Practical Business Tools for Expensive Decisions
Howard Dee Group creates checklists, scorecards, templates, and guides that help business owners and operators ask better questions before they spend money, buy software, chase AI, or trust another perfect-looking dashboard.
Built for the moment before the mistake.
- Before the software contract is signed.
- Before the dashboard becomes trusted.
- Before AI gets layered on top of messy data.
- Before vague requirements become expensive surprises.
Most expensive business mistakes start before anyone signs the contract.
Businesses rarely get into trouble because they asked too many questions. They get into trouble because the demo looked great, the numbers looked clean, the requirements sounded obvious, and everyone assumed the hard parts would be figured out later.
Bad Software Decisions
A great demo can hide weak requirements, hidden costs, unclear ownership, and painful implementation surprises.
Messy Data and Reporting
Dashboards are useless if nobody trusts the numbers, definitions, workflows, and source systems underneath them.
AI and Automation Hype
AI can help, but not if your workflows, data definitions, exception handling, and responsibilities are a mess.
The Vendor Demo Scorecard
Software demos are designed to make everything look easy. The Vendor Demo Scorecard helps you ask better questions during the demo, compare vendors side by side, catch vague promises, and document what needs to be confirmed before you sign.
- Vendor Demo Scorecard Workbook
- Demo Summary Worksheet
- Vendor Comparison Matrix
- Red Flag Phrase Tracker
- Follow-Up Questions Tracker
- Post-Demo Email Template
- Final Decision Checklist
- Plain-English PDF Guide
Don’t let a great demo turn into a bad software decision.
Launch price for the downloadable guide and workbook.
Best for business owners, operators, managers, consultants, and anyone responsible for evaluating software vendors.
Built for people who have to make the decision.
Howard Dee Group tools are built for practical business people, not software experts.
Business Owners
You need to buy, approve, or replace software without getting buried in jargon.
Operators and Managers
You are the one who has to make the system work after the contract is signed.
CFOs and Finance Leaders
You need better visibility into cost, risk, scope, implementation, and reporting impact.
Consultants and Advisors
You help clients make better decisions and need reusable tools to guide the conversation.
More practical tools are on the way.
Howard Dee Group is building a library of plain-English business decision tools.
Software Buyer Survival Kit
A complete toolkit for choosing business software, comparing vendors, planning implementation, and avoiding expensive surprises.
AI Readiness Scorecard
A plain-English assessment to help business owners determine whether their data, workflows, and reporting are actually ready for AI.
Business Data Readiness Toolkit
Templates and checklists to help teams define source-of-truth rules, clean messy data, and document key business fields.
Better questions before the decision usually cost less than better explanations after the mistake.
That is the working philosophy behind Howard Dee Group.
Built by someone who has seen the mess behind the demo.
Howard Dee Group was created by Scott Mahler, a software and data executive, business owner, and operator who has spent decades working with systems, reporting, workflows, data quality, and implementation realities.
The goal is simple: turn hard-earned business lessons into practical tools that help owners and operators make clearer decisions before expensive problems show up.
This is not theory. This is the stuff people usually learn the hard way.
Get 21 Questions to Ask Before Your Next Software Demo
Start asking better questions before the vendor gets you excited.