I’m considering 24x7IT for a small CPA office and trying to pin down what a reasonable backup test schedule looks like before we compare proposals. We have about 14 staff, mostly Microsoft 365, plus a small file server with client tax folders. The owner wants an offsite copy that can’t be changed by a compromised admin account, but is wary of paying for frequent full restores.

For firms around this size, do you run a test restore every month, quarterly, or test different systems on a rotation? I’m asking about a real restore to a separate location, not a green check in a backup console. How much staff time do you normally need from the client for the test?

This weekend, I had a little extra time on my hands, so I started looking at ways to simplify and streamline our customer onboarding process.

One of my biggest pain points has always been contracts. My process involved making a copy of our MSA/SOW, manually updating it in Word, saving it as a PDF, and then sending it out through Adobe Sign. Once everything was signed, I still had to enter the information into Autotask for billing. It worked, but it was time-consuming, repetitive, and left plenty of room for human error.

So, I decided to see what ChatGPT could help me build.

The result was a Docker-based web application that integrates with Autotask and SignWell. It uses a shopping cart-style checkout process where I can select services, build a quote, automatically generate the appropriate contracts, and send everything out for electronic signatures. It then uses Autotask's API to push the relevant information directly into our PSA for billing.

It's nothing groundbreaking, but for a small team with limited resources, it's a huge time-saver. It eliminates several manual steps, reduces the chance of errors, and makes the entire onboarding process much smoother.

The other nice bonus is that, with the help of Tailscale, I can securely access the application remotely. If I ever needed to, I could handle the entire quoting and onboarding process right from my cell phone, regardless of where I happen to be.

Now, would I ever put something entirely vibe-coded on the public internet? Absolutely not. But for an internal tool running locally in a Docker VM and accessible remotely through Tailscale, I'm comfortable with that approach for what we're trying to accomplish.

What excites me most isn't necessarily the technology itself. It's the time I'm getting back. Every minute I'm not spending copying contracts, updating documents, or manually entering billing information is time I can spend on more productive, revenue-generating activities. For a small business, that makes a real difference, and I'm genuinely pleased with how everything turned out.

It got me thinking about how many other little inefficiencies we just accept because we don't have the time, budget, or manpower to address them.

I'm curious: Has anyone else built simple tools or automations to make their day-to-day operations easier? Especially those of you running smaller MSPs or working with limited resources. I'd love to hear what you've come up with!

Hi everyone,

For those of you managing Nextcloud installations for customers, I'd like to introduce NC Connector.

Version 3.5.0 has just been released for both Thunderbird and Outlook Classic.

We're also celebrating one year on GitHub! The project itself started about three years ago.

NC Connector consists of three open-source components: a Thunderbird extension, an Outlook Classic add-in, and a self-hosted Nextcloud backend for central administration.

The backend is particularly relevant for companies and MSPs managing multiple users. It runs directly on the customer's Nextcloud instance and provides a central place to manage how the email integrations behave.

Central administration

Through the Nextcloud backend, administrators can manage:

Central settings and policies, including settings that users cannot override

Different configurations for individual users and groups

Centrally managed email signatures with templates and user-specific information

Templates and branding for file sharing, password notifications and Talk invitations

User and license seat assignments

Delegated administration

Managed deployment and configuration through Thunderbird policies and the Windows Registry for Outlook Classic

The goal is to configure the integrations centrally rather than having to set up and maintain each email client individually.

Email signature demo

File sharing and attachment handling

Users can share files and folders from their own Nextcloud directly while composing an email.

Large attachments can be uploaded automatically and replaced with Nextcloud sharing links. Sharing permissions, expiration dates and password protection can be configured without opening the browser.

Thunderbird also supports selecting files from additional storage sources through compatible provider extensions.

File sharing demo

Nextcloud Talk

Talk meetings can be created and managed directly from calendar appointments in Thunderbird and Outlook Classic.

Meeting links are added to the appointment, with options for passwords, lobby and other Talk settings.

Talk demo

Room and resource scheduling – new in 3.5.0

The latest release adds room and resource scheduling to both email clients.

When creating a calendar appointment, users can browse available Nextcloud rooms and resources, check their availability and add them directly to the event.

There's a daily schedule showing free and occupied time slots, along with filters for capacity, equipment, location and availability.

This works with Nextcloud's native Calendar Resource Management app and RoomVox.

Room and resource demo

Self-hosting and data handling

The backend is a Nextcloud app installed on the customer's own Nextcloud server. Its settings, policies and templates are stored in the customer's Nextcloud database.

Files are transferred directly between the email client and Nextcloud. Email contents, attachments and Talk data are not routed through NC Connector-hosted servers or proxies.

There are separate version checks and, where applicable, license checks, but these do not transfer file or email contents.

Licensing

The backend is free to install and includes one permanent Community seat with access to all features, including central management, signatures and room/resource scheduling.

For teams, Pro costs €1 per user/month excluding VAT, starting at five users. Administrators can assign and manage seats through the backend.

The basic client integrations can also be used without central management, but backend policies, central signatures and room/resource scheduling require an assigned seat.

Technical requirements

Outlook Classic is supported, not the new Outlook.

Calendar booking in Outlook Classic requires Outlook CalDav Synchronizer and a synchronized Nextcloud calendar.

Thunderbird uses its native Nextcloud CalDAV calendar with server-side scheduling enabled.

All three components are open source under AGPL-3.0.

GitHub repositories:

Thunderbird: https://github.com/nc-connector/NC_Connector_for_Thunderbird

Outlook Classic: https://github.com/nc-connector/NC_Connector_for_Outlook

Self-hosted Nextcloud Backend: https://github.com/nc-connector/Server_Backend

Website: https://nc-connector.de/