# SanTan Systems > Practical AI for small businesses: the right tools set up well, AI built into everyday workflows, and custom software that used to be out of reach. Work directly with Tim Heuermann. I’m a software engineer with fifteen years of experience building for clients. I help small businesses choose and set up the right AI tools, build AI into everyday workflows, and develop custom software that was once too costly to justify. You work with me directly, from the first conversation through delivery. ## Three ways to put AI to work Most small businesses don’t need an AI strategy. They need the inbox to stop eating the morning. Depending on where your time goes, the right answer usually looks like one of these. - [Use the right tools, well.](https://santansystems.com/#help): There are more AI tools than anyone has time to evaluate. I help you choose the ones that fit, set them up with your accounts and data handled properly, and show your team how to get good results from them. (Tool selection · Setup · Team training) - [Put AI inside the work.](https://santansystems.com/#help): Some of the most useful AI is invisible. It can read incoming requests, pull out the details, draft the reply, and update your records, with a person approving anything that matters. I build those steps into the workflows you already have. (Intake · Drafting · Routing · Record keeping) - [Build what used to be out of reach.](https://santansystems.com/#help): Custom software has always been priced for companies with an IT budget. AI has changed how quickly it can be built, so the tool that would fit your business exactly may now be affordable. I build it, and I build it to be maintained. (Internal tools · Client portals · Integrations) ## Ways to work together Most clients start with discovery. From there, you can take on a single project or reserve part of my month for whatever comes up. - [Discovery](https://santansystems.com/#process) (Fixed price · The usual first step): I spend time with you and your team, follow how work moves through the business, and come back with a short, prioritized plan: what’s worth doing, what isn’t, and a first project scoped and priced. The plan is yours, whether or not we continue. - [Projects](https://santansystems.com/#process) (Fixed scope and price): Take one item from the plan, such as an automation, an AI-assisted workflow, or a custom tool, and build it to an agreed scope. You end with something in daily use, not a report. - [Fractional engineering](https://santansystems.com/#process) (Monthly retainer · Hours you can count on): Reserve a set number of my hours each month and use them for whatever matters most: building, maintaining, advising, or sorting out the question your vendor can’t answer. We set the priorities together each month. - If a simple fix beats AI, you’ll hear that from me. - People approve the decisions that matter. - You own what we build: the code, the accounts, and the data. ## Currently building A few projects in progress. Each one started with someone describing a problem in their week. - A spreadsheet that was really a database, rebuilt as an application. (A tax practice, In review): A preparer’s Schedule C workbook became a full application in 19 hours. It can grow with the practice and send its data into the tools they already use. - Find the right photo in seconds. (A social media manager, In progress): AI describes and tags every image in the library, so pairing a post with the right picture takes a quick search instead of twenty minutes of scrolling. - Shorter forms, same good data. (Small sales teams, In development): Ask visitors for less, then fill in the rest automatically. More people finish the form, and the CRM still gets everything it needs. Until recently, this was an enterprise feature. - A website that stays current without becoming a project. (Content-driven websites, In development): Sites built so AI-assisted workflows can handle updates, routine changes, and fixes quickly, with me reviewing the work. Less upkeep and a lower ongoing cost. ## About I’m Tim Heuermann. I build software around the people who use it. Before software, I studied hospitality, and it still shapes how I work: listen closely, take responsibility, and pay attention to what it’s like for the people on the other end. I started SanTan Systems because the tools have finally caught up with what small businesses need, and I wanted to work with those businesses directly. I’m based in Arizona and work with clients wherever they are. ## Tell me what’s taking up your time. A few sentences is plenty. You don’t need to know what AI can do yet; figuring that out is my job. I read and reply to every message myself. - [Contact form](https://santansystems.com/#contact) ## More - [Pricing](https://santansystems.com/pricing): What working with SanTan Systems costs: the hourly rate behind every quote, two ways to start, fixed-price projects, monthly retainers, and the costs you pay other companies directly. - [Practical answers](https://santansystems.com/answers): Plain answers to the questions small business owners ask about AI and software, with sources and the date each was last checked. - [How this site works](https://santansystems.com/how-this-site-works): What this website does behind the scenes, for speed, search, AI tools, accessibility, and messages, and how to check each part yourself. ## Work - [Drafting the first reply to each new sales lead](https://santansystems.com/work/new-lead-replies) (A salesperson in travel and hospitality): Each morning, she gives Claude the names of her new leads, plus anything it can’t know about their requests. Claude drafts her first reply to each, in her voice, and she reviews and sends them herself. Thirteen leads that used to take her a little over two hours now take about 30 minutes, and the replies get about the same response rate as before. ## Practical answers - [Is it safe to put client information into AI?](https://santansystems.com/answers/client-information-and-ai): It depends on the account. On personal plans, what you type can be used to train future models. Business plans and the API don’t do that. Health information also needs a signed agreement, and lawyers generally need the client’s consent.