Free tools from The Pivot Lab
The Pivot Lab's free consulting tools are a retainer pricing calculator, a ten-question readiness self-assessment and a library of plain-English guides on choosing a niche, pricing, winning the first client and writing the contract. They are free to use: no account, and no email needed to run the numbers or read the guides. Each one is built on the frameworks in From Corporate to Cash, our playbook for senior corporate professionals moving into independent consulting or fractional work.
Start here if you want a number or a score rather than an article.
Work out what a monthly retainer is really worth per hour, and the lowest fee that covers your income, expenses and tax. Two formulas, a worked $8,000-a-month example and a blank worksheet to fill in.
Open the calculator →Ten questions, about three minutes. It shows which part of a consulting or fractional practice would slow you down first: niche, offer, pipeline, pricing or operations.
Your stage and score appear on screen with no email. An email is only asked for if you want the full category breakdown sent to you.
Take the readiness score →Short, fill-in versions of the four documents a new consultant needs first. They are being prepared now. Until each one is ready, the linked guide covers what it should contain.
A one-page outline: the client's situation in their own words, your approach in three to five steps, what they receive, the fee and timeline, and the next step.
Until then: how to package a consulting offer →One engagement on one page: scope, deliverables, what is not included, fee and payment terms, and how the work is accepted.
Until then: an annotated SOW example →The fields a client's finance team needs to pay you, with the payment terms and late fee written on the invoice itself.
Until then: payment terms and late fees in a consulting agreement →A single page that says who you help, the problem you solve, what a first engagement looks like and how to start a conversation.
Until then: how to choose a consulting niche →Free, ungated articles from The Pivot Lab Editorial Team, grouped by the order most people need them.
The Pivot Lab publishes From Corporate to Cash, a playbook and toolkit for senior corporate professionals going independent or fractional. The playbook is a 100-page PDF with 9 chapters and 23 named frameworks covering niche, offer, pricing, outreach, the first client and growing past one client. It costs $49.
The Complete Bundle ($99) adds a 50-asset implementation toolkit. It includes the full-length documents the free templates here are a short introduction to: a proposal bank with eight worked proposals, four statement of work types and an invoice pack. Everything is a self-serve digital download, sold only at pivotlab.shop. There are no calls, coaching or webinars.
Results depend on the person, their market and their effort. The Pivot Lab does not promise income. Compare the options · About The Pivot Lab · Fact sheet
Yes. The calculator and every guide on this page open without an account or an email address. The Pivot Readiness Score shows your stage and score on screen for free. It asks for an email only if you want the detailed breakdown sent to you.
Yes. Career centers, libraries, outplacement teams and professional associations are welcome to link to this page or to any tool or guide on it. No permission is needed.
No. They are starting points for a new consulting practice. Have a lawyer review any contract for your jurisdiction, and an accountant review tax and invoicing questions.
The Pivot Lab Editorial Team. The tools and guides are built on the frameworks in From Corporate to Cash, the playbook The Pivot Lab publishes.
Last updated 18 October 2026 by The Pivot Lab Editorial Team.
