# Every question, answered. Source: https://cruxlabs.com.au/faq Every question people ask us before a call, in one place and grouped by topic: cost, process, ownership, AI and data, workshops and working Australia-wide. Each answer comes first, in plain words, with a link to the page it belongs to. Built in Melbourne, working Australia-wide. ## Cost **How much does it cost?** Every build gets a fixed price before work starts, sized to your business. You can start with one fix, such as quoting or bookings, or build the whole system. The Blueprint, a short paid mapping stage, ends with that fixed quote, and its fee comes off the build. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **Can we start small?** Yes. Most clients start with one fix, such as quoting, bookings or a website that loses leads, and every fix plugs into the same Business Operating System later. The AI Workflow Sprint and the Blueprint are both small first steps. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **Can families pay fees by direct debit?** Direct debit is built and tested in Crux Practice, not yet live for a client. Card payments on invoices run live for a chauffeur business today. From: [Education and training](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/education-training). **What does the Blueprint cost?** A fixed price, confirmed after a short call, and credited to the build if you go ahead. From: [AI consulting](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ai-consulting). **How much does an MVP cost in Australia?** Each step has a fixed price, agreed before it starts. Testing the idea is the smallest step; the build is quoted once we know what it needs. From: [MVP development and incubation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mvp-development). **Do you take equity?** Rarely. Fixed fee is the standard. For one or two ideas a year, with a tested idea in a market we know, we take a reduced fee in exchange for a share of the business, set out in writing before any work starts. From: [MVP development and incubation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mvp-development). ## Process **Do we need to be technical?** No. You tell us how the work really moves, and we build it. After launch you choose: we run it for you, you ask and it builds, or we teach your team. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **Why not just use HubSpot or a no-code tool?** Sometimes HubSpot is the right answer, and we will say so. When your work does not fit a platform, we build it in code you own instead: no per-seat fees, nothing rented, and nothing that breaks when a third-party tool changes its plans. From: [Home](https://cruxlabs.com.au/). **How long does a build take?** The Blueprint takes two to three weeks. Builds ship in short releases from the first weeks, and the Blueprint sets the date for the whole system. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **What happens if we stop after the Blueprint?** You keep the Blueprint. It is yours to take to anyone. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **How many meetings will this take?** Only the ones that produce a decision: discovery, a weekly look at the working version, and a review at the end. Discovery happens in person when it matters. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **Is this running for a firm today?** Not yet. Full practice management for a mid-tier firm is built, and Crux Practice, our own system with the AI document reading and the bank feeds, is built and tested. The first firm is next. From: [Accounting firms](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/accounting-firms). **Do you replace Cliniko or Halaxy?** No. Your practice software keeps the diary, the clinical notes, the invoices and the claims. We build the client portal, intake, reminders and report drafts around it, and connect where the product allows. From: [Allied health and clinics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/allied-health). **Does it do Medicare or HICAPS claiming?** No. Claims stay in your practice software, made from the invoices it already raises. We build the portal, intake and reminders that sit beside it. From: [Allied health and clinics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/allied-health). **Can it write our NDIS progress reports?** Not yet. Drafting the report from the notes in your practice software, for the clinician to approve, is the next module. The AI that reads documents and files them is built and tested in Crux Practice. From: [Allied health and clinics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/allied-health). **Can clients book online?** Yes, through your practice software's own booking page, which we link from your website and the client portal. We do not run a second diary beside it. From: [Allied health and clinics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/allied-health). **Does it replace Mercury, MyCRM or Xplan?** No. A broker's client record, fact find and loan stay in the aggregator's CRM, and an adviser's client file stays in Xplan or their advice software. We build the lead capture, the document portal, the statement reading and the follow-ups around them. From: [Brokers and advisers](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/brokers-advisers). **Can clients upload documents securely?** Yes. Each client uploads through their own portal, not by text. The document portal is built and tested in Crux Practice, not yet live for a client. From: [Brokers and advisers](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/brokers-advisers). **Can referral partners see their leads?** Not yet. A referrer portal showing where each referred client is up to is the next module, on the same portal clients use. From: [Brokers and advisers](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/brokers-advisers). **Can cleaners sign off a site with photos on their phone?** Yes. The cleaner takes the photos at the end of the shift, and sign-off works with no signal, then sends when the phone is back online. It runs live for a franchise network's delivery drivers today. From: [Cleaning and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/cleaning-facilities). **Does it handle award rates and penalties?** The roster prices each shift from the rates you set, by day and time, so night and weekend rates follow your award. Payroll stays in your payroll software. The roster with rates runs live for a security company. From: [Cleaning and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/cleaning-facilities). **Can our clients see the sign-off?** Not yet. Clients open a portal from an email link today, and that runs live for a security company. Showing each night's sign-off photos in it is the next module. From: [Cleaning and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/cleaning-facilities). **Is this ServiceM8 for cleaners?** No. If an app made for cleaners fits how you quote and roster, buy it. We build when your sites, rates or clients do not fit its template, and then the system is yours. From: [Cleaning and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/cleaning-facilities). **Do you replace aXcelerate, VETtrak or Xplor?** No. An RTO's student management system keeps the training record, the evidence, the certificates and the reporting, and an early learning service's Xplor or Kidsoft keeps attendance and subsidy claims. We build enquiries, enrolment forms, bookings, the portal and fees around them. From: [Education and training](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/education-training). **Does it do AVETMISS reporting?** No. USI and AVETMISS reporting stay in your student management system, which reports from the training record it already holds. What we build sits in front of it: enquiries, bookings, the portal and fees. From: [Education and training](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/education-training). **Can parents and students log in?** Yes. Each opens their own portal from an email link, with no password to forget. That portal runs live for a security company's clients today. From: [Education and training](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/education-training). **Can each store see only its own orders?** Yes. Roles decide who sees what, and a permanent record shows who changed what and when. From: [Food and franchise](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/food-beverage-franchise). **Does it work with our till?** With Square, yes: orders and payments from the app land straight on the till, and loyalty updates with them. For other tills, we connect where an integration exists. From: [Food and franchise](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/food-beverage-franchise). **Does the driver app need signal?** No. Sign-offs and photos queue on the phone and sync when it reconnects. From: [Food and franchise](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/food-beverage-franchise). **Does it lodge NDIS claims?** No. Claims stay in your care software, built from the shifts it already holds. We build the agreements, intake and family portal that sit beside it. From: [NDIS and home care](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/ndis-home-care). **Do support workers need another app?** No. Shifts, progress notes and timesheets stay in your care software and its app. What we build is for the office, participants and families. From: [NDIS and home care](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/ndis-home-care). **Does it handle the SCHADS award?** Your care software and payroll do. The roster, award rates and pay stay there, and we do not run them. The agreements, portal and reminders we build sit beside them. From: [NDIS and home care](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/ndis-home-care). **Will it pass an NDIS audit?** The audit is yours to pass. Agreements and intake forms are kept together, with a permanent record of who changed what. Participant, plan, shift and worker records stay in your care software. From: [NDIS and home care](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/ndis-home-care). **Do you replace LEAP or our practice system?** No. LEAP, Actionstep or Smokeball keeps the trust account and the legal file. We build intake, proposals and the client portal around it. From: [Professional services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/professional-services). **Can it track time?** Not yet. Time against each matter is the next module. Proposals, matters, invoicing and the client portal are built and tested today. From: [Professional services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/professional-services). **How is this different from a project management tool?** A project tool tracks tasks. This runs the whole matter: the proposal, the engagement, the work, the invoice and what the client sees, from one record. From: [Professional services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/professional-services). **Do you replace PropertyMe or our CRM?** No. Your property management software and CRM stay. We build the enquiry follow-up and the portals around them, with the repairs flow next, and connect where the product allows it. From: [Property and real estate](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/property-real-estate). **Does it handle trust accounting?** No. Trust money stays in your trust account software, as the Estate Agents Act expects. The system never holds or moves trust money. From: [Property and real estate](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/property-real-estate). **Can it answer planning questions for a site?** Yes, in Victoria. PropyChat, our own product, works out what can be built on a block and cites the planning rule behind every answer. It is in early access. From: [Property and real estate](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/property-real-estate). **Can owners and tenants log in?** Yes. Each opens their own portal from an email link, with no password to forget. From: [Property and real estate](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/property-real-estate). **Can it handle rates that change by day and time?** Yes. Quotes are priced from your own rate templates, by day and time, and the roster reads the same rates. From: [Security and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/security-facilities). **Do clients need a password for the portal?** No. They open it from a link in their email. From: [Security and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/security-facilities). **Can leads from our ads go straight in?** Yes. Leads from Facebook and Instagram ads land in the system as records, so nobody retypes them. From: [Security and facilities](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/security-facilities). **Can it work alongside the software we already use?** Yes. We connect where an integration exists and keep your current tools until the new system has earned the switch. From: [Freight and logistics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/supply-chain-logistics). **Does it connect to CargoWise?** Not today. CargoWise can stay where it is, and we can build the link so jobs and documents are not typed twice. We have not delivered that link yet, so the Blueprint scopes it first. From: [Freight and logistics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/supply-chain-logistics). **Can our customers see where their freight is?** Yes. A customer portal shows where each job stands, and an SMS goes out at each milestone. From: [Freight and logistics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/supply-chain-logistics). **Is this a replacement for ServiceM8 or Tradify?** Not for everyone. If ServiceM8, Tradify, simPRO, AroFlo or Fergus fits how you quote and work, buy it. We build when your quoting, your sites or your clients do not fit a template, and then the system is yours. From: [Trades and home services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/trades-home-services). **Does it work with Xero?** It can. We have not delivered a Xero connection yet, so we call it Can build. Invoices and card payments through Stripe are live today. From: [Trades and home services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/trades-home-services). **Can clients see a quote online?** Yes. The client opens the quote in a portal from an email link, with no password, and asks for changes there. A person at your company approves each quote before it goes. That portal runs live for a security company today. From: [Trades and home services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/trades-home-services). **Can my team sign off a job with no signal?** Yes. Photo sign-off works offline and sends when the phone is back online. It runs live for a franchise network's delivery drivers today. From: [Trades and home services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/trades-home-services). **Can customers book and pay without calling us?** Yes. The booking engine prices the trip from your zones, takes the card payment and sends the confirmation. You approve whatever needs a person. From: [Transport and chauffeur](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/transport-chauffeur). **Do you integrate with Xero or MYOB?** Not for a client yet, so both are marked Next. We can build the connection that pushes invoices and pulls payments, and we will say so plainly until one is running. From: [Integrations](https://cruxlabs.com.au/integrations). **What if a tool we use is not on this list?** Tell us which one on the call. If it lets other software connect to it, we can usually build the link, and it stays marked Next until it runs for a client. From: [Integrations](https://cruxlabs.com.au/integrations). **Which service do we start with?** The one that fixes the problem costing you the most this month. Most clients start with quoting, bookings or a website that loses leads, and every fix plugs into the same Business Operating System later. From: [Services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services). **What is a business operating system?** The one system a services business runs on: quotes, jobs, scheduling, invoices, payments, documents and a client portal, plus AI that reads, drafts and chases. Your team approves anything that goes out. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). **Is it the same as an all-in-one CRM?** Yes. It starts as your all-in-one CRM and also runs everything after the sale. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). **How is it different from HubSpot or Salesforce?** It is built around how your work actually moves, in code you own, instead of a sales pipeline you work around. Sometimes HubSpot is the right answer, and we will say so. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). **How long does it take?** The Blueprint maps your work in two to three weeks and ends with a fixed quote. The build then ships in short releases, so you use the first part early. A 35-store franchise network was live in about six weeks; a security company's current system went from first build to daily use in about ten. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). **Desktop or web?** Web, in most cases: it runs on every computer and phone with nothing to install, and every update reaches everyone at once. We build a desktop app only when the work needs one. From: [Web apps and custom software](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/custom-software). **Do you put tracking pixels on our site?** No. We never put an ad platform's pixel in your visitors' browsers, so your site stays faster and their data stays with you. Reporting conversions from your own system, on the server, is what we are building next. From: [Growth marketing](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/growth-marketing). **Which platforms do you run ads on?** Google Ads, and Facebook and Instagram ads. For search, Google and the AI assistants people now ask for a recommendation. From: [Growth marketing](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/growth-marketing). **How do you report results?** Today, every lead from your ads lands as a record in your own system, ready to quote. What we are building next: each lead keeps its campaign through the quote to the job, and a portal view shows spend, leads, booked calls and won revenue per campaign. From: [Growth marketing](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/growth-marketing). **Native or cross-platform?** Whichever the job needs. Native when customers open the app every week and it needs the wallet, payments or push. An installable web app when they use it now and then: one build for every phone, with no app store in the way. From: [Mobile apps](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mobile-apps). **Can the app talk to our till or our system?** Yes. Our café app sends orders and Apple Pay payments straight to the Square till, and every app we build shares one back end with your system. From: [Mobile apps](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mobile-apps). **How long does an MVP take?** Usually 6 to 10 weeks of build after 1 to 2 weeks of validation. From: [MVP development and incubation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mvp-development). **Do you design without building?** Yes. You own the source files and the design system either way. Most of the value comes when the same team builds it, but that is your call. From: [UI/UX design](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ui-ux-design). **How long does design take?** It is sized to the screens and flows your work needs, and agreed in the fixed price before work starts. Design runs ahead of the build in short releases, so your team tests real screens early. From: [UI/UX design](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ui-ux-design). **Do you do SEO?** Yes. Every site ships with what search engines and AI assistants read: one clear heading per page, plain answers, your local details and clean structured data. Ongoing search work and ads sit with growth marketing. From: [Websites](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/websites). **Can the site talk to our CRM?** Yes, that is the point of it. Every form and booking writes to your Business Operating System, or to the CRM you already run where it offers a way in. From: [Websites](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/websites). ## Ownership **Do we own the code and the data?** Yes. The code, the data and the accounts are yours from day one, and we host it in Australia. After launch you choose who makes the next change: we run it for you, you ask and it builds, or we teach your team. From: [Three ways to keep it growing](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work#three-ways). **Who owns the code?** You do, from day one. It runs on your own accounts, under your name. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). **Can you take over software another company built?** Yes, after a review. We read the code, say plainly what is worth keeping and what is not, and only then quote the next step. From: [Web apps and custom software](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/custom-software). **Who owns the App Store account?** You do. The app is published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts, and the code is yours. From: [Mobile apps](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mobile-apps). **Who owns the IP?** You do, on a fixed fee. Partnership terms say so in writing. From: [MVP development and incubation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/mvp-development). **Do we get the design files?** Yes. The research notes, the mapped flows, the prototypes, the design system and the source files are yours. From: [UI/UX design](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ui-ux-design). ## AI and data **Will AI replace anyone on our team?** No. AI takes the repeat admin off the people you have, so they do more of the work you hired them for. Agents read, draft and chase, and a person approves anything that goes out. If the plan is a smaller team, we are the wrong fit, and we will say so on the first call. From: [Home](https://cruxlabs.com.au/). **Who hosts it?** We do, in Australian data centres, in a database you own. The details are on the Security page. From: [How we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/how-we-work). **What can the AI read?** Tax returns, BAS, financial statements, bank statements and ASIC extracts. It files each one and proposes the task and the entry. A person confirms. From: [Accounting firms](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/accounting-firms). **Where is client data kept?** In Australian data centres, in a database the firm owns. From: [Accounting firms](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/accounting-firms). **Is health information kept in Australia?** What we build does. The client portal, intake forms and reminders sit in Australian data centres, in a database the clinic owns. Your practice software's hosting is set by its vendor. From: [Allied health and clinics](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/allied-health). **Does the AI read bank statements?** Yes. It reads bank statements and tax returns and files each one, and a person checks it. That is built and tested in Crux Practice, not yet live for a client. From: [Brokers and advisers](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/brokers-advisers). **Is participant data kept in Australia?** What we build does. The agreements, intake forms and family portal sit in Australian data centres, in a database you own. Your care software's hosting is set by its vendor. From: [NDIS and home care](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/ndis-home-care). **Does the AI read our documents, and where?** It reads incoming documents and files each one to its matter, and a person confirms. The data stays in Australian data centres, in a database the firm owns. From: [Professional services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/professional-services). **What does the AI actually do?** It reads a request written in plain words, by form, email or text, and drafts a priced booking. A person approves it before anything is sent. From: [Transport and chauffeur](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/transport-chauffeur). **Where is our data kept?** In Australian data centres, in a database you own, with every change logged. From: [Transport and chauffeur](https://cruxlabs.com.au/industries/transport-chauffeur). **Who can see our data?** Only the people you give access to. Nobody sees a record unless their role allows it, and every change is kept in a log nobody can edit. From: [Security and privacy](https://cruxlabs.com.au/security). **Which AI models do you use?** Mainly the Claude AI model, for reading documents, drafting and answering questions. The case studies say which systems use it. From: [Security and privacy](https://cruxlabs.com.au/security). **What is an AI agent, and how is it different from a chatbot?** A chatbot answers questions in a window. An AI agent does a piece of the work: it reads the email or the PDF, drafts the reply or the quote, updates your records and waits for a person to approve. It works inside your system, not beside it. From: [AI agents and automation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ai-automation). **Where does our data go?** Your records stay in a database you own, hosted in Australia. The AI model reads only what a step needs, nothing reaches a client until a person approves it, and we build to the Privacy Act and your own data policy. From: [AI agents and automation](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ai-automation). **Where is our data stored?** In Australian data centres, in a database you own. From: [Business Operating System](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/business-operating-system). ## Workshops **How is this different from the Sprint?** The AI Workflow Sprint is a two-day, in-person workshop: we build two or three workflows on your real files and train your team to run them. The Blueprint maps the whole business over two to three weeks and ends with a fixed quote for the system. From: [AI consulting](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services/ai-consulting). **We already use ChatGPT. What does the Sprint add?** A chat window is not a process. Someone still has to open it, paste the right things in and copy the answer back out. The Sprint builds the workflow that runs on your files without that person in the middle, then trains your team to run it. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **Which AI tools does the Sprint use?** Whichever fit the work. We build in code rather than gluing subscriptions together, and most workflows sit in what your team already opens: email, documents and the systems you run. We confirm the tools for each workflow at the audit, before anything is built. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **What happens to our sensitive client data in the Sprint?** It stays in systems you control, and we run a data and privacy check before the Sprint starts. We agree in writing what the workflows may touch and what stays off limits, then build to that line on both days. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **Do we need technical staff for the Sprint?** No. You need one person who knows how the work is really done and will own the workflow after day 2. We train them in the room and leave written step-by-step guides and short recordings behind. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **Do our processes need to be written down before the Sprint?** No, and it is the normal starting point. We map the process with you on day 1, from your real examples, and you end up with it written down as a by-product. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **What if the Sprint does not work for our business?** The application and the first call exist to catch that before you commit two days. If we cannot see workflows worth building, we say so. If no workflow is running by the end of the Sprint's second day, we finish it afterwards at no extra cost. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **Do we need to be in Melbourne for the Sprint?** No. We run the Sprint at our Melbourne base or at your office anywhere in Australia. It does not run remotely: building on your real processes needs your people and your files in the room. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **What do we need to bring to the Sprint?** One real example of the job that eats the most time, the files it touches, and the person who does it today. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). **What happens after the two days of the Sprint?** You keep the workflows, the written step-by-step guides and the recordings. Office hours and a 30-day review follow. From: [AI Workflow Sprint](https://cruxlabs.com.au/workshops/ai-workflow-sprint). ## Working Australia-wide **Do you work with businesses across Australia?** Yes. We are based in Melbourne and work with businesses across Australia, on video calls, a shared workspace and weekly releases. We travel for kickoffs and on-site Sprints when they matter. From: [Where we work](https://cruxlabs.com.au/locations). **Do you work outside Melbourne?** Yes. We are based in Melbourne and work with businesses in every state, on video calls, a shared workspace and weekly releases. We travel for kickoffs and on-site Sprints. From: [Services](https://cruxlabs.com.au/services). ## Tell us what your business cannot afford to get wrong. [Book a call](https://cruxlabs.com.au/contact)