Business Automation Integration

Duncan McPherson

(0)

Starting at

120

/hr

About this service

Summary

Ever thought "I need X to happen when I do Y"?

I'm an expert at designing, building and supporting automation solutions for your business, from simple to intricate. I've delivered these solutions to over 100 Australian businesses throughout my years as a software engineer and integration specialist, and I want to add you to that list!

These services are designed from the ground up to start quickly, and deliver a build that you can understand and modify going forward, without the need for hiring expensive contractors just for small changes.

Process

We'll start with a short free briefing call, which goes for 15 minutes. Your first briefing call is always free.

This allows us to get aligned on exactly what your requirements are. The meeting link also contains some questions that will help save some time and get into the nitty gritty during the meeting - providing examples at that stage is a great idea.

Once we both have a good idea on where things need to go, I'll perform investigation and scoping. This is where I take your ideas, requirements, and any other discussion during the meeting, and figure out the hows and whys of the integration build.

Once that's done, I'll give you a completion time estimate, and a contract for you to sign. The contract contains details on buffer time (time taken to start the project), completion time, and the full price of the build.

Once that's signed, I provide to you an invoice for the full amount. You'll be required to pay 50% up front, then 50% upon completion. For builds that are over 15 hours, you'll be required to pay 100% up front.

Upon build completion, I perform up to a week of QA. This is where I monitor the build for bugs and test it extensively.

Finally, after that is handover - the build is complete, and I'll give you a document containing some detail on the build itself. You're covered for bugfixes for 1 week after handover, provided they weren't introduced by modifications you made to the build.

FAQs

What platforms do you work with?
All major automation platforms, and all serverless cloud providers. These include Zapier, Make, N8N Cloud, Automate.io, and more, and Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Azure.
What about apps or services? Which ones do you work with?
Any app or service with a working API or integration with an automation platform like the above. I've worked with Pipedrive, Shopify, Hubspot, ActiveCampaign, Xero, Quickbooks Online, SimPRO, Aroflo... the list goes on! If through investigation I find something simply can't be integrated (a truly rare occurrence), I'll bow out gracefully and give you whatever details or recommendations I can to help you in the future.
15 minutes isn't enough time, how do I schedule longer meetings?
Most clients are able to get their ideas and requirements across in a 15 minute meeting, especially with some prior communication via email, but your needs may vary. If 15 minutes really isn't enough, which can be the case for larger builds, I'll invoice you for a 1 - 1.5 hour Discussion Meeting. These are more in-depth and allow us to get down in the weeds with the build.
What's your prior experience?
I've delivered three large-scale integrations, walking through design, architecture and handling the implementation itself in AWS. All three were in the finance sector, and involved handling of sensitive information as a part of the security considerations. For smaller projects, I've worked with hundreds of Australian businesses in both systems architecture consulting and delivery of business automation solutions, integrating platforms like Shopify, Hubspot, Pipedrive, Xero, SimPRO and more. As for my own career, I work in this sector as a lead software engineer, and have been in both team lead and senior developer positions on large-scale integration projects, app builds and the like.
I want to make changes after handover, what do I do?
Business needs change over time, and sometimes you need to update parts of the project to keep pace. I'm always available for repeat work with clients, but in many cases, I design my builds to be modifiable and extensible, and am happy to help out where needed.
Do you build full stack apps?
As a part of this service, no. While I'll build interfaces for some integrations if required, I like to limit this work specifically to automation and integration.
I have a question about an in-build integration project. What do I do?
Email me. I'm always available to answer questions or address concerns, and if you need to pivot any requirements, we can discuss that there too.
How do I see the progress of my integration project?
I'll keep in touch and let you know exactly where the build is at. There are multiple phases of work involved, and each one has a few "milestones" before we move to the next, which I'll keep you updated on.
Do you include catch-up meetings or stand-ups?
No. Apart from your initial briefing call, all meeting time is paid. If you want individual catch-ups/stand-ups for your project, you will need to request that to be included. I'll invoice you for meeting time as we go.
It's been over a week after handover, and my project suddenly has a showstopping bug! What do I do?
I provide ad hoc support for critical bugs in any project for up to a month after handover, provided the bugs were not introduced by modifications you or an external party made. Dependent on the severity and complexity, you may be invoiced for time, excluding quick fixes and very small changes.
What if it's been over a month?
I'm fairly lenient with the 1 month period, but if it's been a long while, I'll need to reevaluate your project, including another briefing call. I'll then perform triage and give you a time estimate for the bugfixes.
Do you provide documentation or training?
Not strictly speaking, no - the Integration Reference Document is a simple overview of your build and what it does, including whatever platforms, applications and resources were used in its creation. If you need documentation or team training, I can provide this as an additional cost alongside your project build.
How would I refer another business to you?
Link them to my Contra profile and I'll be happy to discuss projects with them.

What's included

Integration Proposal
This is a short document/contract that denotes the Requirements - what you need from us, and what we need from you - and the various terms of the agreement.
Integration
The build itself, working and tested in your account for whatever platforms we have agreed upon.
Integration Reference Document
This is a document that contains a list of: - The platforms used in the build, ie. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Services, Zapier, Make, N8N... - The platforms integrated in the build - what talks to each other, like Pipedrive, Shopify, etc. - Resources used in the build, if applicable. This usually applies to Cloud platforms like AWS or Azure. - The placement of the Resources in a security sense, if applicable (eg. within a VPC, whether they make external connections etc.) - The Flows that the build will commence and resolve, such as sending an email when a certain trigger occurs.
Maintenance and Monitoring (1 Week)
Your project will be monitored for 1 week following handover and build completion, to ensure no major issues arise.

Example projects