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Steel Rule
What we build

Five things we build, for any kind of business.

Every business already runs on something: a phone, an inbox, a spreadsheet, the apps it pays for. We build the pieces that are missing, from the ground up, and fit them to what is there.

Hover or tap a layer. Each one is a section below.Tap a layer. Each one is a section below.

01What you already run0102Your numbers in one place0203The readers and the rules0304The desk0405What your customers see05

Technique. Five slabs in one projection, drawn in code. One number runs from 0 to 1 on arrival and every slab reads its own start from it, so the stack builds from the ground up. A hover or a keyboard focus lifts one layer and quiets the rest. Nothing loops.

01 What you already run

Nothing gets ripped out. We start from the tools you have.

Your accounting app, the shared inbox, the phone, the spreadsheet that is really the system of record, the point of sale. We read from them and write back to them. Your people keep what they know.

JobCustomerHoursInvoiceStockSheetInboxAccountsPhone logTillRows readsampleJobWhoHoursInvoiceStockSheetInboxAccountsPhone logTillRows readsample
Connected todayMon 07:02
Accounting appread, write
Shared inboxread
Phone lineread
The spreadsheetread, write
Point of saleread

Each line is a system you already pay for. Read means we take from it; write means we put finished work back into it.

Sample
FIG. 01 Five sources, one table. The counter is a sample number.Technique. The sources and the table are real text over hairlines. The leaders draw themselves once when the figure scrolls in; the rows fill one by one; the counter counts for 0.9 seconds and stops. Under reduced motion the figure arrives finished.
02 Your numbers in one place

Every number typed once, and every report agrees.

One table holds the jobs, the people, the money and the stock, filled from the systems above. The Monday page, the weekly check and every alert read from the same place, so two of them cannot disagree.

Monday pageWeek 41
Jobs closed
38
Invoices sent, matched
38 of 38
Hours paid vs hours logged
+2.1%
Stock below reorder
3 lines

One page every Monday from your own numbers. Read it in two minutes; spend the rest of the morning on the business.

Sample numbers
FIG. 02 One table, three pages drawn from it. Sample counts.Technique. A hairline table with rows that settle in, then three small pages that draw their lines from it in turn. One easing curve, three durations. Still frame under reduced motion.
03 The readers and the rules

Everything that comes in is read, filed and answered by the rule you set.

Calls, emails, orders and scanned paperwork go to the right place on arrival. A rule you wrote in plain words decides what happens next. What needs a person waits for one.

Hover or tap a slotThe post room
In: a call, an email, an orderOut: the reply
  1. Booking request
  2. Quote request
  3. Parts order
  4. Voicemail
  5. Reminder reply
  6. Order confirmation
  7. New lead
  8. Payment
  9. Supplier invoice

In from the right: a call, an email, an order.

Out again: the reply.

The post room has eighteen slots:

  • Booking request
  • Invoice query
  • Parts order
  • Job photo
  • Quote request
  • Supplier invoice
  • Timesheet
  • Reminder reply
  • Review
  • Voicemail
  • Schedule change
  • Payment
  • Application
  • Change of address
  • Warranty
  • Order confirmation
  • New lead
  • Complaint

A call lands in Booking request, Voicemail and New lead; an email in Quote request, Reminder reply and Payment; an order in Parts order, Order confirmation and Supplier invoice. A reply goes back out of each.

Post roomToday
Messages in
41
Filed on arrival
38
Answered by a rule
22
Waiting for a person
3

A rule reads like a sentence: "A parts order from a known supplier goes to the stock list and gets a thank you." You can change it in an afternoon.

Sample numbers
FIG. 03 The post room. Hover or tap a slot to see what lands there.Technique. Three kinds of mark (a circle for a call, an envelope for an email, a box for an order) drop into their slots on a staggered schedule, then a lighter mark rises back out as the reply. Hover and tap name the slot. Plays once.
04 The desk, where your people approve

The work turns up ready to check, not ready to type.

A day of calls, emails and documents is read, the hours are drafted, and the person who did the work approves them. Nothing is billed or sent without that press. The desk is the one screen your people need open.

DeskTue 08:05
  1. 08:05 Yesterday's calendar, sent mail and calls read.
  2. Time drafted for one lawyer:
  3. Call with a client0.2 h
  4. Email sent at night0.3 h
  5. Contract draft edited1.1 h
  6. Total 1.6 hsample
  7. Needs your approval.
Today8 to check
Time entries to approve
4
Invoices ready to send
2
Client emails to answer
1
Calls to return
1

Every row is something a person decides. The typing happened before it got here.

Sample numbers
FIG. 04 A day of calls and emails becomes time entries. The approval is a person's.Technique. Real text rows appearing on a schedule written as delays, no fake cursor. The approve button is a real button; pressing it is the only thing that changes the last line. Under reduced motion every row is already there.
05 What your customers and staff see

Every way a customer arrives lands in one place.

A call, a form on your site, a text, an email. Each one becomes a booking, a ticket or a reply in the system you already keep. For brands that sell online, the same idea runs the ads: bids that follow the hour, and a page that follows the money.

Tue 11:30, from the web form. Ticket 2207 opened. Sample.

Tue 11:30, from the web form. Ticket 2207 opened. Sample.

FIG. 05Four ways in, one booked slot. Sample schedule.
BookedTue 11:30
From
web form
Confirmation
text, 2 min
Reminder
day before
Ticket
2207 opened

The customer saw a form that took a minute. Your calendar, your ticket list and your inbox all agree about what happens Tuesday.

Sample

Sample bids by hour: 32 percent from 22:00 to 5:00, 60 percent through most of the day, 100 percent at 12:00 and 13:00, 82 percent from 18:00 to 20:00. Spend by hour ends 3 percent under target.

Bids by hourSample
06121823
Top row 0:00 to 11:00Bottom row 12:00 to 23:00
Spend by hour3% under target
0:0012:0023:00
FIG. 06For brands that sell online: bids held low overnight, raised at lunch. Sample numbers.Technique. The calendar figure draws four leaders into one slot and fills it. The bid strip is 24 bars that grow once; the spend line draws itself once and stops. Still frames under reduced motion.
06 Book a call

Tell us how your business runs today.

What you run and what slips. You hear back within one business day with an honest read on whether there is a build worth doing.

A free working session first, then a fixed price first build, then a flat monthly service.

Two people in NYC. Working with businesses anywhere.

Book a call