AI Consulting · Local & available

Your local AI experts. Ready when you are.

We help small businesses across the Kawarthas figure out where AI fits, which tools to trust, and how to roll it out without disrupting how you actually work.

Start a conversation See how we help
What we help with

Six places we usually help.

Pick one to dig into. Combine a few. Or start with a conversation and we’ll figure out which you actually need.

  • Workflow audits

    We sit down with your team, watch how the work actually happens, and find the places AI would save real time without adding chaos.

  • Tool selection

    There are hundreds of AI tools. You need three. We’ll tell you which ones fit your business, your team’s comfort level, and your budget.

  • Team training

    We train your team on the AI tools you’re actually going to use. Real workflows, real prompts, no slides about AI history. At our studio or yours.

  • Integration setup

    Connecting AI tools to the systems you already use: email, CRM, accounting, booking. So the AI work shows up where your team already lives.

  • Custom AI workflows

    When off-the-shelf tools don’t quite fit, we build the workflow. Custom GPTs, automations, or something bigger. Same plain-language approach.

  • AI-managed hosting

    Once you’re up and running, our managed AI service MAI keeps things current, handles updates, and gives you one place to ask for changes.

How we work

Scoped to what you actually need.

We don’t have a fixed package. Some engagements are an hour. Some are a few months. We figure it out together, and you decide how far it goes.

  • 01

    Start with a conversation.

    Free, no obligation. Tell us what you’re trying to figure out. We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit.

  • 02

    Small steps if you want.

    Most engagements are smaller than people think. A one-hour audit. A half-day workshop. A two-week pilot. Pick the smallest useful start.

  • 03

    Stop when you’re set.

    No retainers we sneak in. No auto-renewing contracts. When you’re running, we step back. We’re here if you need us again.

Who we’ve helped

Real businesses. Real work.

Small samples of recent consulting work across the Kawarthas. Not every engagement is here, just a few that fit on a page.

  • Retail

    Sanchez Hardware

    Lindsay, ON

    Set up AI-drafted customer email replies. Trained the counter team. Cut email triage time in half.

  • Dental

    Riverside Dental

    Fenelon Falls, ON

    Audited reception workflows. Set up appointment reminder drafting. Saved roughly four hours a week.

  • Professional services

    Hayes Bookkeeping

    Lindsay, ON

    Built a quarterly newsletter system. Three days of work became one hour. Now runs on MAI.

  • Hospitality

    Bobcaygeon Bistro

    Bobcaygeon, ON

    Turned customer reviews into social content. Trained the floor manager on the workflow. Posts run weekly.

  • Not-for-profit

    Kawartha Arts Hub

    Peterborough, ON

    Designed a grant application drafting workflow. The team owns it now. Application time cut by half.

  • Retail

    Lakeside Auto Repair

    Lindsay, ON

    Built a Google review reply system and trained the front desk. Reviews answered within a day, every time.

Tod Ward, President of Colour & Code
Who you’ll work with

Tod Ward

President, Colour & Code · Kawartha Lakes

Tod leads our AI consulting practice and built MAI, our managed AI service for small businesses. He’s worked with local owners and not-for-profits across the Kawarthas and Durham for over 15 years. Engagements he leads stay small enough to actually finish, and he runs the conversations himself.

  • 15+ Years with local business
  • 300+ Businesses & NFPs served
  • Local Kawarthas & Durham focus
MAI™ Managed AI · Online

Many engagements graduate to MAI.

Once you’re set up, our managed AI service keeps things running. One subscription, ongoing care, a single point of contact for changes. Consulting figures it out. MAI keeps it running.

Meet MAI From $250/mo · month-to-month, no lock-in
Good to know

Quick answers before you reach out.

  • 01 Minimum

    Do you have a minimum engagement?

    No. We’ll start with a conversation. If that’s all you need, great. If you want a few hours of work after, also great. Engagements scale with the problem, not the other way around.

  • 02 vs. MAI

    How is this different from MAI?

    Consulting is us helping you figure out and build. MAI is us running AI for your business ongoing, as a managed service. A lot of clients start with consulting and graduate to MAI for the day-to-day. Either works on its own.

  • 03 Outside the area

    Can you work with us outside the Kawarthas?

    Yes. We’re happiest with local businesses we can sit down with, but most of the work happens remotely once we’ve met. If you’re comfortable on Zoom, we’re comfortable too.

  • 04 Cost

    What does this cost?

    Depends on the work. A conversation is free. A small audit is a few hundred dollars. A multi-week project is more. We’ll always quote in plain language before any work starts, and there are no surprise fees.

  • 05 Privacy

    What about our customer or business data?

    We never paste your sensitive data into public AI tools without checking with you first. When we set up workflows, we’ll tell you exactly which tools see what data, and what’s safe to share. If you have a written privacy policy, we honour it. If you don’t have one yet, we’ll help you write one.

  • 06 Ownership

    Do we own the workflows you build?

    Yes. Everything we build for you, you own. Prompts, custom GPTs, automations, training materials, documentation. If you stop working with us tomorrow, you keep it all and your team can keep running it.

  • 07 Existing tools

    What about the tools we already use?

    We start there. The best AI rollout uses what your team already knows. We’ll show you what your current stack can do (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, your CRM, your booking system) before recommending anything new. Adding tools is a last resort, not a first move.

  • 08 Risk

    What if AI doesn’t work for our business?

    We’ll tell you. After a workflow audit, sometimes the honest answer is “AI won’t move the needle here yet, focus on X instead.” We’d rather lose a paid engagement than waste your money. If we start work and it isn’t landing, we stop and talk. No long contracts to claw out of.

Start a conversation

Tell us what’s on your mind.

Four fields. Even a sentence is enough. We’ll reply within 2 business days with the right next step: a call, a question back, or a thoughtful answer.

We’ll reply within 2 business days. Or email hello@colourandcode.ca directly.

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