Digitalizing a Consulting Business: My Own Stack

I've noticed it countless times: consultants sit in meetings preaching digitalization — and then work with Word, Excel, and Outlook. It's not hypocrisy, just habit. But for me, it was never acceptable. When I explain to clients how to digitalize their processes, I need to practice what I preach.

Five years ago, I built my own tech stack. Not because I wanted to test every shiny new tool, but because I wanted to prove something: you don't need expensive SaaS solutions. With Microsoft 365 and Power Platform, you can build a completely digitalized consulting firm.

Here's what I actually use.

CRM: Dataverse + Model-Driven App

Salesforce? HubSpot? No. I use Dataverse with a custom-built Model-Driven App.

It sounds more technical than it is. Dataverse is essentially a relational database built into Microsoft 365. The Model-Driven App is a user interface for it — no code required, just configuration.

Why? Because I structure my clients, projects, and contact data exactly how I need it. Not how HubSpot thinks I need it. And because it keeps my stack consistent: everything in Microsoft, everything integrated.

The app gives me a 360-degree view of every client — all projects, open proposals, recent communication, contract details. All on one page.

Project Management: Planner + Custom Power App

Microsoft Planner is solid for team collaboration. But for time tracking and billing, I needed more.

So I built a small Power App. It sits on Dataverse and logs hours for every task. At month-end, I can see directly: Project A cost 47 hours, Project B 63 hours. It's linked straight to billing.

This is overhead most people ignore. Time is what clients pay for. If you don't know how much time you spend, you can't bill properly — and you definitely can't improve.

Documentation: SharePoint + OneNote

Every client gets a SharePoint folder. Inside: all documents, proposals, contracts, organized by project.

I use OneNote for meeting notes. Every client has a notebook. After each meeting (yes, I transcribe them with Copilot), the notes land there automatically. Clients can access them too — full transparency.

This isn't "securely stored somewhere." This is "the client and I work from the same source."

Invoicing: Custom Power Automate Flow

This is where it gets elegant. A Power Automate flow connected to my time-tracking app.

Every month: the flow looks at all logged hours, calculates the amount, generates a PDF invoice, sends it to the client, and logs the transaction in Dataverse. Fully automated.

No exporting. No adjusting Word templates. No manual emailing. Invoicing runs itself — that's process optimization in real life.

Website: Next.js, Hosted on Vercel

My website is a Next.js project I built myself. Yes, that's slightly over-engineered for a consultant's website. But it gives me complete control: no vendor lock-in, blazing fast, and I can touch it.

Hosted on Vercel. Costs me virtually nothing — most requests are free-tier.

It's also a statement: show that I understand code. Clients who build software see I'm not speaking from an abstract level.

Communication: Teams with Client Access

Teams is standard. What matters: I give clients access to dedicated channels. That's their hub for communication with me — not email, not Slack. Teams.

It changes how we interact. No sprawling email threads. No "accidentally deleted" attachments. Everything is there, everything is synchronized.

Knowledge Base: SharePoint Wiki + Transcripts

I run a lot of client meetings. I used to take notes afterward — handwritten or in Word. Then I'd archive them and… forget them.

Now I use Copilot to transcribe meetings and turn them directly into structured notes. These live in a SharePoint wiki. Over months, institutional knowledge grows — not for clients, but for me. When was this discussion? What was the context? How did we solve it?

That's gold for consulting: spot patterns, learn faster, improve faster.

Marketing: LinkedIn + Newsletter

I post regularly on LinkedIn — thoughts on digitalization, project learnings, tool reviews. Organic. No influencer theater.

"SMARTnetyx Insights" newsletter goes to clients and interested people. Short, direct, valuable.

It's not flashy, but it works. People understand I know what I'm talking about.

AI: Claude + Copilot

I use Claude for content — blog posts, proposals, code snippets. Copilot in Microsoft 365 for summaries, structuring, quick queries.

This isn't "AI does my work." It's "AI handles routine stuff faster, so I focus on the valuable part."

The Point: 80% with Microsoft 365

If you're digitizing a consulting firm today, you don't need ten different tools. You need Microsoft 365 Business Premium + Power Platform + AI.

My monthly costs:

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: ~20 EUR/month
• Power Platform: 0 EUR (included in Business Premium)
• Copilot: ~15 EUR/month
• Claude: ~20 EUR/month
• Vercel: free (free tier)
• Total: ~55 EUR/month

Salesforce? 165 EUR and up. HubSpot? Similar. Jira? Asana? All paid.

I pay 55 EUR a month for a completely digitalized consulting firm — including AI. And I control every process.

The Secret

Here's the thing nobody wants to hear: it's not hard. It just takes time and the will to build instead of buy.

Most consultants use expensive SaaS tools because onboarding is simple. But the solution for your business isn't the standard solution.

If you sell digitalization, it needs to be visible in how you work. That's not marketing. That's credibility.

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Related articles:

• Mini-ERP with Power Platform: Renewable Energy — how automation drives real value
• The Microsoft 365 Waste: Where ROI Gets Lost — why Teams gets expensive
• End-to-End Processes: From Form to Invoice — a real automation project
• Product Configurator in Trades: Value + Efficiency — Power Apps in action