Why $17K/Year on Software Wasn’t Enough

I Was Spending $17K+ a Year on Software — and Still Felt Disorganised

Why I Built My Own Tool (and What You Should Watch for in Your Business)

I didn’t set out to build software. I set out to save my team.

At one point, we were spending over $17,000 a year across multiple platforms—Slack, Trello, Harvest, Xero, Calendly, Dropbox, Google, and more.

And even with all those tools, something still wasn’t working.

Projects were delayed.
Clients were confused.
My team was exhausted.
I couldn’t tell you at a glance whether a project was profitable or not.

That was the moment I realised:

It’s not about how many tools you have. It’s about how much clarity they give you.

Death by a Thousand Subscriptions

Here’s what I noticed inside our agency:

We had staff working 10 hours a week using the same $75/month software as those working 38.

We were paying per seat for tools that only got used for 1 function.

We were losing billable hours just switching between platforms.

It wasn’t just costing us money. It was costing us momentum.

And momentum is the one thing small businesses can’t afford to lose.

What No One Talks About

It’s not just the money you spend on software. It’s the time you spend fixing what it breaks:

Chasing missing info because it’s in the wrong app

Duplicate entries

Back-and-forth messages that could’ve been solved in a central place

Out-of-scope work because quoting and delivery live in separate systems

I was the director of a busy agency, but I felt like a full-time digital traffic controller.

And I was done.

So I Built CanTicket

I needed a tool that worked like we did.

Fast. Messy. Human. Service-based.

I needed quoting, project management, and invoicing in one place — not across eight different tabs.

And I needed something my team could actually use — without a week of onboarding or a PhD in integrations.

So I built it. Not for the tech bros. Not for enterprise.

For us — the doers, the builders, the business owners who need their tools to work harder than they do.

What I Tell Business Owners Now

If you’re using 5–10 tools and still feel like:

>You’re flying blind on budget and delivery

>Your team is stuck in reactive mode

>You’re paying premium prices for basic functionality

>You’re still asking “Who’s doing what, and where’s that up to?”

Then you don’t need more tools.

You need a system.

Let’s Talk About This

I’ve always believed CanTicket isn’t just about project management — it’s about giving business owners a sense of control again.

But that message landed even harder overseas. In regions where teams were juggling 5–7 tools just to keep projects moving, the simplicity of

one tool that does quoting, project tracking and invoicing

made people breathe a sigh of relief.

I stopped selling software. I started offering peace of mind.

5. Take the leap — even if it’s not perfect

There was no perfect time to take CanTicket overseas. I didn’t have all the answers. But if I had waited until everything was “ready,” I’d still be waiting.

What I had was a vision, a system that works, and the willingness to learn in real time.

And that’s been enough.

5. Take the leap — even if it’s not perfect

Taking CanTicket overseas wasn’t about expansion — it was about validation. That the problems we’re solving here in Australia are

universal

That systems and structure matter, no matter where you’re building.

And that when you back yourself — even when it's scary — you create momentum that can't be outsourced.

Want me to speak on this?

I speak with agency owners, business leaders, and teams who are drowning in digital duct tape.

Topics I cover include:

How I reduced software costs by 40% while improving delivery
Real-time visibility for service-based teams
Building the right tech stack for your business model
The true cost of tool-switching: time, energy, trust

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