Service
Business automations
The repetitive steps between your tools, running on their own on an automation account you own. Starting at $3,800 with a written plan first. You own the workflows and the accounts.
Updated September 24, 2026
In short
We connect the tools a small business in Los Angeles already pays for, such as email, a calendar, a CRM and accounting software, so the steps your team repeats every week run on their own. A sprint of three to five workflows starts at $3,800, built on an automation account in your name.
Business automation: Business automation is software that carries out a routine step without a person doing it, set off by something that already happens in the business, such as a form being sent or an invoice being paid. A typical small business automation moves information from one tool to another, or sends a message at the moment it is needed. It runs on an automation platform such as n8n or Zapier, or as a small piece of code, and it works best on steps that follow the same rule every time.
What you get
An automation sprint is a set piece of work: three to five workflows, each named in the written plan with the price before anything is built. Every sprint covers the list below.
- A look at the steps your team repeats each week, before anything is built
- Three to five workflows connected across your tools in one sprint
- An n8n account in your name, with any AI usage billed to you at cost
- Each workflow tested against real examples from your business before it goes live
- A short written note for each workflow: what starts it and what it changes
- Ongoing care through the automation ops retainer, if you want it
How it goes
We start by watching how the work moves today, through the inboxes and spreadsheets your team already works in, and pick the steps worth automating. You approve that list in the written plan, with the price, before anything is built.
Then we build each workflow and test it against real examples from your business, including the odd cases that break simple setups. At handover the workflows run on your own account, and each one comes with a note your team can read.
Where it fits
A sprint covers three to five workflows, from $3,800. A single small workflow can be hourly work at $150 an hour, with a four-hour minimum, priced in writing before it starts. Once your workflows are live, the automation ops retainer keeps them running when one of your tools changes.
- Starting at
- $3,800
Three ways to automate the busywork
In short
A simple connection between two tools is often a job you can set up yourself in an afternoon. Workflows that touch money or customers are where a tested build earns its price.
Many owners already run a few automations they set up themselves. The table compares doing it yourself, starting from a ready-made recipe and having the workflows built.
| A DIY tool | A template | Custom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A no-code automation app you set up yourself | A ready-made recipe from an automation marketplace | Workflows built and tested for your tools and your rules |
| Cost over time | A plan fee that rises with the number of runs | The plan fee, plus your time adapting each recipe | A sprint from $3,800, then the platform fee on your own account |
| Odd cases | Found the day something goes wrong | Rarely covered by the recipe | Listed and tested before launch |
| When it breaks | The platform emails you, and the fix is yours | The same, and the recipe may need rebuilding | The written note says what to check, and the ops retainer can take the fix |
| Best fit | One tool talking to one other | A common task, set up the common way | Steps that touch money or customers |
Swipe sideways to see every column
A worked example (hypothetical)
Picture a dog grooming salon with two groomers and a front desk run by the owner. Every booking means a confirmation, a reminder the day before, an invoice typed into the accounting software by hand and a line in a spreadsheet of regulars.
One automation sprint at $3,800 would cover four workflows: the confirmation and the reminder sent from the salon's own accounts, the invoice created in QuickBooks when an appointment is marked done, and each new customer added to the spreadsheet.
Next to hiring someone part time for the same steps, the sprint is paid once and only the platform fee continues. The owner still answers the phone; the automations only take the copying and typing off the desk.
From the work
Both builds below run work on a schedule without anyone pressing a button. We can walk through either one on a call.
- Pastry shop, Los AngelesClassic Le Palais PastryAn order and production system for a Los Angeles pastry shop, live for its front desk and its kitchen.Read the case study
- Lab, a personal projectThe morning briefingA scheduled pipeline that researches the news with an LLM and emails a short HTML brief every morning.Read the case study
Common questions
What can a small business automate?
The steps that follow the same rule every time: copying details from a form into a CRM, sending a confirmation, creating an invoice when a job is done or posting a weekly summary. Anything that needs judgment stays with a person.
Can you automate QuickBooks and email?
Yes. Both let automation tools act on them, so a finished job can create its invoice in QuickBooks and the customer email can go out from your own address, with nobody typing either one.
Do you build on n8n?
Yes. The workflows run on an n8n account in your name, so they keep running whoever looks after them later.
Is automation cheaper than hiring an assistant?
For steps that repeat the same way every time, usually, since a sprint is paid once and then only the platform fee continues. An assistant is still the answer for work that needs judgment or a phone manner, and many businesses end up with both.
What happens when one of my tools changes?
A workflow can break when a tool changes how it works. The automation ops retainer covers the fixes, or any developer can make them, since the account and the notes are yours.
Can automations use AI?
Yes, where a step needs reading or sorting text, such as drafting a reply or tagging an inquiry. AI usage runs on your own account and is billed to you at cost, and the written plan says which steps a person checks before anything reaches a customer.
Start with a written plan
Tell us about the business and what you need. We reply with questions, then a written plan that lists the work and its price, and nothing starts until you have read it.