AI Project Audit, Rescue and Takeover for Businesses

Three Situations

Which one is you?

Each has its own page, its own intake form, and its own playbook. Pick the closest match. If it is more than one, start with the takeover page.

Scenario 1 · Unsure

"I cannot tell if we are on track."

The updates sound good. The demos look good. But you have no way to judge whether what is being built matches what you asked for, or whether it will ever ship. You need an independent read from someone who can open the repo and the accounts.

Independent AI Project Audit Scenario 2 · Oversold

"I was sold a system. I got a dashboard."

The pitch was great. The delivery is a mirror of tools you already had. You want out, but you do not know what they can still touch, what they own, or what breaks the moment you stop paying. You need a safe handoff and someone to take it from here.

Takeover and Contractor Transition Scenario 3 · Verify

"Check the work before I pay."

A milestone is due, a final invoice landed, or a renewal is coming. The vendor says it is done. You want a qualified third party to test it against the promise, confirm it runs on accounts you control, and put the result in writing.

Deliverable Verification

60-Second Triage

Three questions. One recommendation.

Nothing is sent anywhere. This just points you to the right page.

1. Can you log in, as an administrator, to every account the project runs on?

Yes, all of them Some of them No, or I am not sure what accounts exist

2. Which sentence is closest to how you feel about the vendor?

They are fine, I just cannot judge the work I doubt they can deliver what they sold I want out, or they have gone quiet

3. Is money about to change hands?

Not right now A milestone or final invoice is due I owe them and they are holding something

In Every Engagement

Five things you walk away with, whichever door you came in.

Access and ownership inventory

Every account, repository, domain, API key, and spreadsheet the project touches. Who holds it, who should, and what it takes to move it.

Promised versus delivered

The proposal, the invoices, and the actual system in one table. Delivered, partial, planned, or "information in a new place."

Security lockdown

Passwords rotated in the right order, keys regenerated, one-time passcodes removed, data exposure closed. Done with you on screen share.

Written findings in plain English

A report you can hand to a partner, a lawyer, a new developer, or your own memory six months from now. No jargon without a translation.

A decision, not a shrug

Keep the vendor with a checklist to hold them to. Fix what exists. Or rebuild on accounts you own. We tell you which, and why.

The vendor conversation, handled

When there is a handoff, we run the call. Firm about what has to be transferred, respectful of the person, and paid on confirmation.

From a Real Friday

"He's basically telling me I have access to everything, but I don't."

A Los Angeles building compliance firm, seven-figure revenue, hired a young developer to build its AI lead engine. Four weeks and $1,800 in, the owner had twelve landing pages he owned, a dashboard he did not, a Google Sheet under the developer's account, and a $900 invoice he was happy to pay if he could be sure nothing would break.

Discovery call at 11:00 AM. Every credential inventoried from the owner's sent folder. Registrar, email, CRM, and Meta locked down before lunch. Continuity call with the developer at 3:00 PM, run by Michael. Repository and Cloudflare project collected, a live API key rotated, payment released on confirmation. Flat fee: $399.

Read the Full Case Study

How It Works

Inventory. Verify. Secure. Decide.

1
Inventory
You forward every email you sent the vendor and give us read access where you can. We reconcile what you think they have against what they actually have. Most owners are surprised in both directions.
2
Verify
We open the repository, the hosting, the automations, and the "database" and test each deliverable against the proposal. Does it run? Does it do anything when nobody is watching? Whose account is it on?
3
Secure
Registrar first, then DNS, hosting, email, CRM, social, and keys. Backups of anything on the vendor's own platforms. Nothing is cut off until it has been copied.
4
Decide
You get the written findings and a recommendation. If there is a handoff, we run the call. If there is a rebuild, it starts on accounts you own, with a continuity page inside the app from day one.

Pricing

Priced to be a fraction of what you already spent.

Every number here is fixed before work starts. If your situation does not fit a box, you get a written quote from the intake form within one business day.

Continuity Call

$399 flat

The vendor handoff, run by Michael. Pre-call access inventory, the call itself, collection of repos, projects, and keys, and the follow through until payment is released. This is what the case study cost.

Independent Audit

Fixed fee quoted from intake

Five business days. Access and ownership inventory, promised versus delivered table, security review, spend review, and a written recommendation. Scoped to the size of the project, not the size of your company.

Deliverable Verification

Per milestone quoted from intake

Acceptance testing against the contract or proposal with a signed pass, partial, or fail report you can attach to the payment. 48 hours to five days depending on scope.

Hourly

$250 per hour

For anything that does not fit above, or when you want Michael on a call with your vendor, your lawyer, or your partner and nothing else.

FAQ

Questions we hear on the first call.

Is this only for AI projects?

No. Most of what we rescue is a mix: a CRM build, a website with automations, a dashboard, a chatbot, an n8n or Zapier setup, an app on Render or Vercel. If a contractor or agency built it and you cannot tell what you have, it qualifies.

My contractor is a friend or a referral. I do not want to make this ugly.

Neither do we. The handoff call is run with respect for the person on the other end. In the case study on this page the developer and Michael ended up scheduling coffee. Firm about the handoff, generous about the human.

What if the developer owns the hosting, the repo, or the domain?

Then we get a backup first and recreate it under your name. Ownership of a platform does not mean ownership of your data or your business logic. Most of the time the rebuild takes less effort than the argument would.

How fast can you move?

If you fill out the intake form during business hours, Michael replies the same day. Urgent takeovers, where someone is about to be cut off or has gone dark, are usually handled within 24 to 48 hours. Audits run about five business days.

Will you take over the build afterward?

Only if it makes sense. Some audits end with 'keep your developer, here is the list to hold them to.' Some end with a rebuild. The written findings are yours either way, and you can hand them to anyone.

What does it cost?

The Continuity Call that closes a vendor handoff is a flat $399. Audits and verifications are fixed fee, quoted from the intake form within one business day. Our standard rate is $250 per hour if you would rather buy time. You will never be quoted more than the problem is worth.

Do you work outside Southern California?

Yes. Everything on this page is done over screen share and account invitations. Los Angeles clients can meet in person, and Michael often does.

Guides and Articles

Your AI project is not going the way you were told it would.

Which one is you?

"I cannot tell if we are on track."

"I was sold a system. I got a dashboard."

"Check the work before I pay."

Three questions. One recommendation.

Five things you walk away with, whichever door you came in.

Access and ownership inventory

Promised versus delivered

Security lockdown

Written findings in plain English

A decision, not a shrug

The vendor conversation, handled

"He's basically telling me I have access to everything, but I don't."

Inventory. Verify. Secure. Decide.

Inventory

Verify

Secure

Decide

Priced to be a fraction of what you already spent.

Tell us about the project.

Questions we hear on the first call.

Am I Being Ripped Off by My Developer? The 25-Point Checklist

Sold a Dream, Delivered a Dashboard

When the AI Is Driving Your Developer

How to Part Ways With an AI Contractor Safely

Who Actually Owns Your AI Project?

Support and Continuity at Heed

Your AI project is not going the way you were told it would.

Which one is you?

"I cannot tell if we are on track."

"I was sold a system. I got a dashboard."

"Check the work before I pay."

Three questions. One recommendation.

Five things you walk away with, whichever door you came in.

Access and ownership inventory

Promised versus delivered

Security lockdown

Written findings in plain English

A decision, not a shrug

The vendor conversation, handled

"He's basically telling me I have access to everything, but I don't."

Inventory. Verify. Secure. Decide.

Inventory

Verify

Secure

Decide

Priced to be a fraction of what you already spent.

Tell us about the project.

Questions we hear on the first call.

Read before you call, if you like.

Am I Being Ripped Off by My Developer? The 25-Point Checklist

Sold a Dream, Delivered a Dashboard

When the AI Is Driving Your Developer

How to Part Ways With an AI Contractor Safely

Who Actually Owns Your AI Project?

Support and Continuity at Heed

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