Operations
Meet Ivy,
your Operations Manager.
She moves work between your tools, keeps them agreeing with each other, and writes down how things are done. Anything that costs money or changes a process comes to you first.
01
A Slack question becomes a process.
You ask in Slack how refunds work. Ivy answers, then writes it down where the team can find it, so nobody asks a third time. You check the page before it’s shared.
how do we handle refunds again? someone’s asking and I can never remember the 14-day thing
Here’s what we’ve done the last 11 times:
- Check the plan and the date in Stripe.
- Under 14 days: refund in full, no questions.
- Over 14 days: refund the unused part of the month.
- Log it in the Refunds table with the reason.
I’ve written it down so it’s the last time anyone asks.
02
A new signup becomes everything it needs to.
One signup. A task for onboarding, a row in your customer table, a welcome email from you. Ivy does all three in the minute after, and tells you if any of them fail.
New signup · 11:47 pm
Lumen Health
Priya Raman · 25 seats · Team plan
All three, 40 seconds after the signup. If one had failed, you’d know which.03
Your tools agree with each other.
Airtable says one thing, Stripe says another. Every morning Ivy finds the mismatches, fixes the ones with an obvious answer, and lists the ones that need you.
Every morning, 7:005 mismatches04
Anything that costs money comes to you first.
Small renewals she handles and tells you. The $2,400 one waits, with what it’s for and when it was last used, so you decide in ten seconds.
Renewals due this weekYour rule: over $500 comes to meLast query run 67 days ago, by Ravi, who left in July. Nothing else connects to it.
05
Meetings happen without the scramble.
Agenda from what changed this week, notes while you talk, action items assigned before you close the tab. She books it, preps it, and follows up. You just show up.
Agenda · sent Wed
- Q3 numbers (Stripe, closed yesterday)
- Hiring: the two open roles
- The data warehouse renewal
Notes · while you talk
- Revenue up 14% on Q2. Churn flat.
- Board wants the ops hire before the sales hire.
Action items · assigned
- Send the board the Q3 deck by Friday
Post the ops role this week- Cancel the warehouse before the 30th
Follow-up sent to the board at 3:52. Three tasks in Asana. You just showed up.06
Monday, you know what moved.
Signups in, tasks done, customers onboarded, and the one thing that needs you. Four numbers on one line, and the name behind the one that isn’t green.
Last week · Monday, 8:00 amsignups
last week
tasks done
onboarding, welcome, records
onboarded
first login within 2 days
needs you
Riverbend: paying nothing, 8 seats