Small business automation · from £950 fixed
Stop starting the day by checking six systems.
A 7am email that says three invoices are overdue, you owe one supplier, and the Screwfix delivery is booked for 10. I build small, specific automations like that over the tools you already pay for: Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, Outlook, Gmail, Excel, SharePoint and your booking system.
A working automation running on the schedule you choose, sending to the people who need it.
A test run against your real data before it goes live, so the first email you get is right.
A short note of what it reads, what it sends, and how to pause it or change who gets it.
The automation check
A 90-minute call about where your mornings go, then a written list of up to three automations worth building, each with a fixed price. £295, credited in full against a build.
Build and test
I build the one you pick over the systems you already use, often in Power Automate if you're on Microsoft 365, then run it alongside the way you do it now until the two agree.
Live, then left alone
It runs on its own from then on. Add upkeep if you want it watched and fixed when a supplier changes their export, or leave it and call me if it ever needs a change.
Check first, build one, keep it running if you want.
For when mornings go on admin but you're not sure which job to automate first.
- A 90-minute call about where the time goes
- A written list of up to three automations worth building
- A fixed price against each one
- The fee credited in full against a build
One job that runs itself, built over the tools you already use.
- One or two sources, one output
- Tested against real data before it goes live
- A short note of what it reads and what it sends
Optional. For automations that read from systems someone else controls.
- Watched, so a failure gets noticed
- Fixed when a supplier changes their export
- Cancel any month
What this looks like for a business like yours.
Small business owner
A 7am email that says three invoices are overdue, you owe one supplier, and the Screwfix delivery is booked for 10. One message instead of logging into Xero, your inbox and the supplier's site before the kettle's boiled.
Salon
A Monday email listing the free slots per stylist this week, so nobody scrolls the calendar while a customer waits on the phone. And a monthly note of which offers brought people back.
Trades
A quote builder that reads your materials price list, a reminder when a quote has gone quiet for a week, and a running tally of who referred whom: "Jim down the road has sent you three jobs."
Finance team
A month-end job that someone does by hand in a spreadsheet, rebuilt to run itself and checked to the penny against the old way before anyone relies on it.
If your software already does it, I'll say so.
Xero and QuickBooks both have invoice reminders built in. If that's all you need, switch them on and keep your money. Where an automation earns its keep is joining several systems into one message: the overdue invoices, the supplier you owe and today's deliveries, in one email, before you've opened anything.
I'd rather build one automation you use every day than ten you ignore. The check exists to find that one.
I run one myself.
Every morning at 7, everyone in my business gets an email listing that day's jobs. It's been running since September 2026. Your version might be a Xero overdue invoice reminder that also lists today's bookings, or a daily summary email that pulls three systems together. It's the same kind of build.
50% to book, 50% on delivery, 14 days to pay.
Invoice or card, whichever suits your finance team. All prices exclude VAT where applicable.
The deposit holds your date
Booking blocks out my diary, so the first half is non-refundable inside 14 days of the start date. Move it with more notice than that and nothing is lost.
Work pauses on an overdue invoice
Not a threat, just how it works, and saying it now saves an awkward conversation later.
Scope changes get quoted, not absorbed
Every fixed price names what it covers. Anything outside that gets priced before it starts rather than appearing on a final invoice.
Access delays move the date, not the price
Waiting on permissions is the most common reason a turnaround slips. It shifts the delivery date and never the fee.
Frequently asked questions
How much does small business automation cost?
An automation check is £295: a 90-minute call and a written list of up to three automations worth building, each with a fixed price, and the fee comes off a build in full. One automation is from £950 fixed, covering one or two sources and one output, such as a daily summary email. Optional upkeep is £95 a month per automation, with no lock-in.
What can you automate?
The jobs that eat the start of someone's day: an overdue invoice reminder pulled from Xero, Sage or QuickBooks, a daily summary email of today's jobs or bookings, a nudge when a quote has gone quiet for a week, or a month-end spreadsheet task someone does by hand. If the data already lives in a system you pay for and someone checks it by eye every day, it's usually a candidate.
Do I need new software?
Usually not. Automations get built over the tools you already pay for: Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, Outlook, Gmail, Excel, SharePoint and your booking system, often with Power Automate if you're on Microsoft 365. If a build would need a new subscription, you'll know what it costs before you agree to anything.
Are you a Power Automate consultant?
Partly. If you're on Microsoft 365, Power Automate is often the right tool and I'll build in it. If something else fits better, or your software already does the job on its own, you'll hear that instead.
Doesn't Xero already send invoice reminders?
Yes, and so does QuickBooks. If your software already does the job, I'll say so and you won't pay me to rebuild it. The value is in joining several systems into one message, so the overdue invoices, the supplier you owe and today's deliveries arrive in the same email.
What happens when it breaks?
Automations usually break because something upstream changed: a supplier changes their export, or a system update renames a field. On upkeep, £95 a month per automation, it gets watched and fixed when that happens. Without upkeep, a fix is quoted before I start. Either way you get a short note of what it reads and what it sends, so it's never a mystery.
Start with twenty minutes.
Tell me what's eating your week. I'll tell you whether it's a report, an automation, some AI advice, or nothing you need me for.