Three tiersWhat each figure buys
For one task that repeats every week and always follows the same rules.
For a team running the business through spreadsheets and email, where data gets lost and retyped.
For several connected processes: orders, stock, documents and reports that currently live apart.
What raises the priceSix things that move the quote up
Number of exceptions
A process with three rules is simple. A process with three rules and twelve 'unless' cases is work, because every exception has to be written and tested.
State of the data
Data in a tidy database reads straight away. Data spread across fifteen spreadsheets with different columns has to be sorted out first.
Integrating with old software
A program with a decent API connects quickly. One without needs a way around, and that is the most expensive part of most of these projects.
Users and roles
One person running a tool is one thing. Ten people with different rights means logins, permissions and a record of who changed what.
Migrating existing data
Years of history in the old system don't move themselves. Transferring it and checking nothing fell out is separate work.
Onboarding the team
A tool nobody knows how to use isn't a saving. If training and a period of hand-holding are needed, that goes into the quote.
What isn't an extraThree things that come with the job
You own the code
The tool is yours and runs without us. No per-seat monthly licence and no situation where work stops because a subscription lapsed.
Works offline where that fits
If the job happens in the field or on one machine, the tool is built to run locally. Not everything becomes a web app out of habit.
A usage guide
A short written guide and a live walkthrough come with handover. A tool only its author can operate isn't finished.
Does it pay offHow to work out whether automation pays for itself
Automation isn't bought because it's modern, but because something is eating time. The arithmetic is simple: how many hours a month go into that task, what an hour costs, and how much of it the tool gives back. If the price won't be recovered within a year, we usually say so.