I’m Russ Rogers, founder and creator of yootils. I build straightforward calculators and converters that show where their answers come from, what their limits are and when their sources were checked.
The aim is for every result to feel clear, traceable and dependable—whether you are using yootils on a phone at the kitchen table or on a desktop at work.
Russ RogersFounder and creator of yootils
The person behind the tools
Hello, I’m Russ
I started building yootils at the end of 2025. It has been through several design iterations since then, each one focused on making the tools easier to understand and the reasoning behind them easier to inspect.
Before yootils, I spent four decades designing, developing and delivering large-scale industrial, logistics and information systems for major engineering companies. I have also managed technical teams delivering systems integration and data warehousing projects in the highly regulated insurance sector.
That experience taught me to be cautious of results that cannot be traced, assumptions that are not stated and systems that appear reliable without showing the work behind them. Those lessons now shape every yootils calculator.
yootils is the first of a planned family of small, web-based businesses. It is privately owned, privately funded and being built as a family-run project from Warwickshire, England. The name is simply a play on “utilities”: useful things that should do their job without getting in your way.
The principle behind every calculator
We begin by assuming every calculation is wrong—then require it to prove itself.
That means a result is not ready to publish because it looks plausible. It must be checked against authoritative primary sources and independently calculated reference values, including awkward boundary cases rather than only the easy examples.
How the work gets done
From an idea to a maintained tool
I am responsible for the research, formulas, design, development, testing, source review and delivery of yootils.
Research
Define the real question
I identify what someone needs to decide or understand, find the governing sources and consider how the tool fits with the rest of the site.
Build
Make the method visible
The interface, formula and supporting explanation are developed together so the result is usable without hiding important assumptions.
Prove
Test independently
Each page has automated checks. Results are compared with primary sources and independent reference calculations, and the wider suite runs whenever a page changes.
Maintain
Keep dated rules current
Methods, limitations, sources and review dates are published. Tax bands, holidays and other dated rules state the period to which they apply.
A clear boundary: yootils does not currently use external qualified reviewers. Health and financial tools rely on cited authoritative sources and systematic testing, but remain informational tools—not professional medical, financial or legal advice.
What will not be traded away
Privacy and independence
Privacy first
Your figures should remain yours. Calculations run in your browser, no account is required, and yootils is not being built to collect and monetise personal information. Read the full Privacy Policy.
Independent answers
yootils is not owned by or affiliated with a bank, lender, insurer, health provider or comparison site. No third party decides what a calculator returns or how its results are ordered.
Plain funding disclosure
The project is privately funded. Advertising space may help meet hosting and development costs, but no advertising network is live yet. Advertising will not influence calculations or editorial decisions.
No borrowed authority
yootils is newly launched, so there are no inflated audience claims or borrowed credentials here. Trust has to be earned through useful tools, transparent methods and how openly mistakes are handled.
If we get something wrong, tell us
A worked example showing what you entered, the answer you received and what you expected is especially helpful. Calculation errors are prioritised within a controlled development, test and release process. The normal target is to resolve an issue within two weeks, with an emergency route for anything more urgent.
When a material correction ships, the affected review information is updated. We also intend to publish a visible changelog covering significant fixes and new features.
