purchasing visibility, and order status from the field
New England Tech Air · HVAC & Fabrication
Low stock items now create reorders automatically instead of waiting for me to catch them. I can see what's on the shelf and what's on order from one screen, and the foremen can pull up the status of their own orders from their phones out in the field instead of calling me to ask.
Nicole
Purchasing Agent · New England Tech Air
5 to 7 purchasing hours saved every week
Read the purchasing case study
What changed
  • Reorders happen on their own instead of when someone finally notices
  • Stock, open orders, and usage all sit on one screen
  • Shortages surface early, before the shop floor feels them
Quoting Platform
Quoting dashboard on desktop and phone showing active quotes, pending submittals, quotes won this month, pipeline value, average margin, and a quote pipeline board from draft through in review, pending submittal, and won.
Quoting database and pipeline insights
Quotes, follow up, pipeline value, and margin at a glance
Maine Steel · Steel Fabrication
Every quote, customer, and price list is in one place now instead of five folders and my memory. Every morning it hands me the list of what has gone quiet, so I am not losing work just because nobody circled back.
Brian
Estimator · Maine Steel
Quote follow-up list built automatically every morning
Read the estimating case study
What changed
  • Quotes, customers, and pricing live in one place, not five folders
  • Quiet quotes get flagged before the opportunity goes cold
  • Pricing trends are visible without anyone building a report
CAD Dashboard
CAD department dashboard on desktop and phone showing active projects, drawings in progress, reviews pending, overdue items, project status with progress bars, drafter workload, and upcoming deadlines.
Live CAD workflow dashboard
Assignments, progress, reviews, capacity, and deadlines — on any device
New England Tech Air · BIM Department
PMs and foremen used to interrupt me all day asking where things stood. Now they pull it up themselves and see it live, and I get to stay on my drawings.
Roland
BIM Drafter · New England Tech Air
Status interruptions down from about 12 a day to 2
Read the CAD case study
What changed
  • Status questions answer themselves instead of interrupting a drafter
  • PMs and foremen see live progress without walking over
  • Workload and deadlines are visible across the whole department

Representative interface based on the delivered system. Client data has been changed.

I help Southern Maine companies scale.

The Growth Ceiling

Your company outgrew the spreadsheets that built it.

The systems that got you to this size are now the reason you can’t get bigger. Start with the one bottleneck costing the most time; keep the spreadsheets that still work.

Job details are retyped into spreadsheets, emails, and accounting software, wasting hours and creating conflicting records.
A critical spreadsheet depends on one employee, so work slows down whenever that person is busy or unavailable.
Managers interrupt employees for status updates because there is no live view of jobs, workload, or next steps.
A crew discovers a stockout when the part is needed, costing productive time plus rush freight.
Quotes sit for days while someone searches old emails, folders, and price lists, slowing follow up and costing opportunities.
Weekly reporting means chasing several employees, and the numbers are already outdated by the time management sees them.

You do not need a company wide software overhaul. Start with the one bottleneck costing you the most.

Pricing & Process

Department dashboards from $5,000, typically delivered in three weeks.

That timeline describes the entry dashboard. Department systems take four to six weeks; multi-department work gets its own written scope, schedule, and fixed quote before building begins.

Common projects

Three common shapes. Yours gets built to fit.

These are the projects I am asked for most often. Nothing here is a fixed package — every build is customized to your workflow, scoped and priced before work begins.

Start here

Department Dashboard

I take one clearly defined workflow — quote follow-up, purchasing, CAD assignments, job status — and turn it into one shared dashboard your department can run from.

$5,000 ~3 weeks

FLAT PRICE FOR ONE DEPARTMENT · NO HOURLY BILLING · NO SUBSCRIPTIONS

What you get
  • A live board of every job and assignment
  • Who is working on what, right now
  • Status and deadlines in one place
  • Your existing spreadsheets imported
  • Works on a desktop or a phone

What it gives back: the status meetings, the walk-arounds, and the interruptions, replaced by a screen anyone can check.

Go further

Department System

For managers who need to see trouble early, and crews who would rather update a screen than answer questions all day.

$10,000 4–6 weeks

INCLUDES THE DASHBOARD · FLAT PRICE, SCOPE CONFIRMED FIRST

What it manages
  • Crews update their own progress, nobody chases it
  • Alerts the moment a job slips or stalls
  • Capacity planning weeks ahead, not guesswork
  • Comments, photos, and full history on every job
  • Each role sees only the work that belongs to them
  • Management reports that arrive on a schedule

What it gives back: the chasing. The work stops depending on who remembers to ask, because the system tracks and reports on its own.

Company wide

Multi-Department

A hub the whole company works from. Every department in one place, each with their own view.

Quoted Scoped with you

FLAT PRICE, AGREED BEFORE ANY WORK BEGINS

What it connects
  • Field crews, project managers, and the office
  • Shop, CAD, and safety
  • Daily plans, schedules, and job status
  • Safety reporting and pre-task forms
  • The accounting or ERP system you already run
  • One login, each group sees their own view

How it’s priced: we scope it together before anyone commits, and you get a written plan, a timeline, and one fixed price. Nothing starts until you’ve seen all three.

Included in every project

  • One clearly defined scope, agreed in a plain English plan before building starts
  • Import of your existing spreadsheets and documents, so your data comes with you
  • Works on desktop and phones, for the users and departments we agree on
  • In person training for the people who'll use it
  • Deployment, documentation, and full handoff, including code and data
  • Defects in the delivered scope are repaired at no charge during the warranty period defined in the project agreement

Every project is quoted flat, before work starts

$5,000 is the entry dashboard: one department, one working workflow, typically delivered in three weeks. Larger work — including full department systems, multi-department systems, and ERP or accounting integrations — receives its own fixed quote and delivery schedule.

It starts with a free 30-minute consult, by video or phone, with nothing owed unless you decide to build. There are no subscriptions and no monthly fees, and you own everything I build permanently.

$5,000+FLAT · QUOTED UPFRONT
How it works

The three-week dashboard process.

For the entry dashboard: week 1 I am on site and planning, week 2 I build, and week 3 we refine it with your team already using it. Larger systems follow the same approach on the schedule quoted for them.

Before we start

A free 30-minute consult

By video or phone, whichever suits you. Tell me what you’d like to run smoother and you’ll get an honest read on whether software can fix it, and what it would take.

30 minutesFree
Week 1

On site, then planning

I spend a full day at your shop, office, or job site watching how the work really flows. The rest of the week is pre-production: mapping every screen and step, and setting up the build. You end the week with a plain English plan, a written scope, and a fixed price.

1 day on siteScope & pre-production
Week 2

I build it

A focused week of building, with progress check-ins as I go. You see a working version by the end of the week, not a status report.

1 week
Week 3

Refine together

Your team is using the tool before the project ends. I tune it around them until it fits the way your people actually work.

1 week

Gain clarity in your workspace.

Book a consult now Free · 30 minutes · video or phone
Local, Direct, and Yours

You’re not calling a sales team — you’re calling the person who builds your tool.

I'm Gavin Lilly, the founder and builder behind OptimizeMaine. I spend a day with the people doing the work, build around what actually happens, train the team in person, and hand over the software, data, and documentation.

Gavin Lilly, founder and builder at OptimizeMaine
Gavin Lilly · Founder & Builder · Southern Maine
01 · Watch the work

Built from the shop floor, office, or job site

I observe the real handoffs, exceptions, spreadsheets, and workarounds before deciding what the system should do.

02 · Work with the builder

No sales handoff

The person who scopes the problem is the person who builds, refines, trains, and answers your questions.

03 · Own the result

Company knowledge becomes a company system

Your rules, approvals, and handoffs stop living in one person’s head. The company owns the software, its data, and the documentation.

Build a company that does not depend on any one person. Clear workflows make it easier to hire, delegate, add volume, and eventually transition the business.

Common Questions

Common questions, answered plainly.

Reference for anyone who wants the detail in writing before a call.

Read the common questions7 answers
What does it cost?
Department dashboards start at $5,000 and are typically delivered in three weeks. A full department system is $10,000 over four to six weeks. Multi-department systems are quoted after scoping. Every price is fixed in a written plan before any work begins.
What kinds of businesses do you work with?
Maine companies that run on operations rather than software: contractors, fabrication shops, HVAC and mechanical companies, distributors, and manufacturers. Most have between 15 and 150 employees and are based in Southern Maine.
How much of our time does this take?
One day on site with the people who do the work, then a few short calls while it is built. Your team uses the tool during the final week so it can be adjusted before handoff.
We’re not a tech company. Will this work for us?
Yes. These tools are used daily by estimators, purchasing staff, shop crews, and field teams. Training is included and delivered in person before handoff.
Who owns the software afterward?
You do. The code, the data, and the documentation transfer to you on final payment. Everything is built on mainstream technology, so any developer can maintain it.
Are there ongoing costs?
There is no subscription or monthly fee. If a tool requires cloud hosting, the account is opened in your name and billed to you directly by the provider at cost, typically $0 to $25 per month.
How do we get started?
Send your name, company, a phone number or email address, and the workflow causing trouble. A free 30-minute consult follows by video or phone. You can also call or text (207) 219-9250.
Start With One Workflow

Show me what is slowing the team down.

Send four quick details for a free 30-minute consult. I’ll give you a direct read on whether software can fix the problem and what the right-sized first project looks like. Prefer not to use a form? Call or text me instead.

Gavin Lilly
Gavin Lilly
Founder & Builder · OptimizeMaine
An honest answer first. If software can’t fix it, you’ll hear that in the consult rather than after you’ve spent anything.
Based in Southern Maine, on site from Portland to Brunswick, and anywhere in the state by video.

Request your free 30-minute consult.

Four quick details. Submitting opens a ready-to-send email in your mail app; nothing is sent until you choose to send it.

Include at least one way to reach you: email or phone.

Goes straight to Gavin. No mailing list and no spam.