“Why am I still copying the same details between systems at nine o'clock at night?”

Business automation consultant in Sussex. Stop doing the same job twice.

Type it once. I'll connect the tools you already use so the repeat work happens by itself.

Enquiries get logged, quotes drafted, invoices chased and reports built, while you get on with the work. A person still checks anything that matters. I built it in my own firm first, so you get what already works, not an experiment.

Book a free 30-minute call Which tools?

Daniel Andrews showing the owner of a kitchen-fitting business a dashboard on a laptop

Sound familiar?

Good people, stuck doing robot work

“We type the same details into three different systems.”

“Invoices go out late because nobody has the time.”

“Leads go cold because nobody followed them up.”

“We tried automation once. It broke, and nobody knew why.”

What does a business automation consultant do?

A business automation consultant finds the repetitive jobs in your business and sets up software to do them for you. That means connecting the systems you already have, such as email, accounts and your CRM, so information moves between them without anyone retyping it, chasing it or forgetting it.

Anything that matters keeps a human in the loop: a person checks it before it goes out. The point isn't the software. If every enquiry, quote and invoice waits for you, you've built a job, not a business. Automation keeps the work moving when you're not at the desk.

Which jobs can be automated?

Most jobs that follow the same steps every time. The usual candidates are enquiries, quotes, bookings and reminders, invoicing and payment chasing, review requests, new customer onboarding and weekly reports. If you can write the steps on a sticky note, it can probably be automated, at least in part.

Two popular starting points: chasing unpaid invoices automatically, and an AI receptionist for missed calls.

Before and after, in plain English
Job	Before	After
New enquiry	Sits in an inbox until someone spots it	Logged in your CRM, reply drafted, you get a nudge
Quote	Written from scratch each time	First draft built from a form and your price list
Invoice chasing	Awkward calls when someone remembers	Polite reminders on a schedule, stopped once paid
Onboarding	The same welcome emails typed out again	A set sequence, sent at the right times
Weekly figures	Copied into a spreadsheet on Friday afternoon	Pulled together automatically, ready on Monday

Got a job you're sick of doing by hand? Tell me about it on a free call.

Book a free 30-minute call

Zapier, Make or Power Automate: which is right for me?

It depends on what you already use. If your business runs on Microsoft 365, Power Automate is usually the sensible start, because some plans already include it. If you use lots of different online apps, Zapier or Make are often quicker to set up. I'll recommend whatever fits, not whatever's fashionable.

The main automation tools, compared simply
Tool	Often a good fit when	Worth knowing
Power Automate	You use Microsoft 365: Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Excel	Some Microsoft 365 plans include it for standard connections. Premium connections cost extra.
Zapier	You use several different online apps and want quick, simple links	Connects thousands of apps. Priced by how much it runs.
Make	You need longer, multi-step processes with some logic	A visual builder. Also priced by usage.
n8n	You want more control, or to host it yourself	Powerful, but needs more technical know-how to run safely.

Licensing detail from Microsoft: types of Power Automate licences. Tool prices change often, so I'll always check the supplier's own pricing page with you before recommending anything.

For more detail, read my neutral Zapier vs Make comparison and these 12 Power Automate examples for small businesses.

Many automations also need AI for the fuzzy parts, like reading an email or drafting a reply. That's where AI training for your team comes in, so people know how to check what the AI produces.

We have tried automation before and it went wrong. Why would this time be different?

Usually it went wrong because the tool came before the process. I start by mapping how the work really gets done, then build one small automation and test it with the people who use it. Only then do we add more. Every automation is written down, monitored and has an off switch.

Testing is part of the service. Even so, automations and AI can make mistakes, so nothing goes live until you've checked it and signed it off. See what you're paying for.

Map
Agree the steps, the exceptions and who needs to check what.
Build small
One automation at a time, using the tools you already have where possible.
Test with your team
Real work, real people. We fix anything awkward before it goes live.
Write it down
Plain-English notes on what runs, when, and how to switch it off.

In practice

What's running in my own firm

For years I worked 60 to 70 hours a week, often until 2am. Putting the firm on systems changed that, and it's now four to five times the size it was when I started.

I'm Managing Partner of a two-office law firm in East Sussex, with around 30 people, so I know what it's like to change how a busy team works while the phones keep ringing. In a law firm, a mistake with information is serious. Every automation has to be dependable and easy to check.

These three are live today, and no client information is ever shown outside the firm's own systems.

Live reporting. Figures come straight from our case management system into a dashboard, so nobody builds reports by hand.
Task hand-offs. When work needs passing to a colleague or signing off by a partner, it follows a set route with one-click approval, instead of an email that gets buried.
Marketing with checks built in. AI helps draft web pages and posts, then automatic checks look for mistakes before a person approves them.

Questions people ask

Questions about business automation

Will it work with Xero, QuickBooks or our CRM?

Usually, yes. Most popular accounts packages and CRMs can connect to automation tools. If yours can't be connected sensibly, I'll tell you before you spend anything, and suggest the simplest workaround.

What happens if an automation breaks?

You'll know, because I set up alerts for failures. Every automation is written down with an off switch, so your team can pause it and carry on by hand while it's fixed.

Who owns the automations?

You do. They're built in your accounts, under your logins. If we stop working together, everything keeps running.

Do I need to buy new software?

Often not. I start with what you already pay for. If a new tool would help, I'll show you its cost from the supplier's own website first.

Is it secure?

I use business accounts, the least access each automation needs, and no passwords shared by email. Anything touching personal data is designed with UK GDPR in mind. This is practical guidance, not legal advice.

Guides

Guides on this topic

Sector guides · 12 min read

Pick the first job you'd stop doing

A free 30-minute call. No jargon and no hard sell. Not sure which job should go first? An AI readiness assessment will find it.

Book a free 30-minute call

Business automation consultant in Sussex. Stop doing the same job twice.

Good people, stuck doing robot work

What does a business automation consultant do?

Which jobs can be automated?

Zapier, Make or Power Automate: which is right for me?

We have tried automation before and it went wrong. Why would this time be different?

Map

Build small

Test with your team

Write it down

What's running in my own firm

Questions about business automation

Guides on this topic

AI for accountants: practical, safe uses in a small practice

AI receptionist in the UK: what can it really do for a small business?

Chasing unpaid invoices: late payment interest and automatic reminders

12 Power Automate examples for small businesses on Microsoft 365

Zapier vs Make vs Power Automate: which should a small business use?

Pick the first job you'd stop doing