1. Do you sell a platform or product?
The only clean answer is no. A consultant who earns margin on software will recommend that software. If the first meeting includes a product demo, you are in a sales funnel, not a consultation.
2. Who owns what you build for us?
You should, in writing, including prompts, automations, documentation and anything custom. If ownership is vague, you are renting your own improvements.
3. Which of our existing systems will you work in?
A good answer names your tools: your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, your Xero, your job system. A bad answer explains why everything needs to move to their preferred stack first.
4. How will you handle our data?
You want to hear where data is processed, what leaves your accounts, and how customer information is kept inside tools your business controls. In Australia, they should be able to speak plainly about the Australian Privacy Principles without reaching for a lawyer.
5. What does the first step cost, and what do we get for it?
Fixed scope, named price, real deliverable. If the first step is free, ask what is being sold instead. If it is open-ended, ask what stops it staying that way.
6. Who actually does the work?
The people in the pitch should be the people in the engagement. Ask directly whether any of the work is subcontracted and to whom.
7. How will we know it worked?
Agree the measure before the work starts: hours saved on a named workflow, faster quotes, fewer errors, reports that build themselves. "Your team will be more productive" is not a measure.
8. What happens when you leave?
The engagement should finish, on purpose, with your people trained and everything documented and handed over. If the value walks out the door with the consultant, nothing was built. This is the difference between advice and enablement.
Our answers
We publish ours: no platform and no vendor allegiances, everything built is yours to keep, we work in the systems you already run, and the method is phased so you control how far it goes. The first conversation is free, with costs shown up front.