Business process automation cost for SMEs in London in 2026

The verdict in three sentences

An SME of 15 to 60 staff in London can automate its repetitive tasks (quotes, dunning, re-keying) for 6,000 to 20,000 EUR depending on scope, preceded by a process mapping at 2,000-5,000 EUR. The average gain is 0.5 to 1.5 FTE freed, with an ROI between 8 and 14 months. The key is not the technology but the order: automate first the process that costs the most in manual hours.

What automation costs in 2026

The prices below are 2026 orders of magnitude for the London market, in euros, integration work included.

On top of these come platform licences: a Make Pro plan runs about 30 to 100 EUR/month, self-hosted n8n is nearly free beyond the server, and an RPA licence (UiPath) starts around 400 EUR/month per robot.

No-code / RPA vs custom integration development

In practice, 70% of SMEs start with no-code to prove value, then move critical flows to development once volume exceeds a few tens of thousands of operations per month.

What moves the quote

Three factors explain the gap between a 6,000 EUR project and a 20,000 EUR one. The first is the number of systems to connect: wiring a single CRM costs little, while orchestrating ERP + CRM + mailbox + accounting software multiplies integration points and tests. The second is the quality of the starting data: de-duplicated customer records or inconsistent product references force a cleaning phase that can represent 20 to 30% of the budget. The third is the criticality of the flow: a duplicate dunning e-mail is annoying, but a duplicate invoice creates a dispute; the higher the stake, the more you invest in checks, error handling and logging. A serious quote details these three axes rather than showing a single flat fee. Finally, budget a change-management phase: training two or three key users in half a day prevents the automation from being bypassed at the first anomaly.

Mini case study

Julien, director of a 32-staff trading SME in central London. His admin team spends 3 hours/day re-keying e-mailed orders into the ERP and chasing unpaid invoices. Loaded cost of an admin role: about 42,000 EUR/year, or ~23 EUR/hour. The 3 daily hours represent ~16,000 EUR/year of mobilised time.

Julien invests 9,500 EUR in two no-code scenarios (e-mail-to-ERP extraction + automatic dunning) delivered in 5 weeks. Result: 2.4 hours/day saved, i.e. ~13,000 EUR/year. The project pays back in about 9 months, and the team refocuses on customer service. Over 3 years, net gain exceeds 28,000 EUR, licences deducted.

FAQ

Which process should you start with? Always the one combining high volume and low added value: dunning and re-keying often take 1.5 to 3 hours/day in an SME and pay for themselves in under a year.

Do you need to change ERP to automate? No. In 80% of cases you connect the existing system via API or connector; replacing an ERP would cost 30,000 to 100,000 EUR and is only justified if the tool is end-of-life.

How many FTE can you really free? Depending on scope, expect 0.5 to 1.5 FTE on admin tasks, i.e. 20,000 to 60,000 EUR/year of reallocated capacity.

Is no-code reliable enough for production? Yes up to about 50,000 operations/month; beyond that, secure critical flows with development to avoid platform rate limits.

What maintenance budget should you plan? Expect 1,200 to 4,000 EUR/year of monitoring, about 10 to 15% of the initial cost, to absorb API changes and fixes.

Let's scope your project. Tell us your 3 most time-consuming processes, your ERP and your indicative budget: we prioritise fast-ROI automations. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.