The verdict in three sentences
In 2026, a business process automation project for a London SME costs between EUR 8,000 and EUR 30,000 depending on the number of processes and integration complexity. Expect 4 to 10 weeks of setup and EUR 500 to 2,000/month in RPA or iPaaS subscriptions. The typical gain of 10 to 20 hours per week makes the investment profitable in under 12 months in most cases.
What an automation project covers in 2026
Administrative automation is not just a robot clicking buttons. It combines three building blocks: data capture (invoice OCR, email reading), orchestration (business rules, validation) and integration with existing software (accounting, ERP, CRM). The choice between RPA (robots mimicking humans) and iPaaS (native API connectors) depends on the technical maturity of your tools.
| Item | 2026 range (EUR) | Indicative delay |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping & process audit | 1,500 - 4,000 | 1 week |
| Invoice entry automation (OCR) | 4,000 - 10,000 | 2 - 4 weeks |
| Customer follow-up automation | 3,000 - 7,000 | 1 - 3 weeks |
| Accounting/ERP integration | 2,500 - 8,000 | 2 - 4 weeks |
| Testing & team training | 1,000 - 3,000 | 1 week |
| Project total | 8,000 - 30,000 | 4 - 10 weeks |
Tooling subscriptions add up: a mid-range iPaaS platform costs EUR 500 to 1,200/month, a robotic RPA license EUR 800 to 2,000/month depending on transaction volume.
Quantifying the gain: time, errors, ROI
A 25-employee SME processes on average 400 to 800 supplier invoices per month. Manual entry costs time and generates a 1 to 3 % error rate, a source of duplicate payments and disputes.
| Indicator | Before automation | After automation |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice entry time | 4 - 6 min/invoice | 30 - 60 s/invoice |
| Hours/week mobilized | 15 - 22 h | 3 - 6 h |
| Entry error rate | 1 - 3 % | < 0.3 % |
| Customer follow-up delay | 5 - 10 days | automatic D+1 |
| Monthly tool cost | 0 | EUR 500 - 2,000 |
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Mini case study
Claire, CFO of a 30-employee industrial SME in London, automates the entry of 600 invoices/month and follow-ups. Project billed at EUR 16,000, iPaaS subscription EUR 900/month (EUR 10,800/year). She frees 16 hours/week of an administrative role, roughly 700 hours/year valued at EUR 28/h = EUR 19,600/year saved. Return on investment: (16,000 + 10,800) / 19,600 ≈ 1.4 years in the first year, then strongly positive from year 2 (net gain ~EUR 8,800/year excluding amortized subscription). Factoring in reduced duplicate payments, the break-even point drops below 11 months.
FAQ
How long before the first gains? The first automated processes deliver results from week 4 to 6. The 10 to 20 h/week gain stabilizes after 2 to 3 months of tuning.
RPA or iPaaS: which to choose? If your software exposes APIs (cloud accounting, modern CRM), iPaaS is more robust and cheaper to maintain. RPA remains useful for legacy software without APIs, but costs EUR 800 to 2,000/month.
Do you need a dedicated employee? No, but plan for an internal lead 2 to 4 h/week for the first two months to validate rules and edge cases.
Does automation replace jobs? Rarely. It reallocates 10 to 20 h/week toward high-value tasks (analysis, supplier relations) rather than cutting jobs.
Can subscription costs explode? They are tied to transaction volume. Serious scoping sets a cap: above EUR 800/month, renegotiate or switch to a self-hosted open source block.
Let's scope your project. Specify the processes to automate (invoicing, follow-ups, reporting), an indicative budget and your target timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
