Engineering.automation, integrations, internal tools, bespoke web apps.
For UK businesses with 5–50 staff whose team is burning hours on work that software should be doing, or whose off-the-shelf SaaS has stopped fitting.
If your team’s losing time to work that software should be doing, copying rows between spreadsheets at 9am, chasing approvals through three apps, hand-keying the same fact into Xero and HubSpot, that’s the kind of thing we build. A Python script. An internal tool your team will actually use. A bespoke web app for the cases where off-the-shelf SaaS has stopped fitting. One bucket covering everything code-shaped that isn’t a brochure website. Fixed scope and fixed price agreed before we start, so there are no surprises.
Fixed fees agreed up front, no VAT (Orchestrix is not VAT-registered).
or ring us on 07754 218 688 any weekday · costs nothing to chat
Business automation means writing custom code that does the manual work your team currently does by hand. We build Python scripts, API integrations, and scheduled pipelines that connect the tools you already use, kill the copy-paste, and run whether anyone is watching or not. UK small businesses, fixed-fee agreed up front, scoped after a workflow audit.
Not magic.
Just code
that runs..What does business automation actually mean?
Business automation is a broad term that gets misused constantly. Agencies use it to sell six-month “transformation programmes” with strategy decks and governance frameworks. What it actually means, when we do it, is this: your team is doing something by hand that a script could do better, faster, and without anyone having to remember to do it. The script gets built. The manual work stops.
Sometimes that’s a 50-line Python script that pulls a report from one tool and emails it to three people at 7am. Sometimes it’s a full pipeline: data in from five sources, cleaned, validated, written to a database, and an alert fired if something looks wrong, running on a schedule, unattended, at 3am. The right size depends entirely on the problem. That’s what the audit is for.
The build is always custom. There’s no off-the-shelf template being reskinned here. We map your actual workflow, understand your actual tools, and build the exact fix, not a general-purpose solution that covers 70% of what you need and ignores the rest. You own the code outright when it ships. No subscription, no licence, no vendor.
“Your team isn’t slow. The copy-paste is.”
Four steps.
No surprises.What does an automation project look like?
Every automation engagement follows the same four movements. The order isn’t bureaucracy. It’s how you avoid building the wrong thing.
Triage
A 15-minute chat. Describe the manual workflow that's driving you mad. We give you an honest assessment of whether this is something we can fix, and roughly what it might cost. Ring us on 07754 218 688 or book a slot from /contact.
- →Workflow description
- →Honest fit assessment
- →Rough scope estimate
Audit
The paid, fixed-fee engagement where the real work starts. We map your current workflow end-to-end, document the tools involved, and produce a punch list with a fixed-fee proposal for the build. Fee agreed in the triage chat.
- →Full workflow map
- →Tool inventory
- →Fixed-fee build proposal
- →Priority order
Build
We build, test, and deploy the automation. You get the source code, plain-English documentation, and a screen-recorded handover session so your team knows exactly what was built and why.
- →Custom build
- →Full test suite
- →Deployment
- →Documented handover
Run
Once it's live, you own it. If ongoing monitoring, patching, or evolution is useful, a managed retainer keeps us on the box. Fixed monthly, no mystery invoices.
- →Monitoring
- →Scheduled maintenance
- →Ad-hoc adjustments
- →Priority response
What you get.
No vague “outputs” or “artefacts”. Every business automation build ships with a concrete set of deliverables. Here’s the standard list. The scope gets confirmed in the audit.
- D.01Fully-tested Python script (or equivalent) you own outrightSource code, no licence, no vendor dependency
- D.02Plain-English documentationWritten for whoever maintains it, not for a developer audience
- D.03Handover session with a screen recordingA walkthrough of what was built, what it does, and how to adjust it
- D.04Deployment to your environmentRunning on your server, your cloud account, or a managed VPS, your call
- D.05Error handling and alertingThe script fails gracefully and tells someone when it does
- D.0630-day bug-fix windowIf something breaks in the first month, it gets fixed at no extra cost
- D.07Audit trail of the workflowA documented map of the manual process as it was before the automation
Why not just use Zapier?
Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), and n8n are genuinely useful tools. We'll tell you to use them when the workflow fits. Honest answer: if you need to copy new Stripe customers into a Mailchimp list once a day, no-code wins. We're the better call when one of these is true:
- The logic doesn’t fit a visual builder
Conditional branches that depend on multiple data points, state across runs, custom retry strategies. Zapier can fake some of this with multi-step Zaps; it gets unmaintainable fast.
- Volume makes per-task pricing painful
A Zapier Team plan at £200/month is £2,400/year and the meter keeps running. A focused custom build that replaces the same workflow is often a one-time £2,000–£4,000 fixed-fee.
- The integration target isn’t on Zapier
Niche UK accounting platforms, internal databases, legacy ERPs. Zapier’s connector library is wide but not infinite. Custom code adapts to whatever the system actually exposes.
- You want to own the asset
A Zap is a tenant on someone else’s platform. A custom build lives in your repository, on your server, with documentation your team can read. Useful when continuity matters.
The honest version of this comparison, with a worked cost-of-ownership table over 18 months, lives at /orchestrix-vs-zapier.
Is this right
for you?
- →Your team burns hours on copy-paste work that shouldn’t exist
- →You’ve outgrown spreadsheets but can’t justify a full SaaS platform
- →You can describe the exact workflow that’s broken in plain English
- →You’re willing to pay a fixed fee for a proper bespoke fix
- →You want to own the solution, not rent it
- →You need the work done in weeks, not months
- ×You want a one-click no-code tool. Zapier, Make, or n8n might be the right call
- ×Nobody on your team can describe the current workflow clearly
- ×The job is ‘optimise our entire tech stack’. That’s a Workflow Audit first
- ×You want automation without paying for a proper scoping exercise
- ×What you actually need is regulatory interpretation, not workflow automation. We automate the work the rule creates; the rule itself stays with your specialist
Questions we get often.
- How much does business automation cost in the UK?
- There's no industry-wide rate. What we charge depends on scope: a 50-line Python script that syncs two tools is a very different engagement from a multi-step pipeline connecting five systems and running on a schedule. Every build is fixed-fee, agreed up front after a chat and an audit, so there are no surprises on the invoice. Ring us on 07754 218 688 and we'll talk through what you're trying to do; we'll come back with a number.
- How long does a typical automation project take?
- Most automation builds take two to six weeks from audit sign-off to delivery. Simpler scripts and single-integration bridges land at the lower end. Pipelines with multiple data sources, error-handling, and a monitoring layer sit at the higher end. You'll have a fixed timeline agreed before anything is built. No moving goalposts.
- Do I need to use Python?
- Not necessarily. The right tool depends on the job. Python is the default because it's readable, well-supported, and your team will be able to maintain it. Sometimes the right answer is a shell script, a Node.js worker, or a lightweight API bridge. The stack choice gets made during the audit, not before it.
- What happens if it breaks?
- Every automation build includes a 30-day bug-fix window at no extra cost. After that, you own the code outright and can maintain it yourself, hand it to another developer, or move onto a managed retainer with us. The retainer covers ongoing monitoring, patching, and ad-hoc adjustments for a fixed monthly fee.
- Can you integrate with Xero, HubSpot, Stripe, or whatever we use?
- Almost certainly yes. If it has an API or a decent export format, it can be automated. The chat is the right place to confirm. Bring the tools you use and what you want them to do, and we'll give you an honest answer on feasibility within 15 minutes. Ring us on 07754 218 688 or send a message.
- Do I own the code?
- Yes, completely. All source code is handed over on delivery, with no licence fee, no vendor lock-in, and no ongoing dependency on us. Full documentation in plain English is included.
Ready to stop doing
things by hand?
The 15-minute triage is free. Describe the workflow that’s costing you the most time, and you’ll get an honest answer on whether automation is the right fix, and roughly what it’ll cost. No pitch. No deck.