How it works
How a Local Automation Project Works, Step by Step
A free 30-minute audit, then a free working prototype in 5 business days. If you like it, you get a fixed price in writing, and the production build is typically live in about 2 weeks, with 2 weeks of support after launch.
Six steps from first call to live automation
Two of them are free, and you talk to the same person at every step: the one who builds it.
Free 30-minute audit
By phone or video. We look at how work comes in and where your hours go, name 3 jobs worth automating, and agree on one to prototype.
Free working prototype in 5 business days
One workflow or agent, built on your real tools in a test setup or on sample data. You see it running on a video call or in person, free across the GTA and Simcoe County.
A fixed price in writing
If you want it built properly, you get a written scope and a fixed price for the production build. The prototype is not charged on top.
Production build
We connect it to your live tools and test it with you before any customer sees it. Typically live in about 2 weeks after you approve the price.
Go-live and handover
Documentation, a walkthrough and 2 weeks of support. You own the workflows, prompts and documentation.
Optional month-to-month support
from $99/month, month to month, cancel anytime. Or skip it and ask for help only when you need it.
What happens on the free audit?
It's a conversation about your week, not a sales pitch. We want to know how customers reach you, what happens after they do, and which tasks you or your staff repeat every day. We'll ask which apps you use, roughly how many calls, quotes or invoices you handle, and what you'd most like to stop doing.
By the end of the 30 minutes, we'll name the 3 jobs that look most worth automating, with a rough idea of cost and the time each would save, and agree on one for the free prototype. We'll also tell you if something isn't worth automating, or if the software you already pay for can do it with a setting you haven't switched on.
Handy to have ready
- A list of the apps you use (accounting, calendar, CRM, job software, email)
- A rough sense of weekly volume: calls, quotes, invoices, bookings
- The one job you'd hand off tomorrow if you could
- Anyone else who does the work today, if they can join
None of this is required. We can work it out together on the call.
What is the free prototype?
After the audit, we pick the one job that looks most worth automating. I build a working version of it against your real tools in a test setup, or on sample data you send, and it's working within 5 business days of having that access. Nothing touches live customers or production data.
Why free? AI coding tools now do the mechanical build work (scaffolding, integrations, wiring and testing) about 5x faster. Understanding your workflow and making the judgement calls didn't speed up, which is why the audit comes first. The prototype is how that saving reaches you: you see your own job automated before you spend anything.
If you don't go ahead, you owe nothing and keep a written summary of what it does and what the full build would cost. I take on 4 free prototypes a month. The full terms are on the free prototype page.
What does the fixed price cover?
You know the full price of the build before we start. Here's what's in it and what sits outside it.
Included in the price
- Scoping: a written description of what the automation does and doesn't do
- The build: setup inside your existing apps, with the connections between them
- A test version: for you to try before any customer sees it
- Going live: switching it on and watching the first real runs
- Documentation: plain-English notes on what it does and how
- A walkthrough: so you and your staff know how it works
- 2 weeks of support: fixes and small adjustments after launch
Separate from the price
- Software subscriptions: tools such as Zapier, Make.com, n8n cloud, Jobber or QuickBooks are billed by those companies
- Usage fees: texts and phone numbers through Twilio, plus AI voice minutes and AI usage beyond the allowance included with monthly support
- New requests: anything added after you approve the scope gets its own price first
We estimate the software and usage costs with you before you approve a build, so there are no surprises later.
What do we need from you during the build?
Less than you might think. We'll ask for:
- Access to the apps involved: usually by inviting us as a user, so you never share your own password.
- Your wording: how you'd answer common questions, and the tone you want messages to have.
- Someone to test it: usually you, or whoever does the job today.
- Quick answers: if a question comes up mid-build, a short reply keeps things on schedule.
- Time for the walkthrough once it's ready to go live.
What happens after the first 2 weeks?
The 2 weeks of support after launch cover fixes and small adjustments while you get used to it. After that you have a choice. Optional monthly support, from $99/month, is month to month and you can cancel anytime. It covers keeping the automation running, fixing it when a connected app changes, and small adjustments as your business changes. It also includes 150 AI voice minutes a month plus normal text-model use, with any overage billed at cost. Or you can skip it and ask for help only when you need it, with a price agreed before we do any work.
Either way, you own what we build: the workflows, the prompts and the documentation. You're never left wondering what the automation does or how it works.
Can we add more automations later?
Yes. Once the first automation is running and you trust it, the next job on the list gets its own fixed price. Because the connections to your apps already exist, later automations often build faster.
Questions about the process
How long does the first automation take?
The free prototype is working within 5 business days of us having sample data and test access. After you approve the fixed price, the production build is typically live in about 2 weeks. Simple jobs, such as missed-call text-back, can be quicker. An AI phone receptionist or an automation that connects several apps can take longer, and you'll know the expected timeline before you approve the price.
Can we start with just one automation?
Yes. Most businesses are better off starting with one, seeing it work, and adding the next once they trust it. Each job is priced on its own, so there's no package to buy.
What if the test version isn't right?
That's what the test version is for. You try it before any customer sees it, tell us what's off, and we adjust the wording, timing or rules until it does what you'd do. It doesn't go live until you're happy with it.
Do you need my passwords?
Usually not. Most apps let you invite us as a separate user, which you can remove at any time. Where an app needs a connection key, we set it up with you and store it in the automation tool, not in an email or a document.
Start with the free audit
30 minutes by phone or video. We name 3 jobs worth automating, and I build a working prototype of the best one in 5 business days, free, before you decide anything.
Get a Free Working Prototype