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Acorn Works

What we build

Custom software, AI agents and automation, built around how your business runs

From one AI agent that takes a job off someone's desk to the system your whole company runs on, we build it. Everything below is backed by software running in real businesses today.

01 · Custom software

Software that fits your business, not the other way around

Growing businesses outgrow off-the-shelf tools. You end up paying for a stack of subscriptions that don't talk to each other while the real work still happens in spreadsheets and people's heads.

Custom software across a businessA cutaway of a business with six rooms: the office runs billing and reports on a desktop, the shop floor uses a maintenance checklist on a tablet, the break room shows live numbers on a TV, the front desk takes bookings on a laptop, the warehouse counts inventory on a phone, and customers pay through a portal on their phone. All one system.YOUR BUSINESSONE SYSTEMOFFICEBilling and reportsSHOP FLOORMaintenance checklistBREAK ROOMLive numbersFRONT DESKBookingsWAREHOUSEInventory countsYOUR CUSTOMERSCustomer portal

We build software around how you actually operate, whether that's operations, sales, staff, customers or money. It's one system your team wants to use, on any device, connected to the tools you already rely on, with AI built in where it counts.

Featured: ShiftHero. The employee app a multi-location entertainment company runs on. Staff clock in and out, see their schedules, set availability and handle daily operations in one place.

Also built: Racer's Choice Storage (a complete management system), Garage (maintenance across six venues), PitStock (multi-location inventory), and a website and operations platform for Newport Car Barn.

Typically
  • replacing spreadsheets and patchwork tools·
  • management and operations systems·
  • employee and customer apps·
  • web, iOS and Android·
  • connecting the tools you already pay for
02 · AI agents and chatbots

AI that takes work off your team's plate

Every business has work that's all reading, sorting, checking, answering and following up. It eats hours, and it's exactly what AI does best: instantly, around the clock, and without falling behind.

AI agents working inside a businessFour layers of a business: your team, your software, AI agents working at 2:14 AM, and your data. Agents read the data, act in the software and flag the team. Beside it, a small website with a chatbot.YOUR TEAMOwnerSalesOfficeCrewflags you when it mattersSOFTWARECRMSchedulingAccountingInventorydoes the workAI AGENTS24/72:14 AMstill workingLead agentAssigned 3 inquiriesBilling agentSent 12 remindersInventory agentReordered 2 low itemsAudit agentFlagged 1 overchargereads everythingYOUR DATASales · Customers · Inventory · Documents · HistoryALSOWebsite chatbot

We build AI agents and chatbots for whatever that work looks like in your business. They work inside your systems and learn from your own documents, and your people stay in charge of the decisions that matter.

Featured: Oliver. AI lead routing that reads every inquiry, sends it to the right rep instantly by text and email, and logs it in the CRM.

Also built: Policy Agent and Guest Services Agent (instant answers for staff and guest services), Vendor Check (AI invoice auditing against contracts), Hire Boss (AI applicant screening) and Spite, our own AI tool that lets us build faster.

Typically
  • AI agents for repetitive work·
  • chatbots for customers and staff·
  • AI trained on your own documents·
  • automated follow-up·
  • document and invoice review
03 · Text, voice and email

Never miss a customer. Never lose a conversation.

Customers answer texts, not voicemails. Calls after hours go nowhere, and conversations get lost across personal phones and crowded inboxes.

Text, voice and email plugged into softwareThree plugs labeled text, voice and email connect into a software window, which logs a pickup text sent, a call answered by AI and an invoice emailed. Customers receive the text, the AI-answered call and the invoice email.TEXTVOICEEMAILYour softwareOrder #1042 · Ready✓ Pickup text sent✓ Call answered by AI✓ Invoice emailedYours, or one we buildTEXT · NOWYour order is ready!CALL · AI"Thanks for calling…"EMAILInvoice #1042 attached

We connect texting, calling and email directly to your business and your systems. AI answers calls and messages any time, reminders and follow-ups go out on their own, and the right person hears about it the moment something needs them.

Featured: Sales Spark. The all-in-one platform a sales team runs on, including texting customers from a shared business number with every conversation in one place.

Also built: Respect Our Sport (ratings by text after every game, keeping officials accountable), Notice Book (a gratitude app that reminds you by text), and messaging built into management systems for storage, auto detailing and event venues.

Typically
  • business texting·
  • AI phone answering·
  • automated reminders and follow-ups·
  • shared inboxes·
  • alerts that reach the right person
04 · Data and AI insights

All your data in one place, with answers whenever you need them

Your numbers live in a dozen places: spreadsheets, old databases, and whatever software each location or department picked. Getting a straight answer means someone pulling it together by hand, and by the time the report is done, it's already out of date.

Data and AI insightsA wall screen showing live revenue, guests, average ticket and a sales leaderboard, next to a phone where the owner asks AI which location had the best Saturday and gets an answer, plus an alert about refunds.TODAYLIVEUpdated 3s agoRevenue$18,240Guests612Avg ticket$29.80SALES LEADERBOARD1 Alex$3,4202 Jordan$2,8103 Sam$2,1604 Taylor$1,590Ask AIBest Saturdaylast month, bylocation?Northside:$24,310, 12%above its usualSaturday.AlertRefunds up 30% today

We connect to every system you run, including live ones and older ones nobody else can get into. We clean the data up and bring it together into one source you can trust. From there, it goes wherever your team needs it:

  • On screen: live displays and views that update themselves, from the break room to the office.
  • In your inbox: reports that show up on schedule, already done.
  • As alerts: a text or email the moment something looks off, before it becomes a problem.
  • By asking AI: type a question in plain English, like "which location had the best Saturday last month?", and get the answer from your own numbers in seconds, right inside ChatGPT, Claude or your own tools.

Clean, connected data is also what makes every other AI tool work. It's the difference between AI that guesses and AI that knows your business.

Featured: Live KPI displays. Animated screens for a multi-location entertainment company, pulling live data every few seconds. The sales team watches a leaderboard move as they sell, and the track crew sees heats, launch times and track status in real time.

Also built:
  • Six-park data consolidation: six venues' separate databases brought into one source, with AI you can ask questions across every park and alerts when numbers drift.
  • Pulse: event bookings in the CRM matched against what the register actually rang up, venue by venue.
  • AI website insights for Newport Car Barn: website and search data turned into plain-English recommendations the team can act on.
Typically
  • connecting live and legacy systems·
  • data consolidation and cleanup·
  • real-time reporting and alerts·
  • AI answers from your own data·
  • the foundation for every AI project

Systems we've connected

Twenty and counting

  • QuickBooks Online
  • Zoho CRM
  • Zoho Books
  • Stripe
  • CardConnect
  • Twilio
  • Plivo
  • Supabase
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Cloudflare Tunnel
  • ClubSpeed
  • Resend
  • Mailchimp
  • FreshBooks
  • ADP
  • JotForm
  • Home Assistant
  • Google Workspace
  • Anthropic Claude
  • OpenAI

If you run it, we can connect to it.

Not sure where to start?

Most projects start with one of these and grow into another. That's what the Genesis meeting is for: we map out what your business needs with the people doing the work, and show you what to build first.