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This case study shows how a growing college essay consulting firm replaced broken spreadsheets with ClickUp automation, saving over 10 hours per month and creating a scalable, calm backend system for their team.
Overview
Maggie Finn, the co-founder of Summit Academic Support, was spending more than 10 hours a week managing admin work instead of supporting students through the high-stakes college essay process. She was struggling with the daily chaos created by business tools that weren’t working the way she needed them to. Instead of using this time to help her students, she was losing hours each week to manual, routine tasks, and was in the dark about the status of her team’s client work.
New Leaf Digital streamlined and restructured Summit Academic Support’s backend operations using ClickUp and Relay.app, replacing manual processes with automated workflows. The result was a calm, scalable system that gave Maggie and her team clarity, confidence, and more time to focus on students and results.
The Background
One morning, Maggie opened her spreadsheet and realized – again – that her automations had failed. A new client had booked, but instead of celebrating, she was clicking between tabs, checking multiple spreadsheets, payments, and intake forms.
The business was growing fast, but the backend systems couldn’t keep up. Maggie tried her best to make her multiple Google Sheets and other tools work, but her automations weren’t doing what she wanted plus she had no reliable way to see how many active clients the team had or how much capacity remained.
“We were flying blind,” Maggie shared. “We had no way to see where clients were in our process and no sense of how much time we’d committed ourselves to.”
The Journey: How New Leaf Digital Helped
The process began with a deep dive into Summit Academic Support’s workflows. Intake, scheduling, teaching timelines, and admin routines were mapped out step by step.
As Maggie walked me through their intake flow, service delivery, and admin routines, the picture became clear: the business wasn’t broken; the systems were.
We rebuilt the backend operations inside ClickUp, creating structured workflows, automated task creation, and clear visibility across the entire client lifecycle.
“The process was incredibly organized and collaborative from start to finish,” said Maggie. “Meagan broke things down into manageable pieces and explained not just what she was doing, but why. She didn’t just set up our systems, she built us peace of mind!”
With Relay.app shutting down, Maggie has since migrated to Make.com and called New Leaf Digital back in to assist with migrating a tricky automation.
The Transformation
A few weeks later, everything changed.
A client booked a session, and without anyone lifting a finger, ClickUp and Relay.app worked together to automatically generate tasks, deadlines, and details for the team.
No manual setup. No double-checking spreadsheets. No wondering if something slipped through the cracks. Maggie and her team could rest easy knowing they now had a professional backend system that could scale with them.
“I finally realized there was no more guessing,” Maggie said. “The system just worked.”
Results at a Glance
- Saved 10+ hours per month in admin work
- Replaced multiple spreadsheets with one centralized system
- Gained real-time visibility into client workload and capacity
- Reduced stress and operational risk
- Built a backend system designed to scale with growth
- Now able to make more money, serve more clients and have more free time
The Outcome
Today, the Summit Academic Support team works inside one clear, calm, predictable hub. No tab hopping. No guessing. No spreadsheet nightmares.
The team spends more time supporting students through the college essay process and less time managing backend operations.
“Our daily work feels lighter and far more intentional,” said Maggie. “The system Meagan built doesn’t just save time, it’s made us feel like we finally have the safety net to grow. Our systems finally match the level of professionalism we bring to our students!”
The Results Keep Growing
The system has kept paying off long after launch. Maggie shared that the business is now able to make more money, serve more clients, and have more free time.
In a recent note, she wrote:
“We had a super successful year and just surpassed our 2025 income last week for 2026… Your system approach has been key in making it possible for us. Wouldn’t have been possible without your framework!!”
Maggie Finn, Summit Academic Support
Tools Used
- ClickUp for project management and automation
- Relay.app (they are now using Make.com) for workflow automation
Frequently Asked Questions
How can ClickUp help consulting businesses scale?
ClickUp helps consulting businesses scale by automating client onboarding, task creation, deadlines, and workflows while providing full visibility into team capacity.
Is ClickUp a good fit for education or tutoring businesses?
Yes. ClickUp works especially well for education-based service businesses that manage recurring clients, deadlines, and collaborative team workflows.
Can ClickUp replace spreadsheets for client tracking?
ClickUp can fully replace spreadsheets by centralizing client data, tasks, timelines, and automation into one system.
