Blog · Prices · 2026
How much does it cost to automate an SME in 2026?
Guide ranges based on real projects for SMEs in Spain — from €800 for one-off automation up to complete platforms. Includes a savings table per process and when the investment pays off.
Quick summary: SME automation prices 2026
| Type of project | What it includes | Price | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-off automation | 1–2 workflows (alerts, CRM sync, SMS) | €800 – 2,500 | 1–3 wks |
| Well-defined project | Several connected workflows | €1,500 – 3,500 | 2–4 wks |
| Integrations | CRM, WhatsApp, invoicing | €2,000 – 6,000 | 3–6 wks |
| Custom app / CRM | Operations dashboard, pipeline, inventory | €5,000 – 15,000 | 1–3 months |
| Complete platform | Bookings, payments, multi-user | from €15,000 | 3–6 months |
| Maintenance | Support and new features | €150 – 600/month | Ongoing |
How much do you save by automating? Guide ROI table
Estimate for an SME in Spain with an admin/sales hourly cost of €15–18. If your team spends these hours on manual tasks, the project usually pays for itself within a few months.
| Process | Manual time | After automating | Est. annual saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoicing and payments | 8–12 h/week | 30 min/week | €5,200 – 7,800 |
| Sales follow-up | 5–8 h/week | 1 h/week | €3,100 – 5,000 |
| WhatsApp / customer service | 4–6 h/day | 1 h/day (supervision) | €12,000 – 18,000 |
| Reports | 2–4 h/week | Automatic | €1,600 – 2,600 |
| Emails and follow-up | 3–5 h/week | 15 min/week | €2,000 – 3,200 |
The 6 processes most worth automating first
- Invoicing and payments — invoices from orders, payment reminders, reconciliation.
- Sales follow-up — web leads → CRM → automatic follow-up emails.
- WhatsApp and customer service — a single history per customer, no lost conversations.
- Inventory and stock — sync between sales, warehouse and suppliers.
- Appointments and diary — online bookings, confirmations and reminders.
- Repetitive reports — dashboards that build themselves every week or month.
More on our automation for SMEs page.
Real cases: what they cost and what they solve
Hospitality / Beaches
OleBeach
A sun lounger booking platform: map, Stripe, seasons and a dashboard per beach (not tables).
from €15,000 in phases
Motorbike workshops
MotoBuddy
Operations dashboard: work orders, inventory, appointments and built-in VeriFactu.
€8,000 – 15,000
Sales / Lead generation
Sales CRM
Kanban pipeline, Google Maps data and integrated customer service per company.
€2,000 – 15,000
Automation vs custom software vs Excel
If you're still unsure whether to stay with Excel or make the jump, read the guide Excel vs custom software for SMEs.
- Excel/Notion: free at first; expensive in errors and hours as volume grows.
- Automation: connects what you already have. Best ROI if your core tools do the job.
- Custom software: when the process is unique. The code is yours. See custom software for SMEs.
Can you fund it with Kit Digital?
The Process Management category of Spain's Kit Digital programme can cover automation and integrations. Full guide: Kit Digital and automation for SMEs 2026.
Frequently asked questions about prices
How much does it cost to automate processes in an SME?
From €800 (1–2 workflows) up to €15,000+ for platforms built in phases. See the table above.
How long does a project take?
Well-defined workflow: 1–3 weeks. Integrations: 3–6 weeks. Custom app: 1–3 months.
Why open source?
No vendor lock-in. You can change it, host it wherever you like and develop it further without closed licences.