Pricing/Business process automation and internal tools
How Much Business Process Automation Costs (2026)
Automating a single repeating task starts at €300, at a fixed price per project.
What each figure buys
One process
from €300
For one task that repeats every week and always follows the same rules.
- One tool, one job
- Generates a document or a report
- Or moves data between two applications
- Runs from a double-click, no server to install
- Short written guide and handover
Done in 1 – 2 weeks
Internal tool
from €800
For a team running the business through spreadsheets and email, where data gets lost and retyped.
- Multiple users and access levels
- Records, entry and overview in one place
- Reports that assemble themselves
- Connected to the tools you already use
- Support for the first 30 days
Done in 3 – 6 weeks
System instead of manual work
from €3,000
For several connected processes: orders, stock, documents and reports that currently live apart.
- Several modules sharing the same data
- Integrated with your existing business software
- Desktop and web parts where each fits
- Migration of your existing data
- Team onboarding and support
Done in 2 – 4 months
Six things that move the quote up
- 01
01Number 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.
- 02
02State 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.
- 03
03Integrating 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.
- 04
04Users 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.
- 05
05Migrating existing data
Years of history in the old system don't move themselves. Transferring it and checking nothing fell out is separate work.
- 06
06Onboarding 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.
Three 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.
How 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.
Time per task
Manual, as it is nowHalf a day retyping numbers from one program into another.
After automationAbout ten seconds and a double-click. Same output, same rules.
Errors
Manual, as it is nowManual transcription always carries a percentage of errors, and the expensive ones are those found late.
After automationThe rules are written once. If they are right, the output is always right.
Who knows how
Manual, as it is nowOne person in the company knows the whole procedure, and that person can never take leave.
After automationThe procedure lives in the tool, not in someone's head.
When work doubles
Manual, as it is nowTwice the work means twice the hours.
After automationTwice the work means the same double-click.
Cost
Manual, as it is nowPaid every month, in hours.
After automationPaid once. No per-seat subscription.
Three tools and what they replaced
~10 s
For a full report
It used to be half a day retyping numbers from CAD into Word and Excel. Now it's a double-click, with no transcription errors since launch.
GeoHelp3 min
Start lists for a whole meet
Sorting by the rulebook took about three days and required someone who knew it by heart. The tool does it now.
Start-List GeneratorAdmin panel and self-serve catalogue
Orders came through phone calls and an inbox, each needing two or three calls. An admin panel and a self-serve catalogue took over that loop.
Urban DesignCommon questions about automation
Count the hours a month that go into the task and multiply by the cost of an hour. If an €800 tool returns five hours a month, it pays back in a couple of months. If it returns half an hour, it probably doesn't, and we will say so.
Usually not. More often the new tool connects to the existing one rather than replacing it. Replacement only comes up when the old program is itself the problem.
Rules change, that's normal. The tools are written so a rule changes in one place rather than across the whole codebase. Changes are billed as agreed and are usually minor.
Depends on the job. A tool used on one machine is built as a desktop application and runs locally. Anything several people use at once goes on the web.
Not to us. If the tool needs a server or a cloud database, that is the provider's cost and usually a few euros a month. No per-seat licence.
One process, one to two weeks. An internal tool, three to six weeks. A multi-module system, two to four months, depending on how much old data has to move.
Your people. Handover includes a short written guide and a live walkthrough, because a tool only its author can operate isn't a saving but a new dependency.
Let's talk for ten minutes.
Or we drop by, whatever suits you. We look at what's eating your time and tell you honestly whether software is worth it.