We were paying $100 a month for this
We had a line item in our software subscriptions for about $100 a month.
All it did was convert a CSV of supplier buy payments into an ABA file. The format Australian banks need to process batch payments.
It was $90 a month and we needed it so we paid it.
Then came Claude Code…
And in a few hours I built us our own version. Completely free, saving $100 on software fees we no longer need.
It’s on our free tools page and free for you to use for now, too.
That got me thinking…
What else could we build?
So over the past couple of weeks I’ve been quietly putting together a small dashboard of tools we actually use in the business.
Each one has one specific job. Nothing clever for its own sake. They all came out of real problems we kept running into.
PDF filler to replace Adobe Acrobat for basic edits and signatures.
The ABA converter.
A sit-stand desk timer.
And the one I finished today, which is probably my favourite — a Pallet Calculator.
Here’s why the Pallet Calculator is worth your time, if you move any bulk freight.
When a customer orders 20 units, the question is whether to book 20 individual cartons or palletise the whole lot.
Your freight broker needs pallet dimensions to give you a quote.
Without a tool, someone on your team is doing that manually or defaulting to individual cartons every time because it’s easier.
This came from me catching my team out on this exact problem this week where the 20 units cost ~$670 to ship vs the palletised 20 units cost only about half ~$340.
The person on my team booking the freight wasn’t competent at visualising how the pallet could be stacked, so she defaulted to the ‘easy’ option - send them all individually.
Which costs twice as much.
You can upload a CSV of your product dimensions from your freight broker software (we use BigPost or MacShip), or enter box dimensions manually.
Set a dimension buffer for real-world stacking.
Click calculate.
It shows you the most efficient orientation, gives you a top-view and side-view visual of the pallet, and outputs the dimensions and total weight to copy straight into your freight broker.
Run the standard carton quote. Run the palletised quote. Compare. Your team picks the cheaper one = you save $$$
Data stays in your browser so nothing touches my server.
Here’s a Loom walking through it.
They’re free to use.
No sign-up yet. Some of these may eventually move inside Escape Velocity or behind an email sign-up but right now, they’re yours.
👉 Free tools for eCom founders
If any of them are useful, or you’ve got a suggestion to make them better, I’d love to hear it.
— Matthew