Workflow Automation for UK Businesses
Modern aircraft do not fly themselves manually and your business should not run itself manually either. Every business process is made up of workflows, and most workflows have steps that eat time without adding value. Automate those steps, and you and your team get hours back every week. Those hours go into the work that actually grows your business.
What Should You Automate?
Most clients come to us with a pain. A process that takes hours, does not feel like it adds value, but has to happen, either because a contract requires it, or because they need the output to keep their business running.
If you already know what needs automating, get in touch and we will get started. If you are not sure, read on — we have a simple framework for working it out.
The Three Types of Work in Your Business
Every step of every process in your business falls into one of three categories:
Value Add
Work your customers are happy to pay for. The actual product, service, or outcome you deliver.
What to do: streamline where possible, but do not over-automate.
Non-Value Add But Necessary
Work that does not directly create customer value but has to happen anyway. Invoicing, admin, reporting, data entry, scheduling, follow-ups, compliance.
What to do: automate as much as you can.
Non-Value Add
Work that does not create customer value and does not need to happen. Unnecessary meetings, duplicated admin, reports no one reads.
What to do: Eliminate it.
How to Categorise Your Own Processes
Start with what we call current state process mapping. Ideally you do this with a small team of people who know the process inside out. The more detailed, the better.
A physical session with brown paper on the wall and different-coloured sticky notes for each type of work beats is the gold standard.
Once the process is mapped, go through each step and agree: is this value add, non-value add but necessary, or non-value add?
Pro tip
Debate is normal at this stage. The easiest way to settle it: ask whether your customer would pay for this step if it appeared as a line item on their invoice. If yes, it is value add. If no but it has to happen to deliver the service, it is non-value add but necessary. If no and it does not need to happen, it is non-value add, stop doing it.
Example: if you are an audiologist who provides at-home appointments, travelling to your client is non-value add but necessary. Your client is not paying for travel time, but without it the service cannot happen.
Free Download
The Deploy AI Process Mapping Worksheet
Want to work through this with your team? Download our free process mapping worksheet — a printable template and step-by-step guide for running your own current state mapping session.
Includes:
- A printable brown-paper template ready for sticky notes
- Our value-add categorisation framework
- The customer-payment test for settling debates
- A worked example from a real client project
- A simple scoring sheet for prioritising which workflows to automate first
We will send you the worksheet and occasional useful emails about automation. No spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime. See our privacy policy for details.
Can You Help With Process Mapping?
Yes. We can sit in on your mapping sessions as advisors, or lead them ourselves, whichever fits your team. Just mention it during discovery and we will add it as a separate line on your quote.
Should You Automate Everything?
No. Automation is a double-edged sword. It is fast, reliable, and consistent, but it is also rigid. A workflow that has been automated will run exactly the way you programmed it, every time, whether the situation calls for it or not.
That rigidity is a problem for any decision that requires flexibility, judgement, or has serious financial or health consequences. A pricing exception for an unhappy customer. A medical recommendation. A refund decision outside of your usual policy. Those should stay with a human.
One important update on that rigidity
Natural language models (the technology behind tools like Claude and ChatGPT) have changed what automation is actually capable of. Computers can now understand spoken and written language, make context-aware decisions, and handle the kinds of judgement-based tasks that used to require a person. Responding to customer enquiries is the clearest example. If you are curious about where this boundary now sits, see our AI Agents page.
Pricing
The right pricing depends on which tools you are already using. So we have split it into two clear paths.
Path 1
You Already Use Microsoft 365
You already have everything you need. We recommend starting with our dedicated service page.
See our Excel and Microsoft 365 Automation servicesTypical projects range from a few hours to a few weeks of work, billed at £99 per hour.
Path 2
You Do Not Use Microsoft 365
You have two options:
Option A — Get Microsoft 365
For most businesses this is the most cost-effective route. See our Excel and Microsoft 365 Automation services for details.
Option B — Use n8n instead
A powerful, affordable automation platform that sits outside the Microsoft ecosystem. We recommend the Pro plan at roughly £50/month. If you would prefer to use our existing Pro subscription rather than set up your own, we charge a small £25/month to cover it. Learn about n8n.
Our Build Rate
For workflow automation projects we work on an hourly basis.
£99 per hour
For projects under 100 hours
- Full scope and cost agreed upfront
- Includes discovery, build, testing, and SOP documentation
- One month of free management and ongoing support after launch
For projects over 100 hours
We agree a fixed project price after discovery. Larger projects typically come in at a better effective hourly rate.
Ongoing Management
Once your automation is built and live, you have two options:
Manage it yourself
We include one month of free support after launch, hand over a complete SOP document, and walk your team through how everything works. You take it from there.
Let us manage it
£999/month
Covers ongoing maintenance, monitoring, updates, and any tweaks you need. Rolling monthly, cancel anytime with one month's notice.
How We Work
Discovery
We understand your business, the process, and what success looks like.
Proposal
We scope the work, estimate hours, and agree the approach.
Test Build
We create a working prototype on a test data set.
Final Build
Once you are happy, we build on your real data.
Handover
We deliver the system and walk you through it.
SOP Documentation
You receive a written procedure so the knowledge stays with your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is workflow automation?
Automating the repetitive steps in your business processes so they happen without manual effort.
How long does a typical project take?
Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Most projects are between 6 to 20 hours.
Do you automate processes that involve customer interaction?
Yes — for anything that requires understanding natural language, see our AI Agents page.
Can I cancel the management plan?
Yes. Rolling monthly with one month's notice.
What happens if the automation breaks?
If it breaks within 30 days of handover, we fix it free. After that, it is covered under our management plan or billed at our hourly rate.
Ready to Automate Your Business?
Tell us what is eating your time. We will come back with a proper quote and a clear path forward.