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»» Transformation partner for Australian local government

More outcomes for your community.
Less effort from your people.

Despite councils investing heavily in systems, so much of the work still lives in spreadsheets, inboxes and people's heads. Important commitments, requests and responsibilities are managed outside a system; the rest are scattered across twenty systems that don't talk to each other. None of it helps anyone proactively prioritise, coordinate or plan. Your people spend their days feeding software and chasing updates instead of delivering.

Simply Now is the partner that changes that — giving your people processes and systems they love to use, so they can do more with less effort. We help your teams coordinate and deliver more of what's on their plate, even as people move around and new work keeps arriving. The councils we work with win back time, and deliver more of the outcomes their community, councillors and staff are counting on.

Led by a former council Director who's sat in the chair. Proven results across Victorian councils, including Hobsons Bay City Council and Hepburn Shire Council. Coordinating 30+ operational, project, governance and people functions — refined over 15 years of doing this work inside councils.
»» Our approach

A complete transformation — more for your community, and your staff.

Councils don't want software. They want better services, happier teams, councillor and government trust, and obligations met — together, without trade-offs. Here's how we deliver that, and why it lasts.

Pillar 1

Outcomes without compromise

Great people achieving better community outcomes together.

We've refined the interconnected processes that deliver every outcome that matters to you at once — because we've done it inside councils before.

Pillar 2

Unify people and work

One place to know who's doing what, at any time.

A council is a hundred businesses in one. We unify people, positions and tasks into a single source of truth, so information flows and your team delivers more with less effort.

Pillar 3

Guide what's next

From chasing what happened, to guiding what happens next.

Tasks scattered across inboxes, systems and spreadsheets waste hours on chasing and prioritising. We bring them into one visible place, each with clear guidance and exactly the information that decision needs.

Pillar 4

Agile iteration

Transformation is a flywheel — small aligned changes that build unstoppable momentum.

We start delivering in targeted areas in as little as 4–6 weeks, then each new area builds on the last, cycle after cycle.

Every cycle follows the same six steps:

Select a step to see what happens in it.
Select a step above to see what happens in it.

See our full approach »

»» The engine

The Performance Enabler

Most systems record what happened — if you're lucky. The Performance Enabler guides what happens next: unified coordination of 30+ operational, project, governance and people functions, delivering the visibility, clarity and accountability that empower teams to deliver more for the community together.

Built on the Microsoft Power Platform your council already trusts, embedded in your Microsoft 365 ecosystem, secured by your own Microsoft tenant, and rapidly configurable with full development, test and production rigour.

Explore the platform »

The 90 / 10 of transformation

The IT is only 10% of the project.

The other 90% is people and the tasks they do every day — which is why most transformations fail, and why ours start with process and people. Read why »

»» Testimonials

What it's like to work with Simply Now.

Grant has process improvement built into his DNA. The way he understands process and builds systems that guide users is second-to-none — I've never used a system that gave me better visibility or oversight in my role as Corporate Services Director. He had the projects function up and running within three weeks of signing up. From customer service to governance to staff performance, his systems transformed how we worked — automating workflows, streamlining processes, tracking progress and generating reports with ease and accuracy. If you're looking to genuinely transform how your council operates, I cannot recommend Grant highly enough.

Andrew McLeodFormer Director of Corporate Services, Hobsons Bay City Council

He empowered an organisation to truly adopt the power of digital processes — not paper processes disguised as digital.

Joe DanielHead of Enterprise Project Management Office, Local Government

Grant taught me how to take a basic form and turn it into a fully fledged management system. There is never a process flow too difficult.

David CynglerCoordinator Governance and Information, Local Government

He bet the odds and successfully created a system that made it easier to serve the customer and much less daunting for staff.

Lianna GalangProject Officer, Local Government
Grant Schuster, Founder of Simply Now
»» The founder

Led by Grant Schuster

Former council Director of Corporate & Community Services. Manager, executive and systems architect, with 15 years hands-on in local government — that's where the process intelligence that delivers community and organisation outcomes comes from.

Discover more »
»» Get in touch

Let's map the road.

From where you are today, to where your community needs you to be. Tell me what your council is working on — I'll get back within one business day.
Get in touch »
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