Examples
What a project could look like
Six example projects for different kinds of small business: the problem, what could be built, and what it could cost. They are illustrations, not client results.
Example project
A two-van plumbing and heating firm
Before
The owner answered quote requests from his phone at night, and typed up invoices from job sheets every Sunday. Some enquiries went cold before he replied, and some invoices went out a fortnight late.
What could be built
- Website, email and Facebook enquiries get a reply within minutes, with the next free dates from his calendar
- Every enquiry lands in one simple list, with a polite follow-up after three days if it goes quiet
- A job marked done on his phone becomes a Xero invoice with a pay-by-card link
- Friendly payment reminders after 7 and 14 days, which stop as soon as it is paid
Could save
About 6 hours a week
Could free up around 6 hours a week, and get invoices out the same day.
Example cost
£3,200 to build, then £95 a month
Time to build
3 weeks
Example project
An accountancy practice with four staff
Before
Clients sent receipts by WhatsApp, email and post. Someone spent most of Monday keying them into Xero and chasing the clients who had not sent anything.
What could be built
- Receipts sent by photo or email are read, checked for VAT and posted to the right client in Xero
- Anything unclear, such as a missing date or a duplicate, waits in a short review list
- Reminders for missing records go out on a schedule and stop when the client replies
- A Monday summary of which clients are up to date and which are behind
Could save
About 10 hours a week
Could free up around 10 hours a week across the team.
Example cost
£3,800 to build, then £145 a month
Time to build
5 weeks
Example project
A high-street law firm doing conveyancing and wills
Before
Evening and weekend enquiries waited until Monday, by which time many had already instructed another firm. Fee questions took up a lot of phone time.
What could be built
- Out-of-hours enquiries get a prompt reply with the fee guide and a link to book a call
- Intake questionnaires are sent, chased and filed against the new matter
- Conflict checks are flagged for a person to do before anything goes further
- A private, UK-hosted assistant that searches the firm's own precedents and guides
Could save
About 5 hours a week
Could answer enquiries in minutes instead of days, and save around 5 hours a week of admin.
Example cost
£4,500 to build, then £145 a month
Time to build
6 weeks
Example project
A three-chair hair salon
Before
Booking requests arrived by Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp while the owner was with clients. Replies waited until the end of the day, and no-shows cost two or three slots a week.
What could be built
- Messages get a friendly reply with real free slots from the salon diary
- Deposit links for new clients and longer appointments
- Reminders the day before, with a one-tap way to rearrange
- Cancellations offered to a waiting list automatically
Could save
About 4 hours a week
Could free up around 4 hours a week and cut no-shows.
Example cost
£1,800 to build, then £95 a month
Time to build
2 weeks
Example project
An online gift shop run by a couple
Before
Sales, stock and customer emails were spread across Shopify, a spreadsheet and two inboxes. Working out how the week had gone took a whole evening.
What could be built
- A Monday email with sales, best sellers, low stock and anything unusual, in plain English
- An alert when a popular item is about to run out
- Customer emails sorted overnight, with "where is my order?" replies drafted from Shopify
- Everything in one shared spreadsheet that updates itself
Could save
About 3 hours a week
Could free up around 3 hours a week, and spot problems sooner.
Example cost
£2,200 to build, then £95 a month
Time to build
1 to 2 weeks
Example project
A cleaning company with twelve part-time staff
Before
Staff sent hours by text and WhatsApp. The owner copied them into a payroll spreadsheet and then built customer invoices from the same figures.
What could be built
- Staff log hours with a simple form on their phone
- Hours go straight into the payroll spreadsheet, with missing or odd entries flagged
- Customer invoices are built from the same hours and sent through QuickBooks
- A weekly note of hours, invoices and anything unpaid
Could save
About 5 hours a week
Could free up around 5 hours a week, with far fewer typing mistakes.
Example cost
£2,900 to build, then £95 a month
Time to build
3 weeks
Something similar for you?
Every business is different, so your project will be shaped around how you work. These examples show the kind of thing that is possible, and roughly what it costs.
On a free call, I can tell you which of these is closest to your business, and what I would do first.
What’s the one job you’d
like off your list?
Tell me on a free 20-minute call. We’ll look at how you do it now, what could change and whether it’s worth doing.
No preparation, no pressure. You’ll speak directly to Neil.