AI that does
some of
the work
Most firms have tried ChatGPT, been impressed for a week, and gone back to doing things the old way. The problem is rarely the AI. It is that nobody connected it to the documents, inboxes and systems where the work actually happens — and those systems need to be secure and well run first. I do both.
Where AI
helps
Finding the jobs worth automating
We start with how your week actually goes, not with the technology. I sit with you and the people doing the work, list the repetitive jobs, and rank them by hours saved against risk. Some do not pass that test, and I will say so.
Connecting AI to your own information
A chatbot that only knows the internet is a novelty. One that can read your documents, inbox, case files or accounts — and only the parts it should — answers questions about your business, not businesses in general.
Taking the paperwork off people
Drafting first versions of letters, summarising long emails and documents, pulling details out of forms and invoices and into the system they belong in. A person checks the result before anything goes out.
Keeping it private
Client confidentiality and GDPR come first, not as an afterthought. That means choosing services that do not train on your data, controlling what each tool can see, and running things on your own hardware where the data should never leave the building.
Training your team
Short, practical sessions built around your own work: how to get good results, what never to paste into a chat window, and a one-page policy so everyone knows where the lines are.
The IT
underneath
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Setting it up properly, or untangling it after years of nobody being in charge: accounts, shared mailboxes, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, licences you are paying for and not using, and what happens to someone's email and files when they leave.
Security that fits a small firm
Two-step sign-in on every account, a password manager instead of a spreadsheet, admin rights only where they are needed, and staff who can spot a fake invoice email. Most breaches at small firms come through one of those, and none of them is expensive to fix. If you need Cyber Essentials, I can get you ready for it.
Email that arrives
If your emails land in customers' spam folders, the cause is usually missing SPF, DKIM or DMARC records on your domain. It is a short job to fix, and it also stops other people sending email that pretends to be you.
Backups you have actually tested
Most firms have a backup. Far fewer have ever tried restoring from it. I set up backups of the things that matter, including Microsoft 365 and Google mailboxes, and check that they come back.
Day-to-day support
Laptops, phones, printers, Wi-Fi, new starters and leavers, and the thing that stopped working ten minutes before a meeting. Remote help for most of it, and on site when it needs hands.
The firms getting real value from AI are not the ones announcing it. They are the ones where a dull job quietly takes ten minutes instead of an hour, every day, and nobody misses the hour.
Already
in use
Questions in plain English
In the practice-management software I build for professional firms, staff type a question — “unbilled time by client for last quarter” — and get the report back. The AI only ever gets read-only access, so it can answer questions but cannot change a single record.
Dictation that stays on the desk
Speech-to-text that runs entirely on the PC: hold a key, speak, and the words appear in whatever program is open. No subscription, nothing sent anywhere, which matters when the dictation is about a client.
Fair
questions
Will it replace my staff?
Not in any firm I have worked with. What goes is the part of the job nobody enjoys — retyping, summarising, chasing, filing. The people stay and spend the time on work that needs a person. Anything that leaves the building still gets checked by someone before it goes.
Is it safe to put client data into AI?
It depends entirely on which service and which settings, and that is the first thing I look at. Business accounts on the main services do not train on your data; free consumer accounts may. Where something must not leave the building at all, it can run on your own hardware instead.
Which AI do you use?
Whichever fits the job: Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or open models running locally. I do not resell any of them or take commission, so the recommendation is about what works for you.
Do I need to be technical?
No. You need to know your own work well enough to say where the time goes. I handle the technical side and leave you with something your team can use without me in the room.
Do you offer ongoing IT support?
Yes. Either as a monthly arrangement that covers support, security updates and backups, or on call when you need it. Either way you deal with the same person every time.
Do I need AI to work with you?
No. Plenty of firms come for the IT — Microsoft 365, security, email, backups — and never touch AI. It is there if and when it would genuinely save you time.
How much does it cost?
The first conversation is free. After that you get a fixed scope and a fixed price before anything starts, and larger pieces of work are staged so you can stop after any step.
Where are you?
Bath. Happy to sit down with you and your team in person across the South West, and remote anywhere else in the UK.
Tell me where the time goes. The first conversation is free.
[email protected]Or message me on WhatsApp