Automation

Automation starts by counting the hours

Before we build anything, we count how many hours a month a task takes today and what it costs. Only then does the decision on whether automation makes sense follow — sometimes it does not, and we say so plainly.

Process automationquoted after an audit

first we count the hours and cost of the process, then we give a fixed implementation price

See pricing

What we automate

It is usually not one big system, but a handful of places where data gets retyped by hand from one screen into another.

01Data flow between systemsOrders from the shop into the ERP, leads from a form into the CRM, invoices from the CRM into accounting. With error handling and retries, because integrations mostly fail at night and nobody notices until morning.
02Document flowsReading data off invoices and contracts, approvals, archiving and search. Instead of a shared drive folder and the question “who has it now?”.
03Reports that write themselvesSales, production or settlement summaries sent at a set time to the right people. Without the Monday ritual of gluing spreadsheets together.
04Notifications and remindersA signal when something crosses a threshold or a deadline: an unconfirmed order, an overdue invoice, stock below minimum. Delivered where the team actually looks.
05Handling repetitive requestsTypical customer questions and internal requests are taken by an agent, and only the unusual reaches a person. With a clear line on when a case must go to a human.
06Onboarding and HR processesAccount creation, permissions, checklists and paperwork when someone joins or leaves. Repetitive, tedious and very rewarding to automate.

What we build it on

We match the tool to the scale. Not everything has to be written from scratch — and not everything fits into an off-the-shelf builder.

01n8nOur default at higher volumes: it can be self-hosted, the cost does not grow with the number of operations, and the logic can be arbitrarily complex.
02Make and ZapierFast to deploy where the process is simple and the volume small. We say honestly when the subscription will outgrow the cost of a custom solution.
03Custom middlewareNode.js or Python when the logic is unusual, or the data is sensitive and must not pass through a third-party service.
04Queues and retriesEvery integration fails eventually. The job goes into a queue, retries, and only then alerts a human.
05Monitoring and alertsYou see something stopped working before the customer does. Without it, automation quietly dies and nobody knows since when.
06An AI layer where it helpsReading data from unstructured documents, classifying requests, summarising. Added where rules stop being enough.

How we run it

We start with numbers and end with a working process under monitoring.

01Costing the processA free 45 minutes: who does it, how often, how long it takes and what happens when it goes wrong. The output is an annual cost expressed in hours and money.
02Tooling and fixed priceA tool recommendation, the scope of the first automation and a fixed quote within 3 working days — with an estimate of how long it takes to pay back.
03Automating one processWe start with the one that pays back fastest, and run it in parallel with the manual version until the results line up.
04Further processes and careSubsequent automations in two-week iterations, monitoring and alerts as standard. Documentation written so your team can take it over.

How we know this

Automations we run day to day — including the ones we built for ourselves.

Frequently asked questions

When it pays off, what it costs, and what happens when the process changes.

How much does process automation cost?

We do not publish a starting price, because everything depends on how many systems must be connected and how unusual the logic is. Instead we start by counting what the process costs today in hours and money — only on that basis does a quote mean anything. We give a fixed amount and an estimated payback within 3 working days of the free call.

Where should I start if there are many processes?

With the one that runs most often and is best documented. Not the most complicated one, even though that is usually the one that hurts. The first rollout is there to show the team it works and to give us data about your systems — the next ones then go much faster.

When is automation not worth it?

When the process changes every month, runs a few times a year, or is not documented at all and everyone does it differently. In those cases we say plainly: fix the process first, then come back to automation. Automating a mess produces a faster mess.

n8n, Make or Zapier?

Zapier and Make are the quickest to launch and work well with simple logic and low volume, but their cost grows with the number of operations. n8n can be self-hosted, so the cost stops depending on scale and the logic can be arbitrarily complex. For unusual requirements or sensitive data we write custom middleware.

What happens when an automation breaks?

Every job has a queue, retries and an alert. If it still fails after several attempts, a notification goes to a named person along with the error. This is standard in every rollout we do — automation without monitoring can quietly stop working for weeks.

Will the team have to change how they work?

We try to keep that to a minimum. The best automations are invisible: things somebody used to retype simply appear on their own, in the same place as before. Where a change in working practice is unavoidable, we say so before the rollout, not after.

Can you connect to our existing systems?

Yes, including ones without a public API — then through file exports, the database, or by driving the interface. We check every connection before quoting, so it does not turn out mid-project that a key system cannot be connected the way we assumed.

Who maintains it afterwards?

We can, on a retainer or hourly, but we do not build dependency. You get documentation, access to every flow, and the code if any was written. We deliberately pick tools your team is able to take over.

Process automation

Let us cost one process

A free 45 minutes, after which you know what that process costs you a year and whether automating it pays back.