Most of the manual work inside a UK agency isn't hard, it's just repetitive, and repetition is where humans make mistakes and lose hours. Process automation isn't about replacing your team's judgement; it's about removing the parts of the job that never needed a person in the first place, so the people you have can spend their time on the parts that do.
What we typically automate
The brief varies by agency, but the shape of the work is consistent across recruitment, accountancy, legal and web firms:
- CRM updates: logging calls, updating deal stages, and keeping records current without anyone typing it in twice.
- Client onboarding: collecting documents, sending welcome sequences, provisioning access, chasing what's missing.
- Reporting: pulling numbers from wherever they live and turning them into the update a client or partner actually reads.
- Invoice chasing: polite, consistent follow-up that doesn't depend on someone remembering to send it.
- Outreach: keeping a pipeline of prospects moving without a person manually working every step.
The goal isn't a demo. It's a pipeline still running quietly six months from now, doing the job nobody wants to do by hand.
How a project runs
We start from the actual workflow, not an idealised version of it. That means watching how the process really happens today (including the exceptions and workarounds) before building anything. Each automation is designed to fail safely: if something looks wrong, it flags a person rather than quietly doing the wrong thing.
- A short scoping call to map the workflow and its edge cases.
- A fixed quote before any build work starts, no open-ended hours.
- Build, test against real data, and a handover with clear documentation.
- An agreed plan for who maintains it when your process shifts.
Pilots from £2,500. Larger builds typically up to £15,000. Most work starts as a 30-day pilot: one workflow, one owner, measured before and after, so you see the result before committing to more. Scope and price are agreed upfront based on how many systems are involved and how much judgement the workflow needs.
Why fixed-price, not a retainer
Automation projects have a natural end point: the pipeline either works reliably or it doesn't. A fixed-price project gives you a clear scope, a clear cost, and a clear finish line. If ongoing support makes sense once it's live, we agree that separately, it's never bundled in by default.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of processes can you automate?
Anything repetitive and rule-based: CRM updates, client onboarding, reporting, invoice chasing, outreach follow-ups, data entry between systems. If you do it the same way more than a handful of times a week, it's a candidate.
How much does a process automation project cost?
Most work starts as a 30-day pilot on one workflow, from £2,500. Larger builds across several systems typically run up to £15,000, fixed-price, depending on how many systems are involved and how much judgement the workflow requires. You get a quote before any work starts.
Do you replace our existing tools?
No. We build automations that connect and sit on top of the tools you already use (your CRM, inbox, spreadsheets, practice management software) rather than asking you to migrate anywhere.
What happens when something changes in our process?
Automations are built to be maintained, not abandoned. Small process changes are usually a quick update, and we agree upfront who's responsible for keeping things running.
Related services
- Ishigai vs a £5,000 consultancy audit: what the price difference buys.
- Ishigai vs building it yourself: when Zapier or n8n is the better answer.
- Ishigai vs doing nothing: when waiting is the right call.
- AI Opportunity Audit: a fixed-price, ranked and costed map of where AI saves your firm hours. From £750.
- AI Agents: support, research and data-gathering handled end to end, with a person on the decisions that matter.
- Roadmap & Handover: what every build ends with: documentation, running costs and a roadmap.
- Worked example: the full audit deliverable for an 18-person recruitment agency.
- AI for recruitment agencies: the three pilots we would start with.
The weekly note. One short email a week from Akashuin, our research blog: what UK firms are actually doing with AI, the numbers behind it, and one thing you can try that week. Free, and one click to unsubscribe.