Alex Herd — Automation & AI Consultant · Ipswich, UK
I design and build automation, AI-assisted workflows, websites and tools for businesses — with deep specialisms in sales, CRM, recruitment and data. Discovery to production, plain English throughout, and you own everything at the end.
An automation, running
Four ways in — from a single fix to a full system.
About
I'm a commercial operator with 13+ years in B2B sales, partnerships, recruitment and operations — and I've spent the last few years becoming genuinely technical, designing and shipping real automation and AI systems rather than just using them.
Because I've lived these workflows, I know where the time goes: messy handovers, repetitive admin loops and follow-ups that slip through the cracks. I run discovery, map the process, build it across the automation platforms, CRMs and integrations that fit, wire up the systems you already use through their APIs, add AI carefully where it genuinely helps, then test and iterate until it works in production. I build, not just advise.
Alongside automation I design and build websites and small web tools, and offer standalone consulting when you want a plan more than a build. I'm based in Ipswich and work with businesses across East Anglia and remotely UK-wide — on site when it helps, including at your desk with your systems.
Services
Outcome-led builds grounded in real delivery — not demos that never make it to production.
Lead capture, follow-up that actually happens, clean records and prospect lists built from approved sources.
Registration, onboarding, document chasing and AI-assisted CV review — recruiters make every decision.
Messy data cleaned, deduplicated, enriched and synced between the systems that need it.
Forms, inboxes, spreadsheets, CRMs and docs connected so work moves itself to the right person.
Summarising, classifying, extracting and drafting — with a human approving anything that matters.
Sites, landing pages, order forms and portals that feed your workflows instead of your inbox.
Portfolio
No invented client names, no fake metrics — just the shape of the work.
Aquajet Cleaning Equipment
Who it's for
I focus on the teams where manual admin and missed follow-up quietly cost the most.
Registration, compliance, document chasing and AI-assisted review — my home turf for 13+ years.
Lead capture, clean CRMs, reply handling and follow-up that never goes cold.
List building, enrichment, de-duplication and integrations from approved sources.
Order forms, quotes, invoicing admin and review requests that run themselves.
Onboarding, checklists, document chasing and audit trails without the paperwork mountain.
Client intake, engagement letters, chasing and reporting for accountants, solicitors and agencies.
How it works
Six steps, no mystery. You see progress early, keep approval where it matters, and own it at the end.
Understand the team, the workflow and where the time and follow-up actually go.
Document current vs proposed workflow in plain English — including approvals and where a human stays in the loop — before building.
The simplest reliable version, using the right tools, with AI added carefully only where it earns its place.
Edge cases, data checks, permissions and safe failure — so it fails quietly and predictably, never loudly in production.
Docs, a walkthrough, completion checks and clear ownership so the team can run it confidently.
Monitoring, fixes and expansion into the next highest-value process as you grow.
Pricing
Start with an audit, build what pays for itself, then keep it running on a monthly plan.
£1,200 fixed
I map how the work actually flows, where the time goes and what to automate first. You get a written plan in plain English, with the jobs in the order they should be done. It's yours to keep, whether or not I build it.
£600 mini audit Half a day, one process.
Credited against your build if you go ahead within 60 days, up to half the build fee.
Book an auditEvery build gets a fixed quote before work starts. These are the bands most projects land in.
from £1,200
A single process, up to two systems.
from £3,000
Multi-step work across three to five systems.
from £7,500
AI agents, multiple workflows and custom interfaces.
Once something is live it needs looking after. Pick the level of cover you want. Each plan includes everything in the one before it.
Plans are optional. Watch, Care and Partner start with three months, then run month to month — cancel any time after that, no notice.
The first three months is when the real edge cases surface. I'd rather be on hand for that than hand over a live system and walk away.
I'd recommend one all the same. Without a plan, fixes / small updates are covered for 14 days after handover, and quoted after that.
Scroll the table sideways to see all three plans.
| Plan | Watch £95/mo | Care £395/mo Most popular | Partner £950/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring and alerting | Included | Included | Included |
| Monthly value report | Included | Included | Included |
| Change work included | Not included | 3 hours a month | 12 hours a month |
| Response time | Break-fix within 5 business days | 2 business days | 1 business day |
| Reviews | Not included | Quarterly review | Roadmap session |
| Priority on new builds | Not included | Not included | Included |
Running costs aren't included in the price — things like AI usage, automation platforms and third-party software subscriptions are billed to you directly by those providers. I help you choose, set up and connect everything, and build flows to keep those costs sensible.
Every price is fixed and agreed before work starts.
No VAT is charged. herdtech.io is not VAT-registered.
FAQ
The smallest way in is a £600 mini audit — half a day on one process. Builds start from £1,200, always with a fixed quote agreed before anything starts. If I don't think automation will pay for itself in your case, I'll say so on the free call.
They're my specialisms after 13+ years in the industry — but the same skills fix order forms, quote chasing and admin for any business. Some of my favourite builds are for local firms with one painful spreadsheet.
Yes. I'm based in Ipswich and regularly work on site across East Anglia; plenty of projects also run perfectly over a couple of video calls.
Everything is built to fail safely and tell us when it needs attention. On a monthly plan, monitoring and fixes are included — most issues are sorted before you'd notice them. Without a plan, fixes / small updates are covered for 14 days after handover, and quoted after that.
Plans start with three months, then run month to month — after that, stop whenever you like, no notice. That first stretch is when the real edge cases surface, and I'd rather be on hand for it. Plans are optional either way: without one, fixes / small updates are covered for 14 days after handover, then quoted.
Usually not — I build around what you already have. If a platform is genuinely needed (typically £20–25/month) I'll say so upfront, and it's billed to you directly by the provider.
I automate the admin around it — collecting applications and documents, and using AI to extract and structure the key details into a summary a recruiter can act on. The hiring decision always stays with a person; nothing auto-hires or auto-rejects.
Yes — targeted prospect lists with enrichment, segmentation and de-duplication, built from approved sources and APIs and handled responsibly, ready for your team's outreach.
Yes. A website form or enquiry can flow straight into your CRM, notify the right person, create a follow-up task and send a confirmation — no copy-pasting from an inbox.
Almost always. I build around your existing stack — CRM, forms, email, spreadsheets and so on — and only suggest adding something when it clearly pays off.
I build it. I can run the discovery and mapping, but the point is working systems in production — designed, built, tested and handed over, not a slide deck.
A discovery call, a review of your current processes and systems, a plain-English map of the workflow, and a prioritised list of quick wins and bigger opportunities.
Starter builds often land in days to a couple of weeks. Larger multi-tool projects run longer and are delivered in phases so you see progress early.
Yes. Workflows are built with GDPR, access control and sensible data retention in mind, with data processing agreements where appropriate.
On one, yes. I'm an n8n affiliate, so if you open an n8n Cloud account through a link I've sent you, n8n pays me a share of your subscription for the first year. It doesn't change what you pay. It doesn't change what I recommend either — plenty of what I build runs on Make, Zapier or whatever you're already paying for, and if that's the right answer for you, that's what I'll say.
Start with the free call, or the fixed-price audit if you want a proper plan — go ahead within 60 days and it's credited against your build, up to half the build fee. The numbers either stack up or they don't — no pressure.
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Get in touch
I'll reply with an honest take on whether it's worth automating — and roughly what it would cost. No obligation, no hard sell.
