How to choose an automation contractor

Automation is work you cannot verify yourself unless you know the field. So the choice comes down to how a contractor answers questions rather than to their code. These are the questions that reveal the most.

Seven questions before the contract

1. Who will own the workflows?

The right answer: you, with the ability to export them and hand them to any other contractor. Workflows living inside the vendor's closed platform mean you are renting dependency, not work.

2. Where will our credentials live?

API keys for your CRM and email belong in your account, not in the agency's shared account alongside other clients' keys.

3. What happens when a vendor changes their API?

A good answer describes mechanics: failure alerts, response time, what support covers and what counts as new work. "Everything runs stably here" is not an answer.

4. How will we know a workflow failed?

There must be error alerts. Their absence is the most common reason automation "suddenly stops working" — it stopped a week ago and nobody noticed.

5. What will this cost monthly after launch?

Server, licences, AI model usage, support. A one-off figure with no recurring costs means you will hear about them later.

6. What if the saving turns out smaller than the price?

A good contractor calculates payback upfront and says when it does not add up. Willingness to automate anything for your money is a warning sign.

7. Who does the work and what happens if they leave?

Documentation and readable workflows matter more than a specific person.

Three signs of lock-in

• A closed platform where workflows cannot be exported or inspected.
• Credentials held only by the contractor, so you cannot see what is happening.
• No documentation — a year later nobody remembers why it was built that way.

What a real proposal contains

The process as it currently runs, the list of what gets automated, a payback calculation, staged timelines, one-off and recurring costs, and an explicit list of what is not included. A single line reading "process automation — €3,000" means nobody studied your case.

FAQ

How should the relationship start?

With a small task or an audit — a cheap way to test how a contractor works before a large project.

Should a free audit be trusted?

A free "audit" is usually a sales presentation. Paid ones produce documents you can take elsewhere.

We answer all seven questions before you ask — get in touch.