Software, automation and servers for small UK businesses, built by one person who answers for all of it.
I scope the job, write the code, set up where it runs and look after it afterwards. You deal with the person doing the work, from the first call to the handover.
Four routes, one person
Most jobs run along one route. Some call at two, such as an automation that also needs a server to run on.
| Route | Service | Typically calling at | Price shapep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Custom software | Internal tools, customer portals, booking and quoting systems: the spreadsheet that has quietly become the business, rebuilt properly. | from £3,000typical £6k–£18k |
| 2 | Agentic-AI automation | AI agents that read the inbox, draft the quote or chase the invoice, with a person approving anything that leaves the building. | from £1,200discovery, then a pilot |
| 3 | DevOps & self-hosting | Backups you have actually restored, deployments that aren't a ritual, and servers you own instead of rent by the seat. | from £750fixed-price health check |
| 4 | Looking after it | Updates, monitoring and small changes each month, for anything I've built or inherited. | from £350/mocancel with a month's notice |
- pIndicative price shapes, published as a guide and excluding VAT. Every job gets a fixed written price before work starts.
The working, shown
No photographs of a team; there's only me. Here is what the work looks like instead.
An AI agent drafts. A person decides.
A typical Route 2 job: an agent reads incoming enquiries, pulls prices from your own list and drafts a quote. Nothing is sent until someone in the office approves it, and every draft shows what the agent read and why it chose each line.
You keep the queue, the logs and the off switch.
| Enquiry | Draft | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Replace boiler, 3-bed semiMatched price list item B-04; added flue kit from photo | £2,840.00 | Needs you |
| Annual service, two unitsRepeat customer; last year's rate applied | £190.00 | Approved |
| Radiator moved to new wallUnclear pipe run; flagged for a site visit | £0.00 | Needs you |
| Power flush, 8 radiatorsPrice list item S-11 | £420.00 | Approved |
Latest from the Journal
Notes on the tools I use for client work and why: what each one replaces, what it costs you, and when I'd advise against it.
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Docker Compose 7 min
J8 Why your app runs on Docker Compose, not Kubernetes
For one to three servers, Compose does the job with a tenth of the moving parts. Here's where that stops being true.
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Proxmox VE 9 min
J7 Proxmox for a small office: what it replaces, and what it doesn't
One modest machine can run your file shares, backups and a test copy of your software. It is not a substitute for an offsite copy.
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Claude API 11 min
J6 Letting an AI agent draft quotes, with a person signing them off
How the approval queue in Fig. 1 is put together, and the three places I refuse to let a model act on its own.
Tell me the job in a sentence. I'll reply within two working days.
No sales call, no deck. If it isn't a fit, I'll say so and suggest who might be.
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