The verdict in three sentences
A process automation project in a London SME costs EUR 8,000 to 30,000 to build, preceded by a scoping phase of EUR 2,000 to 6,000 and followed by a run of EUR 100 to 500/month. Expect 4 to 10 weeks between scoping and go-live depending on the number of connectors. On a saving of 15 to 25 hours/month, the payback usually falls under 8 months.
What you actually pay in 2026
Automation is not software you buy off the shelf: it is an assembly between an orchestrator (n8n, Make), your existing tools (CRM, accounting, email) and a bit of custom development for the awkward cases. The budget breaks down into four items.
| Item | 2026 range (EUR) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping & flow audit | 2,000 - 6,000 | Process mapping, specs, architecture choice |
| Automation (n8n/Make + dev) | 8,000 - 30,000 | Scenarios, business logic, connector dev |
| Connectors & APIs | 3,000 - 12,000 | CRM, accounting, ERP, mail integration |
| Monthly run | 100 - 500 /month | Hosting, licences, monitoring, fixes |
Scoping is never optional: it is what stops you automating a broken process. On a EUR 15,000 project, sloppy scoping often costs 30% in rework overruns.
Which processes to automate first
Not all processes are equal. Prioritise those that are repetitive, high-volume and low in human value-add. Here are the typical gains observed in London SMEs in 2026.
| Automated process | Time saved /month | Indicative budget (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Quote generation from CRM | 4 - 8 h | 3,000 - 7,000 |
| Invoicing & automatic sending | 5 - 10 h | 4,000 - 9,000 |
| Overdue customer dunning | 3 - 6 h | 2,500 - 6,000 |
| Bank reconciliation | 4 - 8 h | 5,000 - 12,000 |
| New client onboarding | 2 - 5 h | 3,000 - 8,000 |
| Automated weekly reporting | 3 - 6 h | 4,000 - 10,000 |
A portfolio of 3 to 4 well-chosen automations frees up 15 to 25 hours per month, roughly a half-time admin role redeployed onto value-adding work.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
James, operations director of an industrial trading SME in London (28 staff), automates quote-invoice-dunning. Budget: scoping EUR 3,500 + build EUR 16,000 + run EUR 250/month. His assistant spent 22 h/month on these tasks, valued at EUR 32/h fully loaded, i.e. EUR 704/month in direct cost. Automation recovers 18 h, i.e. EUR 576/month saved. Annual run cost: EUR 3,000; annual saving: EUR 6,912. The EUR 19,500 investment pays back in about 7.5 months once the run is deducted, before even counting the DSO drop from more regular dunning.
FAQ
How much is scoping alone? Between EUR 2,000 and 6,000 in 2026 depending on the number of processes. It is a profitable investment: it halves the rework risk on the build.
n8n or Make, what's the cost difference? Make bills per task (often EUR 30 to 150/month by volume); self-hosted n8n mostly costs hosting (EUR 20 to 60/month) but needs more upfront dev. At high volume, n8n becomes markedly cheaper.
How long to deliver? Count 4 to 10 weeks depending on connectors. A simple quote-invoice scenario ships in 3 to 4 weeks; adding an ERP pushes it to 8-10 weeks.
Is the EUR 100-500/month run unavoidable? No: on low volumes and a self-hosted architecture, it drops to EUR 100-150/month. The EUR 500 covers critical, supervised flows with on-call cover.
What if one of my tools changes its API? It is anticipated in the run: the maintenance package covers connector adaptation. Without a run contract, expect EUR 300 to 800 per one-off fix.
Let's scope your project. Tell us which processes cost you the most hours, your current stack (CRM, accounting) and an indicative budget: we scope the perimeter and prioritise the highest-ROI automations. 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.
