Guarding What You've Built, Guiding What's Next
We build the automation and operating systems that let growing businesses run on less manual work — backed by over 25 years of hands-on financial-industry experience most automation firms don't have.
Explore Our Approach
Who We Are
The McInnis Group builds the systems that let growing businesses run on less manual work — intelligent automation and business transformation advisory for entrepreneurs, SMBs, and nonprofits ready to stop duct-taping their operations together.
That practice is built on over 25 years in financial services — 23 years inside the investment industry, then 3 years as a financial advisor working directly with clients. The McInnis Group was founded in February 2022 to fulfill a need seen firsthand: growing businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits had no shortage of automation tools, but no one bringing real financial-industry discipline to make those tools actually fit how their business runs. That same approach — direct, hands-on, and personally invested in the outcome — is how we still work today, with entrepreneurs opening new businesses, businesses restructuring through growth, and nonprofits building operations that don't depend on any one person to run.
Our approach combines real financial-industry grounding, hands-on implementation, and systems built around how your business actually runs — not a generic playbook.
A quick welcome from Dane McInnis, founder
How We Work
What working with us actually looks like — from first conversation to finished implementation.
1. Book a Discovery Meeting
A direct, no-pressure conversation about where your business is stuck right now. No sales deck, just a real look at what's going on.
2. We Diagnose, Not Guess
We bring real financial-industry discipline to understanding what's actually costing you time and money — not assumptions borrowed from a different kind of business.
3. A Plan Built Around How You Actually Run
Matched to your pillar (Change Management, Process Improvement, New Business Set-Up, Entrepreneur Support, or IA Workflow Implementation) — not a generic playbook.
4. Hands-On Implementation, Together
We build what we sell. We don't hand you a deck and disappear.
Who We Help
We work with three kinds of businesses at three different stages.
Entrepreneurs & Founders
Starting something new and don't want to build the operational mess you'll have to fix later. We help you set the backbone up right the first time.
Growing SMBs
Outgrown the spreadsheets and sticky notes, but not ready for enterprise software and its price tag. We fit automation to the business you actually run, not the one a vendor wishes you ran.
Nonprofits
Doing more with less is already your normal. We help you build systems that don't depend on any one person to keep running.
Advisory Services
We work across five areas — pick the one that matches where your business is stuck:
Change Management
Rolling out a new system or process without losing your team along the way — clear steps, clear ownership, no guessing.
Process Improvement
Finding exactly where time and money leak out of your workflow — then fixing it, with numbers to prove it worked.
New Business Set-Up
Setting up the operational backbone a new business needs on day one — so growth doesn't mean rebuilding everything later.
Entrepreneur Support
Direct, practical guidance for founders hitting a growth wall — not a seminar, a second set of hands.
IA Workflow Implementation
Plugging automation into what you already run — so your team does more without doing more hours.
Beneficial Tools
Free resources you can use today — not a trial, not a lead form, just real tools.
A Working AI Agent, Built For You — Free
You could build one of these yourself in ChatGPT. We've already done the harder part — testing it, checking it against our Pre-Flight Trust Check, and writing the setup guide — so you start from checked, not from scratch.
Ready-to-Use FAQ & Support Chatbots
Six pre-built chatbot templates you can customize and deploy in minutes using ChatGPT's Custom Instructions. Each includes safety protocols, setup guides, and testing checklists.
E-Commerce FAQ Assistant
Handle common customer questions about shipping, returns, and product details
Service Business FAQ Assistant
Professional service inquiries, pricing questions, and engagement processes
Review Response — Hospitality
Thoughtful, professional responses to guest reviews and feedback
Review Response — Retail
Customer review responses tailored for retail and product businesses
Meeting Prep — Advisory Services
Client briefing documents and pre-meeting research summaries
Meeting Prep — Professional Services
Preparation tools for professional service engagements and consultations
Note: Every kit ships with our Pre-Flight Trust Check — the same verification layer we build into every client project — built to catch errors before they reach your customers.
Prefer to start with a framework instead? Our Resource Centre has free guides, checklists, and frameworks on automation, process improvement, and change management — no form required. Browse Resource Centre →
Resource Centre
Tools, frameworks, and guides supporting business transformation and intelligent automation initiatives:
Automation vs. AI: What It Means for Your Budget
Understanding the difference between rules-based automation and AI — and why this distinction matters for project success and cost.
Coming soonBuilding a Business Case for Automation
How to create a credible business case built on your own operation's real numbers, not industry averages.
Coming soonMeasuring Process Improvement
What to track before and after any process change to know whether it actually worked.
Coming soonHow to Pilot an Automation Project
Testing whether a change actually works small before scaling it wide — without betting the business.
Coming soonSpotting Process Drag
Recognizing the hidden cost of "we've always done it this way" — accumulated workarounds that were never redesigned.
Coming soonSigns Your Business Has Outgrown Its Tools
How to recognize when a tool that worked well at a smaller scale has become the bottleneck.
Coming soonChoosing the Right Partner for an IA Project
Key questions to ask any outside partner before committing to an automation or AI project.
Coming soonThe First Consultation: What to Bring
Getting real value from an initial conversation about automating or improving a process.
Coming soonFrequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between "intelligent automation" and just hiring a developer?
A developer builds what you ask for. We start from financial-industry-grade process discipline — mapping what's actually costing you time and money before anything gets built — so what gets automated is the right thing, not just the first thing.
Do I need modern software already in place to work with you?
No. Part of what we do is figuring out what you actually need before recommending anything — including whether new software is the right answer at all.
I'm not technical — can I still do this?
Yes. Our approach is built for non-technical owners: plain-language diagnosis, no jargon, and we stay hands-on through implementation rather than leaving you to figure out a new system alone.
My business is small — is this overkill for us?
Our pillars range from new-business set-up to full IA workflow implementation — there's an honest starting point whether you're automating one process or several.
What does a Discovery Meeting involve, and does it cost anything?
It's a direct conversation about where your business is stuck right now — no cost, no obligation.
How is this different from traditional consulting?
We build what we sell. Our process doesn't stop at a recommendation — we implement it with you.
What if we're not ready to automate yet — can you still help?
Yes. Change Management and Process Improvement exist as separate pillars for exactly this — getting the fundamentals right often comes before any automation decision.
Book a Discovery Meeting
Schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your business transformation needs. We'll explore your current challenges, objectives, and how our advisory services can support your goals.
Email: themcinnisgroup@gmail.com