MakeITaplan
Meet the team

Meet the MakeITaplan team

Meet the people who help charity teams make sense of their data, move confidently to Beacon CRM and create practical apps that support their work.

The people behind your plan

Gemma Cutler

Gemma Cutler

Founder & CEO

Gemma founded MakeITaplan to make practical CRM training and consultancy accessible to charities of every size. She combines charity-sector knowledge with a passion for helping people understand their systems and feel confident using them.

With a JEB Diploma in Teaching IT Skills and experience training charity teams internationally on CRM systems, Gemma brings a patient, people-first approach to implementation and learning. Her focus is on connecting the database to the real work your team needs to do.

For Wikimedia UK, that approach helped turn a nervous move from a previous CRM into a positive Beacon implementation. In his Beacon partner review, George Colbourn praises Gemma and Noah for thorough guidance, leading the data migration and building training into the project from day one. He highlights their responsiveness and attention to fundraising, finance and programmes teams, who now use Beacon frequently and confidently.

Sarah Lytheer

Sarah Lytheer

Beacon CRM implementation

Sarah is all about the data. Her experience across CRM systems and careful eye for detail help charities make sense of their existing database exports and prepare information for a move to Beacon.

Her work with Gemma on Children in Wales’ Beacon implementation shows the value of that approachable support. In her Beacon partner review, Louise O’Neill describes a great experience from start to finish, saying that nothing was too much trouble and praising both Gemma and Sarah for being friendly and approachable.

She brings an approachable, practical style to the work, helping people untangle complex data and understand what their new system needs. Away from her desk, Sarah enjoys walking, running and cycling in the Surrey hills, as well as yoga.

Noah Smithson

Noah Smithson

Beacon CRM implementation

Noah helps charity teams turn a move to Beacon into a positive, confidence-building experience. He makes implementation, data migration and learning a simple process that connects the new CRM to everyday tasks of the charities he supports through the transition to Beacon CRM.

For ORCA, Noah worked alongside Gemma to support the transition of its volunteer management system to Beacon. In her Beacon partner review, Ellie Adams praises their calm problem-solving and willingness to go above and beyond, describing the new system as clear, efficient and user-friendly, helping ORCA better support 700 volunteer Marine Mammal Surveyors.

That feedback reflects a thoughtful, reassuring approach: making room for questions, helping teams work through challenges and supporting a system people can use with confidence.

Adrian Cutler

Adrian Cutler

Co-Founder & App Developer

Adrian combines his role as co-founder and board member with hands-on app development, creating practical tools around the needs of charity teams and the people they support. He brings leadership experience across the UK, EMEA and global teams.

He created the Home Energy Audit Tool App for Marches Energy Advice. In her Beacon partner review, Davina Allen praises a project that was well executed and right on brief, highlighting how easy Adrian was to work with and how well he understood its ambitions and constraints. She describes the resulting tool as something that will be helpful to both staff and beneficiaries.

Explore the Home Energy Audit Tool app

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufacturing, Adrian contributes a focus on ethical leadership and inclusion to the company’s work and long-term plans.

Practical CRM expertise, people-first support

We take time to understand the people behind each system and tailor our support to their needs. Whether you are planning an implementation, improving data or training new users, we work collaboratively with your team.

In our clients’ words

Partnerships people recommend.

MakeITaplan: the antidote to CRM trauma

★★★★★
“Working with Gemma and Noah on our Beacon implementation was a wonderful experience. After a difficult time with our previous CRM, we were nervous, but they guided us thoroughly, led the data migration and built training into it, so we were learning from day one. They were friendly, responsive to our endless questions (sorry!), and considered the needs of our fundraising, finance and programmes teams. Our team now uses Beacon frequently and confidently. I could not recommend them more highly!”
George Colbourn · Wikimedia UKOct 07, 2026

Great support from Gemma and Noah

★★★★★
“Excellent support from Gemma and Noah when transitioning our volunteer management system to Beacon. The new system is clear, efficient and user‑friendly, helping us better support 700 volunteer Marine Mammal Surveyors. They calmly solved every issue and went above and beyond. A pleasure to work with and highly recommended.”
Ellie Adams · ORCAMar 18, 2026

Couldn't have done it without you both

★★★★★
“Had a great experience, from start to finish, working with Gemma and Sarah on the implementation of our Beacon CRM. Nothing was too much trouble and they were super very friendly and approachable. Would highly recommend! Thank you both.”
Louise O'Neill · Children in WalesMay 20, 2026

Fantastic web app

★★★★★
“We are delighted with the Web App created by Adrian at MakeITaplan - the project was really well executed and right on brief. Adrian was very easy to work with and understood the various ambitions and constraints of the project. The resulting tool will be so helpful to our staff and beneficiaries. Thanks so much!”
Davina Allen · Marches Energy AdviceOct 23, 2026
Start a conversation Read all 21 verified reviews on Beacon (opens in a new tab)

Related questions, answered

Can you train different teams separately?

Yes.

In fact, role-specific training can be more useful than giving everybody exactly the same session.

A fundraising team, administrator and occasional CRM user may each need to understand very different parts of Beacon.

Do you work remotely or onsite?

Both.

Most CRM consultancy, configuration, training and support can be delivered remotely.

Planned onsite consultancy can also be arranged where it adds value to the work. Travel costs apply to onsite work and will be agreed with you.

Browse all frequently asked questions

Ready when you are

Let’s make a plan that works.

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