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Solutions
Business Process Automation
Technology should power your ambition, not bury your best people in repetitive admin. We map the manual processes holding your business back and automate them, so your team can focus on growing the business rather than feeding the spreadsheets.
200+
UK businesses trust us
<30 min
average response time
24/7
systems monitored
ISO 27001
certified
THE DIFFERENCE AUTOMATION MAKES
Your best people should be building the business, not rekeying data
Every business has at least one process that everyone complains about and nobody has time to fix. It might be invoices, new starter forms, or the Monday morning report that's just numbers pulled by hand from various bits of software. On its own, none of them looks like it wastes much time. Added together, they swallow hours of skilled time every week that could be spent looking ahead instead of behind.
When those processes run themselves, the week changes shape. Data moves between your systems without anyone retyping it, approvals progress on their own, and the people you hired for their judgement get that time back. You end up with a business that handles more work without feeling busier.
That's the difference automation makes. We learn how work really flows through your business, then take the manual steps out of it.
WHAT BUSINESS PROCESS AUTOMATION MEANS
What is business process automation?
Business process automation means using technology to run the repetitive, rule-based tasks your team would otherwise do by hand. Instead of people retyping data, chasing approvals or rebuilding the same report every week, the process runs itself and hands the time back to your team.
It's different from a one-off script knocked together to solve a single problem. A script tends to live on one person's machine and break the moment something upstream changes. We build automation into your systems, document it and maintain it, so it keeps working as your business grows and changes around it.
It's also different from AI. Automation follows clear rules and connects your existing systems to remove the manual steps between them. AI adds judgement, reading a document or making a prediction where the answer isn't fixed. The two work well together, and our AI consulting service picks up where rules alone run out.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
From quick wins to fully bespoke systems
Automation isn't one-size-fits-all. We start with the biggest wins for the least disruption, then build from there.
Process mapping and discovery
Before we automate anything, we map how work actually flows through your business, including the workarounds nobody talks about. That way we automate the real process rather than the one you think happens.
Workflow and approval automation
Approvals that currently crawl through email start moving on their own, and everyone can see where a task has got to. Using Microsoft Power Automate and the tools already in your Microsoft 365 environment, we connect the steps and take out the manual handoffs.
Systems integration
The same information often gets typed into several systems by several people. We connect those systems so data moves between them automatically, which removes the double entry and the mistakes that come with it.
Document and data automation
Documents that take the best part of an hour to produce can be generated in minutes. For one client, a plain-language job brief now becomes a fully compliant, branded document automatically.
Reporting and dashboards
Recurring reports get built once and then generated automatically, so the numbers are ready when you need them rather than rebuilt from scratch every time.
Bespoke automation builds
When off-the-shelf tools can't do what you need, our specialist development partner builds something that can, designed around your process rather than forcing your process to fit the tool.
Ongoing optimisation
Processes change as your business does. We come back to review what's running, keep it working and look for the next thing worth automating.
CHALLENGES WE HELP SOLVE
Common process challenges we help solve
Most businesses come to us because the admin has quietly taken over. Skilled people spend their mornings rekeying data and chasing sign-offs instead of doing the work they were hired for. Nobody set out to run the business this way, it just built up one process at a time until it became normal.
Growth makes it sharper. A workflow that coped fine at twenty people starts to creak at eighty, and the usual answer, hiring more hands to push the same paper, only adds cost. We look at the whole picture, automate the steps that are holding you back and give that time back to the people who need it.
SIGNS IT IS TIME
When should you consider business process automation?
Most businesses don't go looking to automate until the admin starts getting in the way. A few signs it's time:
If that sounds familiar, automating the process is usually the point where the time starts coming back.
- The same data gets typed into more than one system by more than one person
- Approvals happen over email, and no one can confidently say where they've got to
- A specific person needs to be in the office, or nothing moves
- Reports get rebuilt manually from scratch every single time
- Your team spends more time feeding systems than actually using them
- Volume is rising and the only way to keep up seems to be hiring
THE COMMERCIAL CASE
Why businesses choose business process automation
Automating a process is usually a commercial decision as much as a technical one. The time your team loses to manual admin has a real cost, and it climbs as you grow. Automation turns that recurring drain into a one-off piece of work that keeps paying back long after it's built.
It also makes the business more resilient. Work no longer stalls because one person is away, errors from manual entry drop away, and you can take on more volume without hiring to match. We start with the highest-value, lowest-disruption processes, so you tend to see the return quickly rather than waiting for a long project to finish.
WHY BUSINESSES STAY WITH US
Automation that fits the way your team works
Plenty of tools promise to automate your business, but few take the time to understand how your team actually works before they start. That's why so many automation projects get built once and then quietly abandoned.
We put people first, yours and ours, and we bring the people doing the work into designing how it changes. That means being honest when a process isn't worth automating yet, and coming back to refine what we've built rather than treating it as a one-off delivery. Get that right and the time savings compound, and so does the trust. It's also why we grow mostly through referral, because the experience earns it.
HOW IT WORKS
How our business process automation works
Getting started is simpler than most people expect. Here's how it works.
1
Discovery
We map the real process, workarounds included, to find where automation will make the most difference.
2
Design
We write a clear plan covering what gets automated and in what order, what it looks like day to day and the value it should bring.
3
Build
We connect your systems and remove the manual steps between them, using off-the-shelf tools where they fit and bespoke development where they won't.
4
Review
We check the automation is doing what it should, keep it running as things change and look for the next process worth fixing.
BUILT TO SCALE
Automation that grows with your business
One worry with automation is that you build something today and outgrow it next year. We build for the opposite. Because we automate the underlying process rather than paper over it, the same workflow can handle far more volume without breaking.
The licensing team we worked with went from managing around 50 to 100 deals a year to more than 650 through the same automated process, without adding people to cope. As your business changes, we adjust what we've built so it keeps pace rather than becoming the next thing that holds you back.
CLIENT STORY
How a university licensing team went from 50 to 650 licences a year
A UK university's technology transfer office was managing a growing portfolio of scientific licensing deals by email and spreadsheet, with paper forms filling the gaps. The volume of work had outgrown the process handling it, and the team had become a bottleneck for its own success.
Working with our specialist development partner, we designed and built a self-serve licensing portal that replaced the manual paperwork with a guided, step-by-step online journey, for both the university's team and the businesses licensing their research.
What changed:
- Where the team once managed 50 to 100 licences a year, it now manages more than 650
- 137 licences were completed in a single day at peak
- A process that needed significant manual admin now takes two clicks
IN THEIR WORDS
What clients say
PROOF YOU CAN TRUST
Credentials that do the talking
We hold the standards that show we handle your systems and data properly: We're trusted by more than 200 UK businesses, with 24/7 monitoring and an average response time under 30 minutes. South West HQ, UK-wide reach.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022, certified by UKASCyber Essentials PlusMicrosoft Solutions PartnerB Corp certification in progress
200+
UK businesses trust us
<30 min
average response time
24/7
systems monitoring
SECTOR EXPERIENCE
Industries we support
We automate processes for businesses across legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services. The sector matters less than the fact that each one carries its own admin and its own rules, and we tailor the work to them.
That might be the compliance trail a fintech has to keep, the safeguarding and data rules a charity works under, or the specialist paperwork a construction firm produces on every job. We take the time to learn how your world works, so what we automate fits it rather than a generic template.
WHERE WE WORK
Supporting businesses across the UK
We're based in the South West and automate processes for businesses right across the UK. We deliver most of the work remotely, so location is no barrier, and we come to you in person when mapping a complex process benefits from being in the room.
We work with organisations in legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services, from teams of ten to companies of several hundred. Automation often works best alongside our AI consulting and data consulting services, all managed securely as part of our wider managed IT services.
WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM
Automation that works with your systems and your team
Automation doesn't mean handing everything over or ripping out what already works. In most cases we build on the Microsoft 365 tools and systems you already own, and we bring the people who run the process into designing how it changes, so the knowledge stays with your team rather than walking out of the door.
If you'd rather we looked after the technology underneath it too, our managed IT services keep your systems secure and supported while the automation does its job.
EXPLORE MORE
Explore our other services
AI Consultancy
Technology should power your ambition, and AI is how you get further, faster. We're a practical AI consultancy that cuts through the hype and only puts AI to work where it saves your team time and makes your business money.
Data Consulting
Technology should power your ambition, not leave you guessing because the numbers are scattered across a handful of different systems. We turn the data you already have into answers you can trust and act on.
Managed IT Services
Technology should power your ambition, not drain your energy. We keep your IT running and secure, then we keep making it better, so your people can focus on the work that grows the business.
IT Consultancy
Technology should power your ambition, not leave you guessing which investment to make next. We give you a clear, independent view of your technology, so every decision moves your business forward.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What is business process automation?
Business process automation is using technology to run repetitive, rule-based tasks that your team would otherwise do by hand. Instead of people retyping data, chasing approvals or rebuilding reports, the process runs itself, freeing your team for work that needs a human.
What is workflow automation?
Workflow automation is automating a sequence of steps that moves work from one person or system to the next, such as an approval that has to pass through several people. It removes the manual handoffs and gives everyone visibility of where a task has got to.
What is Microsoft Power Automate?
Microsoft Power Automate is the automation tool built into Microsoft 365. It connects your apps and moves work between them, from routing approvals to shifting data, without custom code. Because many businesses already have it, it's often the quickest and most cost-effective place to start.
How is business process automation different from AI?
Automation follows clear rules and connects your existing systems to remove the manual steps between them. AI adds judgement, reading a document or making a prediction where the answer isn't fixed. They work well together, and our AI consulting service picks up where rules alone run out.
Is automation the same as writing a script?
No. A one-off script tends to live on one person's machine and break the moment something upstream changes. We build automation into your systems, document it and maintain it, so it keeps working as your business changes.
What kind of processes are worth automating?
Anything repetitive and rule-based that happens often enough to get in the way. Invoice processing, approvals, new starter setup and recurring reports are common starting points.
Do we need new software to get started?
Not always. Many processes can be automated using tools already inside Microsoft 365. Where they can't, we build something for you.
Will automation replace people on our team?
No. The aim is to remove the repetitive parts of a role, not the role itself, so your team can focus on work that needs a person.
How long does a typical automation project take?
Quick wins can be live within a couple of weeks. Larger, bespoke builds take longer, and we'll give you a realistic timeline before starting.
What happens if our process changes after it's been automated?
We update it. Processes are never static, and neither is the automation behind them, so we build with future changes in mind.
Is our data safe when systems are connected together?
Yes. Access controls and security travel with every connection we build, covered by the same standards we hold ourselves, including ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus.
How much does business process automation cost?
Quick wins built on tools you already own can be low-cost and live within a couple of weeks. Larger bespoke builds cost more and take longer. We start with the highest-value, lowest-disruption processes and give you a realistic figure before any work begins.
What size of business do you work with?
We mainly support organisations from around 10 to 500 staff, across sectors including legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services.
Do you work with our existing systems or replace them?
We work with what you have wherever we can, building on the Microsoft 365 tools and systems you already own. We only suggest something new when your current setup genuinely can't do the job.
How quickly will we get help if something needs attention?
Our average response time is under 30 minutes, and your systems are monitored 24/7, so we often spot issues before you report them.
Do you work remotely or onsite?
Both. Good technology advice doesn't depend on being in the same room, so we combine remote working with onsite visits where they add value.
What does getting started look like?
It begins with a review of where you are now and where you want to go, exactly how our relationship with Snape Group started.
Give your team back the hours automation can save
Technology should power your ambition, not pile more manual work on your best people. A short conversation is the fastest way to see what could be automated in your business. We'll look at where the time goes now, show you what good looks like and give you a clear view of the quickest wins, with no obligation.
Get a free process automation review