Frequently Asked Questions

First Coast Group is a technology consulting and technology enablement firm for small and growing businesses. We help you evaluate, choose, set up, connect and get more out of business technology. That covers technology strategy, software selection, connecting systems, websites, custom software, cloud, AI, workflow automation, local advertising, one-on-one coaching and ongoing advice.

It is having somebody look at your business as a whole and tell you what technology would actually help, in what order, and at what cost. It is different from IT support, which keeps the machines running. Consulting is about the decisions: what to buy, what to fix, what to connect and what to leave alone.

Usually in three ways. It removes work that repeats, so your people spend their time on things that need a person. It moves information between systems so nobody retypes anything. And it makes you faster to your customers, which is normally where the money is.

A structured review of your people, how work moves, your software, your information, your systems, where AI would help and your equipment. You get back a written plan that sorts every finding into one of six answers: keep, replace, connect, automate, add or skip. It is quoted for your business and normally takes about two weeks.

AI is very good at reading messy paperwork, drafting from your own past work so it sounds like you, sorting and routing incoming requests, summarizing long email chains, and answering questions about your own documents. In a small business that usually shows up as faster replies to customers and hours back from administration.

Maybe not. If your problem is that two programs will not talk to each other, connecting them is cheaper and more reliable than AI. If your problem is a process with no clear owner, AI will make it faster and still wrong. We will tell you which one you have before you spend anything.

Yes, and it is often the cheapest thing we do. Most small businesses already own most of what they need. The value is in getting those systems to pass information to each other without a person in the middle.

Yes. We look at what you actually need, compare the two or three options that genuinely fit, read the contract and renewal terms with you, and tell you the downsides as well as the upsides. We do not take commissions from software vendors.

Yes. Finding work that repeats and making it stop being a person's problem is the single most common thing we do. Intake, follow-up, data entry, reporting, document handling, reminders and approvals are the usual candidates.

Yes, when nothing off the shelf fits. Usually that is a small purpose-built tool to replace a fragile spreadsheet, or an internal system that matches how you actually work. Most are scoped to be finished inside two weeks.

Only when it is genuinely holding you back. A good share of what we recommend is keeping what you own and setting it up properly. Replacing things is expensive and disruptive, and it is not the default answer.

That is the whole business. Most clients have between two and fifty employees. Family-run companies, trades, professional practices and local service businesses are the core of it.

We are based in St. Augustine and meet clients in person across St. Johns, Duval, Clay, Flagler, Alachua and Putnam counties, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, Palm Coast, Gainesville, Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, Palatka and St. Augustine Beach. Everywhere else in Florida we work by video and phone.

The first 30-minute conversation is free, every time. A Technology Briefing is $300 and includes an hour together, hours of research and a written report within a week, and that $300 is credited back if you hire us within 30 days. Everything beyond that is quoted for your specific business at market-friendly, competitive rates, agreed in writing before any work starts. Most builds are scoped to finish inside two weeks.

We spend time on site with you and your team, look at your systems, and map how work really moves through the business. Then we research the options and come back with a written 90-day plan in priority order, with real budget numbers. It normally takes about two weeks from start to finish.

Then we tell you. A meaningful share of what we find is a process problem in disguise, and the fix is changing a handoff, deleting a step, or agreeing on who owns something. That advice costs you the price of the conversation and saves you a purchase.

We will tell you straight, and then connect you with the right people and help you ask them the right questions. Sending you to the correct person is better business for us than taking your money for a poor fit.

Sam does the consulting and stays responsible for the outcome, every time. For larger builds we bring in a bench of technology advisors, independent consultants and working software engineers. You still deal with one person and get one invoice.

Yes. Training is included in every build, and we also do standalone coaching: one-on-one sessions, standing appointments every week or every other week, group sessions for clubs and boards, and half-day staff training. Coaching is quoted once we know how often you want to meet.

Yes, and it is one of the things we are proudest of. Sessions cover the useful side, such as letters, forms, insurance and benefits paperwork, and the safety side: cloned voices, fake photos and video, and messages pretending to be from your bank or your family. Nobody gets talked down to.

Yes. Google Business Profile, Local Services Ads, Google Search and Maps advertising, ads targeted to a specific area, reaching past website visitors, local search results and review generation. We build the intake behind it first, so the leads you pay for do not die in an inbox.

Yes. Consultations are available in English or Spanish.