How AI consulting engagements are scoped, priced, and delivered — and the questions to ask before signing.
AI Automation Agency - The AI automation agency that ships to production
Sandlabs is an AI-first automation agency for Australian businesses. We build AI agents and workflow automations that take repetitive work off your team — document processing, back-office automation, and custom integrations — fixed price, founder-led, and live in weeks.
- Work output with custom AI agents
- 5x
- Faster document processing
- 95%
- Average time to first ship
- 2–6 wk
- Price engagements
- Fixed
What we automate - The repetitive work your team should never do by hand
We build AI agents and automations that own an entire workflow — not chatbots bolted onto a process, but production systems that read, decide, and act. Each one is scoped to a single high-cost task first, so you see the return before you scale it.
- Document processing automation. Extract, classify, and route data from invoices, contracts, applications, and forms — with Claude reading the document the way a person would, then writing structured output into your systems.
- Back-office & data-entry automation. Reconciliation, data entry, record updates, and report generation run by AI agents on a schedule or trigger — no copy-paste, no overnight offshore team.
- Email & inbox automation. Triage, classify, draft, and route incoming email and enquiries. The agent handles the routine and escalates the exceptions with full context attached.
- Custom AI agents. Multi-step, multi-agent systems built on the Claude Agent SDK that own a workflow end to end — deployed to production and monitored, not a demo.
- Custom MCP connectors. Model Context Protocol connectors so your automations can read and act on proprietary systems — databases, APIs, file storage, and job-management software.
- Workflow orchestration. The right tool for each job — Claude, n8n, Zapier, or custom code — wired together into one reliable pipeline you can actually trust in production.
Why teams pick Sandlabs - An AI automation agency that ships to production
Most “AI automation” pitches are a wrapper around ChatGPT and a Zapier zap. We build production-grade agents with the tools Anthropic ships — and we run them on Australian hours with local data residency in mind.
- Scoped to ROI. We start with one workflow and a number — hours saved, errors cut, cost removed — and prove it before expanding.
- Fixed price, founder-led. One senior partner on every engagement. No rotating juniors, no account managers, no surprise invoices.
- Claude specialists. We have shipped with Claude since the API opened — production prompts, agents, and MCP integrations, not GPT wrappers.
- Data stays local. Architected with Australian data residency and Privacy Act, APRA, AFCA, and legal compliance in mind.
- Proof in production. Four fintech and mortgage products live in Australia right now, including multi-agent credit assessment and document pipelines.
- 2–6 weeks to first ship. We deploy the first automation in weeks, not quarters — then tune accuracy and add the next workflow.
AI automation near you
An Australian AI automation agency, on your timezone.
We automate workflows for businesses Australia-wide and engage locally across the major metros. Prefer a strategy-first start? See our AI & Claude consulting page.
What we automate with
AI-first, but we use the right tool for each job and integrate with the platforms you already run.
- Claude Agent SDK
- Claude API
- Model Context Protocol (MCP)
- n8n
- Zapier
- Python / TypeScript
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
- AroFlo / simPRO / ServiceM8
- Supabase / Postgres
AI automation agency — frequently asked questions
- What does an AI automation agency do?
- An AI automation agency designs, builds, and runs automations that take repetitive, rules-based work off your team — document processing, data entry, email triage, report generation, reconciliation, and customer responses. Sandlabs is an AI-first automation agency: we map a high-cost manual workflow, build an AI agent or automation that runs it end to end, connect it to the tools you already use, and stay on to tune accuracy. Engagements are fixed price and founder-led.
- How much does AI automation cost in Australia?
- Most Sandlabs AI automation projects land between A$5,000 and A$60,000 fixed price, scoped to a single workflow first so you see ROI before expanding. A focused automation (one document pipeline or one back-office process) is typically at the lower end and ships in 2–6 weeks. Ongoing tuning and additional workflows are quoted separately. We deliberately start small and prove the return rather than selling a big-bang platform.
- What is the difference between an AI automation agency and an AI consultancy?
- An AI consultancy advises on strategy, vendor selection, and architecture; an AI automation agency actually builds and ships the working automation. Sandlabs does both — we run an AI audit and roadmap when you need direction (see our AI consulting page), then build and deploy the automations ourselves. You get the strategy and the production system from one senior team, not a slide deck you have to hand to another vendor.
- Which tools and platforms do you automate with?
- We are Claude specialists and build production automations with the Claude Agent SDK, the Claude API, and custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors, orchestrated with n8n, Zapier, or custom code where it fits. We connect to the systems you already run — CRMs, ERPs, accounting tools, job-management software (AroFlo, simPRO, ServiceM8), Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and internal databases — choosing the simplest reliable approach for each workflow.
- Do you work with Australian businesses and keep data onshore?
- Yes. Sandlabs is an Australian AI automation agency working on AU hours with Australian data residency in mind, including Privacy Act and sector-specific compliance (APRA, AFCA, legal). We work remotely Australia-wide and on-site for discovery when it helps, with local engagements in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Toowoomba.
- How fast can you ship an automation?
- Most first automations ship in 2–6 weeks. We scope one workflow, build it, deploy it to production, and measure the time saved before adding the next. That keeps the price fixed, the timeline honest, and the ROI visible early.
Further reading - AI automation guides from the Sandlabs team
How we scope, price, and build automations that actually stick in production.
Per-model pricing, prompt caching, batch, and seven production tactics to cut Claude API spend.
A side-by-side decision framework for picking Claude or Gemini for real B2B workloads.
How to roll Claude out to a non-technical team, the use cases that pay off first, and ROI benchmarks.
Plugins, Skills, MCP connectors — what each is, a decision tree, and worked examples for rolling Claude out to a team.
The exact roadmap to go from occasional Claude use to a workflow that pays for itself — a maturity ladder, use-case matrix, and 90-day plan for SMBs.
The honest limits of no-code AI agent builders and when to move to a custom build.
25 production-ready Model Context Protocol servers, ranked by what they actually let Claude do.
The architecture patterns behind production multi-agent systems — with real examples.
When off-the-shelf AI stops working and custom development starts to pay for itself.
Every Claude plan compared — Free, Pro, Team, Enterprise — with hidden costs and the right plan for your team size.
How IDP extracts data from invoices, contracts, and PDFs at 95%+ accuracy — architecture, AUD pricing, build-or-buy.
15 AI automation platforms stress-tested in production by an Australian team — AUD pricing, data residency, honest verdicts.
Decision framework for adding AI to AU trades job management software — when to pick AroFlo, Simpro, or ServiceM8, common architecture, AUD costs.
Head-to-head comparison of AroFlo, Simpro, and ServiceM8 — AUD pricing, API access, AI integration potential, and the right pick by shop size.
After the Fable 5 ban, cloud-AI dependency is a real business risk. What local LLMs are, the honest trade-offs, and a pragmatic hybrid strategy.
The best open-weight models, how quantization works, real VRAM/RAM requirements by model size, and step-by-step setup with Ollama, LM Studio, and vLLM.
Private, self-hosted and on-premise AI for Australian firms — the regulatory drivers, the honest trade-offs, and how to decide what keeps your client data in-house.
The real private and self-hosted ChatGPT alternatives for Australian firms — from contractually-closed enterprise AI to fully on-premise models — compared honestly.
Let's build something great together.
Melbourne, Australia — serving founders worldwide. [email protected]