AI automation
AI Automation for Small Business
Built for and owned by you.
Tell us the job that wastes your time. We'll build you one solution that makes your job easier.
New Idea Machine is a Calgary custom software and AI automation agency serving small business owners worldwide.
Why it matters: every hour spent retyping, copying and chasing is an hour the business doesn't grow.
- One solution that does the job, built around how you already work.
- Know what it should cost before you talk to anyone. The App Cost Calculator gives you the number in about 20 minutes.
- It's yours. Your own intellectual property, an edge your competitors can't sign up for, and a business worth more to a buyer.
"It's not just lip service. Every website gives you the impression that this is what people are doing, but you actually do it."
Dawn Leadbetter, Founder, Nurse Matrix Systems Inc.
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What can AI automation do for a small business?
Three real builds.
You didn't start a business to type the same information into three systems, or to be the only one holding the business together. But that's where the hours go: the task nobody else can do, the follow-ups that slip, the memory you can't step away from. It's fixable.
Here's what it looked like for three business owners, and what changed.
The meeting assistant
Nine back-to-back meetings a day left no time for notes, so our customer records went stale and follow-ups got dropped. Hermes Ear, our meeting assistant, sits on our CEO's desk, listens to each meeting, updates the records, and emails her one list of outstanding tasks every day. Now nothing gets missed.
The single front door
A short-staffed nonprofit could not keep up with inquiries by phone, email, web and in person. Their AI customer support, trained on their own website and resources, answers as one front door in plain terms, points people to the right resource, and offers a warm introduction. Staff step in only when someone needs them.
The firm's memory
Associates could not search past cases, so they knocked on the owner's door and he recited file numbers from memory. Now an AI assistant that knows how the firm works and every case it has handled answers them directly, and he got his day back.
Sometimes you don't need AI
One business owner came to us asking for AI automation. She coordinates 18 subcontractors and 78 clients from a paper calendar, a spreadsheet and hand-typed invoices. The portal she had priced was about $600 a month plus a cut of every payment, and it would have forced her workflow into theirs.
What she needed was one platform that did all of it, because automations break every time the tools they connect to update.
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What does AI automation cost?
Know the number before you decide.
It depends on what the solution has to do, who uses it, and what it connects to. That is why the first conversation is about the job, not the technology.
If your company is Canadian, your project may qualify for government funding such as SR&ED tax credits and IRAP, which can cover part of the cost.
What does an AI automation build start at?
$5,000
CAD, starting rate for automations and AI agents
Compare it to what you already pay each year for the tools that almost do the job.
Most builds finish in two months, and you pay for time and materials only. That's a one time investment with minimal monthly costs for maintenance.
Start the conversationNot ready for a meeting? Answer simple, non-technical questions about what you want the AI to do, and in about 20 minutes the App Cost Calculator gives you the list a developer needs to quote it properly.
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AI build vs buy: should you build AI automation or buy a tool?
Rent when a tool fits. Build when nothing does.
Build
Build when the job is specific to how your business runs, or when you are paying every month for software you own nothing of.
Your job may not need AI. It might need custom software that does exactly what you want, built once, with AI only where it actually helps. This option costs far less in the long run, and you own it outright.
Rent
If a $100-a-month tool does the job, use it.
One business owner came to us ready to spend $30,000 on a custom platform, and we sent her to a $100-a-month tool so she could validate her idea first.
"The biggest change is not having the over $2,500 a year bill for software I owned nothing of."
Paisley Churchill
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Can you automate your business with AI yourself?
For simple tools and websites, yes. Build your first AI automation yourself in four hours.
If what you're building is a straightforward prototype, internal tool, or website, you can likely build it yourself in a Build with AI Bootcamp: four hours, live online, with the guardrails to keep it safe.
See the bootcamps →of 5
How do you know who to hire for AI automation?
What you need to know before you hire anyone.
How do I know who to hire?
Whoever sets it up, an agency, a freelancer, or the team behind a tool, ask three things before you pay: what are all the monthly fees, what happens when a platform upgrades and it stops working, and who owns what they build. If the answers are vague, so is the plan.
"Everybody has what you want to hear on their website. Sometimes you don't know the red flags, but it was easier to see them after getting to understand New Idea Machine's why."
Dawn Leadbetter, Founder, Nurse Matrix Systems Inc.
How do I know they're building exactly what I need?
Get it in writing before anyone builds. The App Cost Calculator turns what you want into a list of everything the software has to do, in your words. Whoever you hire builds to that list, and you can check their work against it.
How do I know what it's going to cost?
Ask for the whole number: the build, the monthly fees, and what a fix costs when something breaks. Ours is above: a one-time build, billed on time and materials, and after launch you pay for hosting and maintenance, not a subscription for every piece.
What else don't I know?
That the software you own becomes your intellectual property: an advantage your competitors can't sign up for, and something a buyer pays for if you ever sell. That most jobs are smaller than they look, and the first version should be too. The complimentary meeting is where you find out what applies to you, and hear the options you hadn't considered.
Sometimes AI automation is the most expensive choice
Every time a platform you use goes through an upgrade, the way your phone does, the connection between your tools and the AI often breaks and needs a developer to fix it. Add the AI subscriptions that never stop, and the bills grow with your business while you own none of it.
Software you own has fewer of those connections, and when one does need fixing, any developer can do it. If AI automation is not the most cost-effective choice for your business, we'll let you know what is.
Start the conversationAI automation questions, answered
What is AI automation for a small business?
Software that does one of your repetitive jobs for you, built around how your business already works. You describe the job; the software does it.
How much does AI automation cost for a small business?
Builds start at $5,000 CAD.
How long does an AI automation build take?
Most builds finish in two months.
Do I own the AI automation you build?
Yes. You own your build from day one, and you can leave at any time and take everything with you. So your business grows on software you own, not on an AI vendor's proprietary platform.
Which AI model will my automation use?
Whichever fits the job today. We build custom AI software so you can switch to a different AI later without starting over.
Where does my data live?
You decide. We build private AI agents: it stays private, and when the software connects to the cloud you choose which country your data is stored in.
Can I build AI automation myself?
For a straightforward prototype, internal tool, or website, yes. Start with the Build with AI Bootcamp.
Still got questions? Reach out.
No pitch. No pressure. Just cost-saving advice.
We'll send you a mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before the call. Your idea stays yours.
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick the one that fits best.
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Pick a time
45 minutes with Rea. No pitch. No pressure. Just cost-saving advice.
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