business consultancy: eliminated 15 hours of weekly admin

the challenge: success creating its own problems

This mid-sized business consultancy was experiencing a problem many growing firms face: their success was killing them.

what was happening

As the firm grew from 8 to 15 consultants, their manual processes—which worked fine at smaller scale—became bottlenecks:

Client onboarding nightmare:

• New client details entered manually into CRM
• Same information re-entered into project management tool
• Contract and NDA process tracked in spreadsheets
• Welcome packets assembled manually for each client
• Average time: 4-6 hours per new client

Weekly reporting chaos:

• Consultants tracked time in project management tool
• Data exported to Excel weekly
• Manual compilation into client reports
• Custom formatting for each client’s preferences
• Partner review and edits
• PDF generation and email sending
• Average time: 8-10 hours every Friday

The real cost:

• Partners spending 40% of time on admin, not strategy
• Friday afternoons completely lost to report generation
• New client onboarding delayed by days
• Occasional errors in time tracking and billing
• Team morale suffering (“we didn’t get into consulting to do data entry”)

why this matters

For a consultancy, time literally is money. Every hour spent on admin is an hour not:

• Serving clients
• Developing new business
• Training team members
• Strategic planning

Annual cost of manual processes:

• 15 hours/week × 50 weeks × £150/hour = £112,500
• Plus opportunity cost of delayed onboarding
• Plus error corrections and client dissatisfaction
• Plus team burnout and potential turnover

The problem wasn’t going to solve itself. Growth would only make it worse.

our approach: automate the tedious, not the valuable

discovery phase

We spent two days with their team understanding:

• Current workflows in detail (not what they said they did, what they actually did)
• Pain points and friction (what frustrated people most?)
• Quality requirements (where couldn’t errors happen?)
• Business constraints (budget, time, technical capability)

Key insight: They didn’t need enterprise software. They needed their existing tools to talk to each other properly.

the tool-agnostic assessment

Rather than recommending a complete platform replacement (which would be expensive and disruptive), we evaluated:

• What they already had (CRM, project management, document templates)
• What was working (most tools were fine individually)
• Where the gaps were (information transfer between systems)
• What could be automated vs. what should stay manual

Decision: Build automation layer on top of existing tools, rather than replace everything.

solution design

We designed three automated workflows:

1. Client onboarding automation

• New client added to CRM triggers entire onboarding sequence
• Data automatically synced to project management tool
• Contract templates auto-populated with client details
• Welcome packet generated and sent
• Kickoff meeting scheduled with calendar integration
• Internal team notified with assignment details

2. Weekly report generation

• Time tracking data automatically pulled each Friday
• Reports generated in each client’s preferred format
• Sent to partners for review via Slack notification
• Approved reports automatically sent to clients
• All data archived for billing and reference

3. Error prevention safeguards

• Validation rules to catch incomplete data
• Duplicate detection for client entries
• Automated reminders for missing timesheets
• Quality checks before report sending

implementation approach

Week 1-2: Setup and configuration

• Configured automation tools (Zapier + Make)
• Built templates and workflows
• Set up data mapping between systems
• Created documentation

Week 3: Pilot with 3 clients

• Tested with new client onboardings
• Generated reports for sample clients
• Team provided feedback
• Refined and adjusted

Week 4: Full rollout

• Activated for all clients
• Team training (2 hours)
• Support and troubleshooting
• Monitoring and optimization

Total implementation time: 4 weeks from kickoff to full operation

the results: beyond time savings

quantitative improvements

Time savings (measured over first 3 months):

• Client onboarding: 4-6 hours → 0.5 hours (90% reduction)
• Weekly reporting: 8-10 hours → 2 hours (80% reduction)
• Total weekly savings: ~15 hours
• Annual value: £112,500

Quality improvements:

• Data entry errors: 2-3 per month → 0
• Report delays: 15% of reports → 0%
• Client onboarding time: 2 days → 6 hours

Capacity expansion:

• Partner time freed: 40% admin → 10% admin
• Additional client capacity: 2 new engagements per month possible
• Revenue potential: £20K+ per month from freed capacity

qualitative improvements

Team experience:

• Consultants focus on consulting, not admin
• Friday afternoons reclaimed for strategic work
• Reduced stress around report deadlines
• Higher job satisfaction

Client experience:

• Faster onboarding and project starts
• More reliable report delivery
• Fewer errors in time tracking
• More consistent communication

Business resilience:

• Less dependent on specific people
• Documented processes
• Scalable for future growth
• Reduced operational risk

ROI timeline

Investment:

• Initial setup and implementation: £8,500
• Ongoing automation tools: £150/month
• Total year-1 cost: £10,300

Return:

• Time savings value: £112,500
• Error reduction savings: £5,000
• Opportunity cost recovery: £40,000+
• ROI: 1,537% in year one

Payback period: Less than 2 months

what made this work

1. right problem identification

We didn’t start with “let’s automate something.” We started with:

• What’s actually causing pain?
• What’s preventing growth?
• Where are errors happening?

The automation was the answer to specific problems, not a solution looking for a problem.

2. tool-agnostic approach

We could have sold them on replacing their entire tech stack with a comprehensive platform. But:

• Higher cost (£25K+ for new system)
• Longer implementation (3-6 months)
• Higher risk (everyone learning new tools)
• Unnecessary disruption

Instead: Work with what they had, connect the gaps.

3. minimum viable automation

We didn’t try to automate everything on day one:

• Started with highest-pain processes
• Proved value quickly
• Built confidence before expanding
• Kept some manual steps where human judgment mattered

Philosophy: Automate the tedious, not the valuable. Consultants should consult, systems should handle the rest.

4. focus on adoption

Best automation in the world fails if people don’t use it. We:

• Involved the team in design
• Made it easier than old way (not just “better”)
• Provided clear documentation
• Offered ongoing support
• Monitored adoption and addressed friction

Result: 100% adoption within 2 weeks, minimal resistance.

the bigger picture: strategic capacity

The real win wasn’t just saving 15 hours per week. It was what they could do with those hours.

before automation

Partners spending time:

• 40% admin and operations
• 30% client delivery
• 20% business development
• 10% strategic planning

after automation

Partners spending time:

• 10% admin and operations
• 45% client delivery
• 30% business development
• 15% strategic planning

This shift enabled:

• Taking on 2 additional clients (£40K+ monthly revenue)
• Developing new service offering
• Training junior consultants more effectively
• Strategic planning that had been neglected

The automation didn’t just save money - it enabled growth.

lessons for other consultancies

1. you probably don’t need new tools

Most consultancies have adequate tools. The problem is tools don’t talk to each other. Before buying new software:

• Map your current toolset
• Identify the gaps between tools
• Calculate cost of integration vs. replacement

Often: £10K in automation beats £50K in new platforms.

2. start with highest-pain processes

Don’t try to automate everything. Start where:

• Pain is highest (most frustrating)
• Volume is highest (most repetitive)
• Errors are costly (quality matters)
• ROI is clearest (easiest to measure)

Prove value, then expand.

3. measure before and after

This firm could articulate exact ROI because they measured:

• Time spent on processes (before)
• Error rates (before)
• Client satisfaction (before)
• Then tracked same metrics after

Without measurement, automation is just busywork.

4. automation doesn’t replace judgment

The firm kept humans in the loop for:

• Reviewing reports before sending
• Approving final contracts
• Handling exceptions
• Client relationships

Automation handles repetition. Humans handle nuance.

want similar results?

If your consultancy (or professional services firm) is experiencing:

• Admin eating into billable time
• Manual processes limiting growth
• Data entry errors
• Friday afternoon report nightmares
• Team frustration with repetitive work

You might be a great candidate for strategic automation.

our process

1. Discovery session (2-3 hours)

   • Map current workflows
   • Identify pain points
   • Estimate potential ROI
   • Determine if automation makes sense

2. Solution design (1 week)

   • Design automation workflows
   • Propose toolset and approach
   • Calculate costs and timeline
   • Get approval before building

3. Implementation (2-4 weeks)

   • Build and configure automation
   • Pilot with small group
   • Train team
   • Full rollout and support

4. Optimization (ongoing)

   • Monitor performance
   • Refine as needed
   • Expand to new processes
   • Measure and report ROI

Investment typically: £8K-£15K depending on complexity Typical ROI: 500-1,500% in year one Payback: 1-3 months

Schedule a discovery session to discuss your specific situation. We’ll help you determine if automation makes sense, what it might cost, and what results you could expect.

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technical details

For those interested in the technical implementation:

Tools used:

• Existing: HubSpot CRM, ClickUp (project management)
• Added: Zapier + Make (automation)
• Connected: Google Workspace, DocuSign, Slack

Workflows built:

• 3 primary automation sequences
• 12 individual automation steps
• 8 error handling routines
• 15+ validation rules

Maintenance:

• Monthly review of automation performance
• Quarterly optimization sessions
• As-needed support for edge cases
• Documentation updates

Scalability:

• Designed to handle 3x current client volume
• Additional automations can be added modularly
• No re-architecture needed for growth

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This case study is based on an actual client engagement. Client name withheld for confidentiality. Results typical for similar engagements, though specific outcomes vary by business.