Before you spend a dollar on AI, find out if you're ready
A free Excel scorecard that gives you an honest read on whether your business can actually use AI well, and a clear first step if you cannot yet.
A free Excel scorecard that tells you whether your small business is ready for AI. Score your data, processes, security and people, then see where to start.
What you'll get
A practical, ready-to-use resource you fill in with your own numbers and keep. No expiring trial, no strings.
What the AI Readiness Scorecard does
There is a lot of pressure right now to “do something with AI.” Most of that pressure skips a basic question: is your business actually set up to use it well? A tool dropped on top of messy data, undocumented processes and no governance tends to create more cleanup than value. The honest answer for many small businesses is “not yet,” and knowing that early saves real money.
This workbook walks you through the things that actually determine whether AI will help you. You answer a set of yes, partial or no questions, and it scores you into a readiness band with a recommended first step. No inflated promises, no pressure to buy anything.
An honest score, not a sales pitch
Rate yourself across data quality, process documentation, security baseline, compliance exposure and people readiness. The workbook scores you into a clear band, no hype attached.
Know your real first step
Your band maps to a concrete next move: clean up a data source, write an AI use policy, or run a use-case workshop. Readiness first, tools later, in that order.
Data and compliance front and center
The scorecard flags where AI could expose client data or run into HIPAA and CMMC obligations, so you spot the risks before adopting anything, not after.
Keeps your people in the picture
Change-readiness and leadership buy-in are scored too, because AI only helps when the humans using it are set up to succeed. It's meant to support your team, never replace it.
What is inside the workbook
- A cover tab with simple instructions, so anyone on your team can pick it up
- A scored self-assessment across eight dimensions: data quality and access, process documentation, current AI usage, security and governance baseline, staff change-readiness, compliance exposure, leadership buy-in, and budget
- Automatic scoring that places you in one of four bands: Not yet, Foundational, Ready, or Scaling
- A “where to start” output that maps your band to a concrete first move
- A notes column that ties each gap back to a practical next step, with a human staying in the loop on anything AI touches
Readiness comes before tools, every time
Want the thinking behind it?
If you’re weighing whether to start at all, our article on whether your business is ready for AI covers how to tell and where to begin. For the bigger picture on adopting AI without replacing your people, see our Managed Intelligence hub.
How it works
Tell us where to send it
Fill in the short form. Just enough so we know who we're helping and can tailor any follow-up, only if you want it.
Check your inbox
We email your copy right away, and the download is yours to keep. No expiring trial, no login.
Put it to work
Use it on your own, or ask us for a second set of eyes. No pressure either way.
We do not sell your information
You get the file and an email copy for later. That's it. No third-party sharing, ever.
Real local humans built this
Vicinity is a genuinely local IT provider with people in Alaska and Hawaii. We help businesses adopt AI carefully, with a human staying in the loop.
No sales theater
The workbook is a working tool, not a brochure. Use it whether or not we ever talk.