The Process

How It Actually Works

No black box. No mystery. Here's exactly what happens from the moment you book a call to the day your system goes live.

01
£250 — Redeemable

The Discovery Audit

Before the call, you complete a short questionnaire. 8-10 questions about your team, your tools, and where the time actually goes. Takes 10 minutes.

The call itself is one hour. We map your actual workflow. Not the ideal version. The real one. Where the hours go. What gets missed.

After the call you get a written report. Here's what you're losing time on. Here's what we'd build. Here's the price. That report is the proposal.

What You Get

  • Pre-call questionnaire
  • 1-hour mapping call
  • Written report and proposal
  • Optional Loom walkthrough

What Happens After

  • You review the report
  • You decide if you want to go further
  • £250 comes off your build price
  • No pressure either way
02

Scoping and Agreement

If you want to go ahead, we agree the scope in writing before anything is built. One page. Covers what we're building, what's not included, payment terms, and timeline.

The full build fee is paid before we start work. It keeps things simple and means we can both focus on the build rather than chasing invoices.

The Agreement Covers

  • Exactly what we're building
  • What sits outside scope
  • Payment terms
  • Timeline and handover

Why This Protects You

  • No surprises on price
  • Clear change request process
  • Everything in writing from day one
03

The Build

We build what the audit identified. Specific systems for specific problems. Each automation is tested against real scenarios before it goes near your live business.

Tools We Use

  • Make.com (the automation engine)
  • Claude API (intelligent drafting)
  • Jotform, Airtable, Notion
  • Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp Business
  • Google Sheets, Buffer, GHL

What We Don't Do

  • Build without a signed agreement
  • Use tools that lock you in without warning
  • Hand over without documentation
  • Disappear after go-live
04

Handover and Go-Live

Every build comes with plain English documentation. What each automation does, how to trigger it, what to do if something looks wrong.

Full builds include a 2-hour Zoom handover session. We go through every system and make sure your team knows how to use it.

What's Handed Over

  • Plain English documentation
  • Training session (full builds)
  • Access credentials and logins
  • 2-week check-in booked in

Payment

  • Full build fee paid upfront
  • Retainer starts from go-live
  • Direct debit on the 1st each month
05

Ongoing. We Keep It Running.

Once the build is live you have a choice. Take the handover, manage it yourself, and come back to us at our day rate when you need something fixed or changed. Or stay on the retainer and we handle everything.

Most clients find the retainer easier. The whole point of automation is removing work from your plate. Not replacing it with a system you have to babysit.

On the Retainer We Handle

  • Monitoring all automations continuously
  • Fixing anything that breaks
  • Tool updates and API changes
  • Silent failure alerts and weekly checks
  • Monthly 20-minute check-in

Your Monthly Allowance

  • Up to 3 client-requested changes per month
  • New workflows or triggers you want added
  • Changes to how existing automations work
  • £200/mo months 1-2, then £400/mo from month 3
What to Expect

Three Things Worth Knowing Before You Book

Timelines Are Realistic

A quick win takes 1-2 weeks. A full build takes 3-5 weeks. We don't promise fast if fast means broken.

Communication Is Direct

You deal with Dan throughout. Updates via WhatsApp or email. No account managers, no waiting three days for a reply.

Scope Changes Are Charged

If you want something that wasn't in the agreement, it gets scoped and priced separately. That protects both of us.

Common Questions

Things People Usually Ask

No. The whole point is that you don't need to understand how any of it works. Everything is documented in plain English and the handover session is practical rather than technical.
Your whole business. The automation runs in the background connected to your existing tools. It doesn't matter how many people are in your team — when a trigger happens, the system fires. Nobody needs to log in or learn anything new. It just runs. For businesses with multiple branches or locations, we scope that separately.
Yes, that's the default approach. We plug into whatever you're already using — your email, CRM, booking system, WhatsApp. We only introduce a new tool if there's a genuine gap, and if we do, it'll be the simplest and cheapest option that does the job. One of the first things we ask on the discovery audit is where your enquiries actually land — that tells us exactly where to connect.
That's part of what the audit covers. We work with whatever you already use where possible. If there are gaps, we recommend the simplest and cheapest option that does the job. Most businesses are surprised how much we can do with tools they already have.
If you're on a retainer, we catch it before you do and fix it without you needing to ask. If you took the handover and are managing it yourself, contact Dan directly and we'll sort it at our standard day rate. Either way you're never left stuck.
Yes, with 30 days written notice. The system is yours — you own it completely. You can stop the retainer at any time. What you lose is the monitoring and ongoing support. Most clients keep it because the peace of mind is worth more than the monthly cost.
Depends on the build. A lead response system can pay for itself in the first instruction it captures. A document chase system typically recovers the cost in time saved within the first two months. The discovery audit report will give you a realistic picture specific to your business before you commit to anything.

Ready to Find Out What's Possible?

The discovery audit is one hour and gives you a clear picture of what your business could look like after we've finished.

Book Your Discovery Audit — £250

Not ready yet? dan@sparkautomations.co.uk