Choose an automation consultant who starts by understanding how your business works, not by recommending a tool. Look for someone who can diagnose the problem, build the solution and document it so your team can run it, who has worked with businesses like yours and with your software, and who will tell you plainly what not to automate. Ask to see real examples, who owns what is built, and what support looks like after go-live.

Your options: freelancer, agency, consultant or hire

• Freelance automation builder. Good for a clearly defined task in a tool you already use. Less suited to working out what the right process should be in the first place.
• Agency. Good for larger projects with a team behind them. You may deal with an account manager rather than the person doing the work, and agencies often lead with their own tools.
• Independent consultant. Good when the problem is not yet clear: they diagnose, then build or oversee the build. Capacity is limited, so check availability.
• Hiring in-house. Makes sense once there is a full-time workload. For most businesses under 30 staff, there is not one yet, and a single hire carries the knowledge out of the door when they leave.

Seven questions to ask before you hire anyone

1. “What would you need to understand about my business first?” A good answer involves your process, your team and your numbers before any software.
2. “Have you worked with businesses like mine?” Trade and field service businesses have specific problems: site teams, scheduling, certificates and job costing.
3. “Do you know the software I use?” If you run Simpro, Xero or Microsoft 365, ask for specific experience with them.
4. “Who will actually do the work?” Know whether you are buying the person you spoke to or someone else.
5. “Who owns what you build?” You should own the accounts, the automations and the documentation.
6. “What will you tell me not to automate?” Someone who wants to automate everything is selling, not advising.
7. “What happens after go-live?” Automations need looking after when software changes. Ask how support works.

Warning signs

• A tool is recommended before anyone has looked at your process
• Results are promised without any measurement of where you are today
• No written scope or documentation
• Case studies with no detail about the problem, the work or the outcome
• Everything runs in the consultant’s own accounts, so you cannot leave

How we work

CB Tech Consulting is a business systems consultancy in Witham, Essex, and an official Simpro Partner. Founder Charlie Baker spent more than ten years in technology delivery at Sky and Accenture before working with owner-led trade and service businesses. We start with diagnosis, build one system at a time with documentation your team can follow, and offer ongoing support through a Systems Partner retainer. You can read real examples in our case studies and see how a project starts on the Bottleneck Audit page.

Frequently asked questions

Written by Charlie Baker BSc (Hons), founder of CB Tech Consulting, a business systems consultancy in Witham, Essex and an official Simpro Partner. Last reviewed October 2026.