TOOL is the operating system CodeFish runs on, from first sales call to final invoice.
TOOL started as a time tracker. We built it because no product covered how an agency actually works. Owning it means every gap we find gets fixed in days, not added to someone else's roadmap.
A deal lived in one app, the estimate in another, the hours in a third and the invoice in Xero.
As the studio grew, every handover between those systems became a place for work to go missing. A quote went quiet and nobody followed up. An estimate was signed but its hours never reached the project. A project ran over and we found out at invoice time.
Each tool we tried solved one stage. None joined them up, so the joins were done by hand, by whoever remembered.
We needed one record that followed the work from deal to delivery to payment, so the numbers at the end matched the promise at the start.
We built one data model for the whole job, then added each stage of the business onto it.
Time tracking came first, because every report above it depends on honest hours. Then we built outward, one stage at a time, and released each one to ourselves before starting the next.
Sales came next: a pipeline of deals, contacts and companies, with reminders and follow-up tasks when a quote goes quiet. A Chrome side panel saves contacts and creates deals straight from LinkedIn and Gmail.
Estimates and documents followed, built from reusable blocks, exported to PDF and signed online. A signed estimate becomes a project with its hours already set, so nothing is re-keyed.
Finance closed the loop. A two-way Xero sync brings invoices, leave and transactions back in, and payment plans schedule invoices and send reminders on their own.
Sales pipeline
Deals, contacts and follow-ups, with deal tasks carried into the project.
Estimates and e-sign
Block-based documents, PDF export and online signing in one flow.
Projects and planner
Timelines, milestones, component hours and personal, project and team plans.
Finance and Xero
Two-way Xero sync, payment plans, budgets, cash flow and P&L reports.
With the whole job in one place, we could put AI agents to work on it.
Because TOOL holds the deal, the estimate, the hours and the invoices, AI has real context to work with. Virtual PM agents draft documents, suggest priorities, review code and prepare invoices. A person approves every step, and each agent has a written brief setting its data, schedule and allowed actions.
Each morning TOOL builds a daily plan for every person and re-plans it when the day changes. Meetings sync from Google Calendar, a Mac app transcribes them on the device, and recaps land in Slack.
An MCP server with around 85 tools lets Claude and other AI assistants read and update projects, estimates, deals and budgets as the signed-in user. Clients get their own portal to see progress, raise requests and track risks without asking us for an update.
Virtual PM agents
Drafts, priorities, code reviews and invoices, each approved by a person.
AI daily plan
A plan for each person every morning, re-planned as the day shifts.
MCP server
Around 85 tools so AI assistants can work inside TOOL safely.
Client portal
Clients see progress, raise requests and track risks themselves.
TOOL is central to our operations, enhancing accountability, time management, and project visibility. It has streamlined processes and boosted our ability to deliver value to clients.
