How we work

Baseline first. Build second. Measure always.

Nine steps, five phases, one rule: nothing is built until the business case is agreed. This is what each phase asks of you and what it hands back.

1 Baseline 2 Business case 3 Build 4 Measure 5 Optimise GO / NO-GO IS YOURS Nothing is built before this Two weeks to a business case · fixed price to build · measured against the baseline
Phase 1 BaselineWeeks 1 to 2

Discovery and process assessment. We measure what the process costs today: people, hours, volumes, processing time, error rates.

Baseline report
What you give, what you get

You give us

  • Time with the people who run the process
  • Existing volume, time and error data, or two weeks to record it
  • Read access to the systems the process touches

You get

  • Baseline report: cost, volumes, processing time, error rates
  • Candidate automations, assessed for feasibility
Phase 2 Business caseWeek 2

Opportunities ranked by impact, feasibility, complexity, risk and return. Implementation cost, future operating cost, annual benefit, payback.

ROI proposal go / no-go is yours
What you give, what you get

You give us

  • Your loaded cost rates and working assumptions
  • Agreement on what counts as a saving

You get

  • Opportunities ranked by impact, feasibility, complexity, risk and expected return
  • ROI proposal: implementation cost, future operating cost, annual benefit, ROI, payback
  • A fixed price or milestone plan for the build
Phase 3 BuildWeeks 3 to 8

Design, develop, test and deploy into the systems you already run. Fixed price or milestones, agreed before we start.

Working automation
What you give, what you get

You give us

  • Access to the systems, test data and a named owner on your side
  • A weekly 30-minute review

You get

  • Working automation, tested in your environment and deployed
  • Documentation and handover for the people who run it
Phase 4 MeasureWeeks 9 to 12

Actual performance compared with the original baseline. Reported to you, in the same units.

Measured result
What you give, what you get

You give us

  • The same data you gave us for the baseline, four to twelve weeks after go-live

You get

  • Measured result against the baseline, in the same units
  • Adjustments where the result falls short of the case
Phase 5 OptimiseOngoing

Keep improving the solution and surface the next opportunities. This is where a project becomes a partnership.

Next three opportunities
What you give, what you get

You give us

  • A monthly conversation with the process owner

You get

  • Improvements to the live automation
  • The next three opportunities, each with an indicative business case

Note Durations are indicative for one process of moderate complexity. Phases 1 and 2 are the assessment; nothing is built until you have agreed the case.

Two ways to work with us

Build and hand over. Or build and run.

Same method, different ending. What changes is who runs the automation after go-live.

Build and hand over

Fixed price

We build the automation into your systems, test it, document it and hand it to your team to run. Support and optimisation on a retainer if you want it.

For organisations with a team to run it.

Build and run

Fixed price + monthly retainer

We build it, then operate it: monitoring, the exceptions a person still decides, fixes, improvements and the next opportunities. An operations layer you don't have to hire for.

For organisations that have the process but not the people, and for new ventures running the back office from day one.

Same baseline, same business case, same measurement. In the business case, the cost after automation is your team's time in one model and our retainer in the other. You decide with both numbers in front of you.

More detailThe nine steps behind the phases, and how engagements are priced

The nine steps behind the five phases

  1. Discovery: understand the organisation, its processes, pain points and objectives
  2. Process assessment: identify the processes that could realistically benefit
  3. Baseline measurement: employee time, volumes, processing time, error rates and other costs
  4. Opportunity prioritisation: impact, feasibility, complexity, risk and expected return
  5. Business case: quantify expected savings and other measurable benefits
  6. ROI proposal: implementation cost, future operating cost, annual benefit, ROI, payback
  7. Build and implementation: design, develop, test and deploy
  8. Measurement: actual performance against the original baseline
  9. Optimisation: keep improving, and identify the next opportunities

Commercial models

  • Initial discovery, then a paid opportunity assessment for larger or more complex organisations
  • Fixed-price or milestone-based implementation once the business case is agreed. You pay for the capability and outcome required, not for a consulting structure
  • Performance-linked terms where outcomes can be measured reliably, with an agreed baseline and measurement window
  • Build and run: a monthly retainer under which we operate the automations, with response times and exception handling written into the terms
  • Ongoing maintenance, support and optimisation retainers for automations your team runs
  • A longer-term automation partnership: we keep identifying, prioritising and delivering opportunities across the organisation

Start with the process

Show us the process. We'll quantify the opportunity.

A 30-minute discovery call, then a two-week baseline. You decide with the numbers, and the price, in front of you.

Assess an opportunity See an example business case
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