ZeroTwo for fractional executives

AI for fractional executives, from discovery call to retainer renewal

You are the whole delivery team, and the work you bill for is not the work that takes the time. These 12 prompts cover the unbillable half (proposals, onboarding packs, monthly reports, the handover) with a separate standing context for each client.

Free plan, no card required. See pricing.

One week, three fictional clients

  • Client ASaaS company, fractional CMONew business

    Next: Proposal from the call notes

  • Client BManufacturer, fractional COODelivery

    Next: Founder update that leads with a decision

  • Client CNonprofit, fractional CFOReporting

    Next: Monthly report in last cycle's format

Illustrative layout with made-up clients. It shows how the work sits at different stages, not a customer result. ZeroTwo publishes this page.

In short

  • 12prompts, each with a check to make before you use it
  • 4stages: new business, onboarding, delivery, reporting
  • 1Project and standing context per client
  • Youread, edit and send every draft

12 prompts across the life of an engagement

Each prompt opens in ZeroTwo with the text filled in. Filenames are placeholders, so attach your own. Under every prompt is the check to make before you use what comes back.

New business

The discovery call went well. Turn it into a proposal, a scope that holds, and a price you have sense-checked.

How do I turn a discovery call into a proposal?

Mirror their problem in their own words, then phase the scope and make the exclusions explicit.

The prompt

The discovery call went well and they want something in writing. Draft the proposal in my format: their problem in their words, my approach, phased scope, explicit exclusions, milestones and pricing.

Attach your own, like: Call_notes.md

Before you use it: Their problem in their words only works if your notes captured the words. Compare the problem statement against your call notes.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I turn a discovery call into a proposal?

How do I write a scope of work that protects me?

A proposal persuades; a SOW defines. The exclusions and acceptance criteria are what stop scope drifting.

The prompt

Turn this agreed proposal into a statement of work: tasks, deliverables, acceptance criteria, responsibilities on both sides, payment schedule, and what is explicitly out of scope.

Attach your own, like: Proposal_agreed.docx

Before you use it: This is a draft, not legal advice. Have the exclusions and acceptance criteria read by whoever advises you on contracts.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I write a scope of work that protects me?

How do I sense-check my pricing on an engagement?

Work back from the hours the scope actually implies, not from what feels sayable on a call.

The prompt

Given this scope, estimate the realistic hours by workstream, including revision cycles and client-meeting time. Show where a fixed fee would expose me and where I should cap or exclude.

Before you use it: The hours come from the scope text, not from your history. Swap in your own numbers from past engagements before you quote.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I sense-check my pricing on an engagement?

Onboarding

The contract is signed and you start Monday. Get the plan, the access list and the first read of their material done in week one.

How do I plan a client's first 90 days?

A 30-60-90 plan, the information you need this week, and an agenda for the kickoff.

The prompt

Contract is signed and I start Monday. Draft a 30-60-90 plan, the information request I should send this week, and a kickoff agenda.

Attach your own, like: Signed_SOW.pdf

Before you use it: Cut the plan back to the signed scope. Delete any workstream the contract does not cover.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I plan a client's first 90 days?

What should I ask a new client for up front?

Ask once, in a single list, for everything the first month depends on.

The prompt

Based on this scope, write the information and access request for a new client: documents, data, systems, and the people I need thirty minutes with. Group it so they can delegate it.

Before you use it: Remove any request your access terms or their confidentiality rules do not cover before it goes out.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: What should I ask a new client for up front?

How do I get up to speed on a new client fast?

Read everything they have already produced and map what exists against what the engagement needs.

The prompt

Read these documents and give me a current-state map: what exists, what is missing against the scope, what contradicts, and the five questions I should ask in week one.

Attach your own, like: Client_docs.pdf

Before you use it: Spot-check the contradictions against the source documents. The map is only as complete as what you attached.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I get up to speed on a new client fast?

Delivery

Keep each client in its own context, keep the founder updates short, and write the handover while you still remember why.

How do I stop re-explaining each client from scratch?

Write the standing context per client once and reuse it on everything you run for them.

The prompt

Read this project and write the standing context for this client: their business, the engagement scope, my method, decisions already made, and what is out of scope. Reuse it on everything I run here.

Before you use it: Read it back and correct it. A wrong line in the standing context repeats on every run, so keep one per client.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I stop re-explaining each client from scratch?

How do I write a board update a founder will read?

Lead with the decision you need, not with the activity you did.

The prompt

Turn this into a one-page update for the founder: what changed, what it means, the decision I need from them, and what happens if it slips. No activity log.

Attach your own, like: Month_notes.md

Before you use it: Confirm the decision line is the real decision and the stated consequence of slipping is true.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I write a board update a founder will read?

How do I write a handover so the work survives me?

Document the method and the decisions, not just the outputs, so the next person can run it.

The prompt

Write a handover pack for this engagement: what I built, why the key decisions were made, how to run each recurring process, and what will break first if nobody maintains it.

Before you use it: Add what only you know. The line about what breaks first is a guess until the next person tests it.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I write a handover so the work survives me?

Reporting

The retainer lives or dies on the monthly report. Run it the same way each cycle and be straight about what has not landed.

How do I write a monthly retainer report?

Short, client-facing, and about outcomes, readable in two minutes.

The prompt

Write the monthly report for this retainer client: what I did, what it moved, what is next, and anything I need from them. Written so a CEO reads it in two minutes.

Attach your own, like: Activity_log.csv

Before you use it: Every claim about what moved needs a number or a source from your own log. Strike anything you cannot back.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I write a monthly retainer report?

How do I regenerate last month's report without rebuilding it?

Keep the reporting contract, update the evidence, and surface what changed.

The prompt

Same format as last cycle. Update the evidence, tell me explicitly what changed since last month, and flag anything that needs my interpretation before it goes out.

Attach your own, like: Last_report.docx, This_month.xlsx

Before you use it: Check the what-changed section against both months of data, not against the summary it wrote.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I regenerate last month's report without rebuilding it?

How do I show a client the retainer is worth renewing?

Tie the work to the outcomes they care about, and be honest about what has not landed yet.

The prompt

Across these months of work, build the renewal case: what was delivered, what measurably changed, what is still in flight, and what I would do differently next term. Do not overstate anything the data does not show.

Before you use it: Read for overstatement. The prompt asks for restraint, but verify each change against your own data.

Open this prompt in ZeroTwo: How do I show a client the retainer is worth renewing?

Writing a proposal from scratch rather than from call notes? The proposal generator starts from a blank brief.

Two clients, two standing contexts

The same monthly-report prompt is meant to produce a different report because the Project around it is different. Here are the inputs for two fictional clients. Nothing below is output from a real engagement.

Client A

Series A software company, fractional CMO

Standing context
Founder-led sales, a two-person marketing team, one buyer profile. Engagement: positioning and a demand plan.
Out of scope
Paid media buying and hiring.
Report format
One page for the founder, outcome first, decisions needed at the top.
Evidence attached
Pipeline export and the campaign calendar.

Client B

Regional manufacturer, fractional COO

Standing context
Three plants and a weekly operations review. Engagement: cut the handoff delays between planning and the floor.
Out of scope
Recruitment and capital projects.
Report format
Two pages for the board, with a decisions-needed box and a risks list.
Evidence attached
Weekly review notes and the throughput export.

Test the separation before you trust it

  1. Put each client in its own Project, with its own files and its own standing context.
  2. In Client B's Project, ask a question only Client A's documents can answer. It should say it does not know.
  3. If it answers, stop and fix the setup before you put real client material in. Do the same check on memory if you have it switched on.

This page does not claim a technical guarantee that clients are isolated from each other. The check is how you find out for your own setup.

Drafting, sending and processing are three different things

Clients ask two questions: will it send anything on my behalf, and where does their material go. They have different answers.

ZeroTwo drafts

  • Assembles proposals, SOWs, plans, updates and reports from what you attach
  • Keeps your template and the client's standing context across runs
  • Flags what needs your interpretation when you ask it to

You decide and send

  • Scope, price and what you will put your name to
  • Reading and editing each draft before it reaches a client
  • Sending it. These prompts produce text for you to review, nothing more

Where your content goes

  • Content you attach is sent to the AI provider for the model you select
  • Provider retention practices differ, and the privacy policy covers them
  • Whether a client's confidential material may be used is your call and your contract's

Read the privacy policy for how content is handled and shared with providers.

The monthly retainer cycle, with a log of what it costs

The report is the one deliverable you repeat every month, so it is where a reusable format pays back. This is the loop, and the last step is the one that tells you whether it is worth it. For pulling the numbers on a schedule, see the automated KPI report workflow.

  1. Update the evidence

    Drop in this month's export or activity log next to last month's report, in the client's Project.

  2. Run the same prompt again

    Ask for the same format with updated evidence and an explicit list of what changed since last month.

  3. Read the flags first

    Start with the items it marked as needing your interpretation, then check the what-changed section against both months of data.

  4. Edit, approve, send

    The report goes out under your name after you have read it. Nothing in this workflow sends it for you.

  5. Log the cost of the cycle

    Record how long it took and how many credits it used. Compare the first two cycles with how long the last manual one took before you decide it is worth it.

Where the time goes, task by task

A task-fit view rather than a verdict. No hours are claimed here, because they depend on your clients and your templates.

Five recurring fractional-executive tasks compared by hand and with ZeroTwo, with the part that stays with you.
TaskBy handWith ZeroTwoWhat stays with you
Proposal and SOWAdapting the last proposal from memory and re-typing it.A draft from your call notes and template, with exclusions and acceptance criteria listed.Scope, price, and which exclusions you will defend.
Pricing checkA figure that feels sayable on the call.Hours estimated by workstream from the scope text, with fixed-fee exposure flagged.Replacing the estimates with your own history and choosing the fee.
Client onboardingWriting the access list and kickoff agenda from scratch each time.A grouped information request, a current-state map of what they hand over, and a 30-60-90 draft.Which requests the contract covers and the questions you ask in week one.
Monthly reportRebuilding the document and re-checking last month's.The same format with updated evidence, an explicit what-changed list and flags for your interpretation.The interpretation, and approving it before it goes out.
Renewal and handoverReconstructing the story from memory at the end of the term.A renewal case and handover pack drafted from the logs and decisions you attached.Honesty about what has not landed, and what only you know.

What this costs

Plans are credit-based, so a long proposal build and a quick question do not cost the same. The pricing page has every plan and its current allowance.

  • Free

    $0/mo

    • 100 free credits to start
    • +20 bonus credits every day you log in
    • Limited projects

    Enough to judge one proposal or one report on inputs you are comfortable sharing.

  • Plus

    $14.99/mo

    • 1,650 monthly credits
    • Memory unlocked
    • Access to Work agent

    A reasonable step up when you are running one or two engagements.

  • Pro

    $29.99/mo

    $26.99/mo billed annually

    • 3,500 monthly credits
    • Unlimited projects
    • Access to deep research

    Our take: with several clients, unlimited projects is the line that matters, because each client needs its own.

Questions fractional executives ask first

Will proposals come out in my format?

Attach your own template and ask the prompt to follow it; the structure and section order come from what you attach. Keep the format in the client's Project context so you are not re-attaching it, and read each draft against your template before it goes anywhere.

Can one client's information leak into another client's work?

Keep each client in its own Project with its own files and standing context, and do not paste material across them. This page does not claim a technical guarantee about isolation, so test it before you rely on it: ask a question in Client B's Project that only Client A's documents can answer and confirm it says it does not know. If you use memory, check what it has saved before you start a client who competes with another.

Is this safe to use with client information?

Two separate things are going on. Drafts are drafts: these prompts produce text for you to review, and sending it to a client is something you do. Separately, content you attach is processed by the AI provider for the model you select, and providers have their own retention practices, so read the privacy policy and your client contract before you attach anything confidential. Start on public, synthetic or sanitised inputs to judge the output.

I am one person. Is this worth the setup?

The setup is attaching your existing templates and writing the standing context once per client. If your recurring work is a monthly report and a proposal every few weeks, run the report for two cycles, log the time and credits, and compare it with how long the last manual cycle took.

Will the output sound like me?

It follows the templates and prior work you attach. Read it before it sends. The point is a complete first draft to edit, not something to forward unread.

What does it cost for this kind of use?

Plans are credit-based, so a long proposal build and a quick question do not cost the same. The Free plan starts you with 100 credits plus 20 bonus credits every day you log in, no card required, and premium models need a paid plan or purchased credits. Plus is $14.99/month and Pro is $29.99/month ($26.99/month billed annually). See the pricing page for current allowances.

Does this replace my judgment?

No. It removes production and reformatting. The scope, the price, the interpretation and the decision to send stay with you, and every prompt above is written to hand you a draft with the open questions marked.

Keep going

Consultants work on engagement research, so that page is the better fit for cited briefs. This one is for running a portfolio of clients.

Run last month's retainer report through it, and log how long it took.

Start on the Free plan