Automation that fits your business — not the other way around
Most automation projects fail because someone picked the tool before they understood the process. We do it the other way round: map what you actually do, find the gaps that cost you money, then pick the shortest path to fixing them.
Strategy first. Software second.
An automation consultant's job isn't to sell you a platform. It's to work out what's slowing your business down, what it's costing you, and what — if anything — to automate. Sometimes the answer is Zapier. Sometimes it's a well-written SOP and a shared inbox. We'll tell you which, even if it's less work for us.
- Process discovery — Two weeks of sitting with your team, watching what actually happens — not what the org chart says.
- Gap and cost analysis — Every recurring task priced in hours, errors and lost revenue. You see where automation pays back — and where it won't.
- Stack recommendation — Honest picks across n8n, Make, Zapier, Airtable, HubSpot, Xero, Sage and 40+ other tools. Built around your team, not our commissions.
Built for SMEs between 10 and 200 people
If you're too small for a £500k Deloitte engagement but too big to keep running the business out of spreadsheets and goodwill, you're in the right place. Typical clients: accountancy firms consolidating post-acquisition, ecommerce brands burning ops headcount on admin, professional services businesses drowning in handoffs.
- Accountancy & finance firms — Consolidating client data across Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and practice management. See our <a href="/industries/accounting-firms">industry page for accountants</a>.
- Ecommerce & DTC brands — Unifying Shopify, fulfilment, finance and support without hiring a full ops team.
- Professional services — Legal, consulting, recruitment and agencies — automating the handoffs between sales, delivery and billing.
What a good automation consultant should cover
We run the whole arc — not just the bit with the pretty flowcharts.
A four-phase engagement, priced flat
No hourly billing. No scope creep. You know what you're paying and what you're getting before we start.
We interview your team, shadow real workflows and document what's actually happening. Output: a workflow map and a prioritised list of opportunities.
We build the business case. Each opportunity gets an estimated cost to fix, time saved and payback period. You pick which ones to run.
We implement the top 3–5 automations alongside your team. Pair-building, not black-box delivery — your people own the final product.
Documentation, training and a 90-day check-in. Then we step back. No retainer unless you want one.
Before/after, in their words
"We'd spent a year looking at practice management platforms. Watermelon spent two weeks with us, then showed us we could get 80% of what we needed by properly configuring the Xero and Karbon we already had. Saved us a six-figure switch."
"Charlie told us which of our tools to cancel on day one. That alone paid for the engagement. The automations he built after that were a bonus."
"Other consultants wanted a retainer. Watermelon wanted us to be able to run it ourselves. Three months in we haven't needed to call them — which is exactly what they said would happen."
Find the gaps before you fix them
30 minutes, no pitch deck. Tell us about one process that's costing you time. We'll tell you if — and how — to automate it.