Intelligent automation.
Better business.
We help South African SMEs automate workflows and integrate the software platforms that they rely on.
- Diagnosis first
- For the SA SMEs
- Support & Maintenance
A fundamentally different commercial intent.
We are not here to sell you software. Our approach is fundamentally different. We work along side you and your team for as long as you need us.
- Diagnosis before prescription
We begin every engagement with Illuminate, to diagnose what's really causing pain. We don't prescribe a solution until we find the source.
- Recommendations on merit
We have a vast toolset at our disposal. We work with the tools you already use, and make recommendations to fit your context and budget.
- Enterprise discipline in SME context
We are a boutique agency that works primarily with SMEs. You get the same level of attention that you would expect in a large corporate enterprise.
- Built for the SA operating environment
We understand that global frameworks dropped into SA businesses don't necessarily suit your needs. We build solutions for your specific context.
Our approach is based on a deep understanding of your operational reality. We spend some time to understand your business, how you work and what you’re struggling with.
Only then do we start to think about solutions.
Wendy Moulang
Lead Consultant and Co-Founder
Lumino Automate
A deliberate sequence. Nothing is built before it is understood.
Most engagements begin with Illuminate. If you arrive with a specific process to fix rather than a general operational problem, Blueprint is the right entry point. Either way, the work is scoped and specified before anything is built. That discipline is not bureaucracy, it is how we avoid any expensive mistakes.
Illuminate
A structured discovery audit that illuminates your most pressing pain points – broken processes, inefficiencies, bottlenecks – and looks at where automation and AI tools could alleviate the pain.
What you get:
- Comprehensive, plain language, actionable report
- Documented processes unpacked during audit
- A diagnosis outlining prioritised findings
- Quick win automation suggestions with ROI
- Implementation roadmap
Blueprint
A focused scoping for your solution, that becomes the blueprint for build. We look at the tools you already use, identify automation and AI tools suited to your context, and dive deep into the process you’re trying to fix. This is a great starting point if you already know what you need to solve.
What you get:
- Documented solution scope and architecture
- Implementation plan
- Transparent cost and time assessment
Build
Execution of the Blueprint specification. We build, test and deliver functional workflow automations, and integrations, built in your environment and tested under your actual operating conditions.
What you get:
- Tested and functional automated workflows
- Integrations that connect your software systems
- Handover documentation for training and change management
- 30-day guarantee on all delivered work
Sustain
Optionally, you can enter into a retainer agreement for maintenance, optimisation, and support after the build is completed.
What you get:
- Quick turnaround for support
- Ongoing monitoring of your automations
- Monthly health stats and reporting
- Hours allocated to optimisation and maintenance
- Peace of mind
Equip
A monthly package specifically for micro-enterprises and solo-entrepreneurs. If you want genuine internal capability, we work with you to equip your team with the skills, tools and confidence to build, configure, and understand automations you will own and operate independently.
Space is limited, but we accept applications throughout the year. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more.
What you get:
- Operational expertise to review your business processes
- Process improvement suggestions, recommendations and implementation support
- Light AI audit and tech stack review
- Fixed hours per month for consulting and automation build
- You set the agenda – focus where you need
- Fixed monthly cost for a defined period
The tools we work with regularly
What a Lumino engagement actually looks like.
From first conversation to long-term solution maintenance: a clear, structured path with no surprises.
Introductory call
A conversation to understand where you are, what you have tried, and whether Lumino is the right fit for your situation.
Proposal
We provide you with a well documented proposed way forward. You decide on the next steps to take.
Delivery
Depending on which services you choose, we conclude contractual agreements and design a project delivery plan.
Collaboration
We don’t knock and drop. We work collaboratively with you and your team through the process.
The right place to start is a free, no-obligation conversation.
No predetermined solution. No pitch. Just a real conversation to discover what Lumino can do for you and whether we’re the right fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a business automation consultant actually do?
A business automation consultant works out where a business is losing time to its own processes, then designs and builds the systems that give that time back. At Lumino that begins with a business analyst spending time understanding your operation and tracing where the hours actually go. We often surface unexpected opportunities to save money. A good deal of our work is with financial services businesses, so we are financially literate in a way that is uncommon among automation specialists. We understand how money, data and client records move through a business that answers to a regulator, and that matters more than it sounds when the process being automated touches client funds.
How much does business process automation cost in South Africa?
The cost is set by what the discovery finds, which is why we look first and quote afterwards. Until someone has properly understood how your business runs, any number you are given is a guess dressed up as a quote, and you may end up paying more than you need to. The discovery almost always surfaces quick wins: small changes that can be implemented soon, and we will often start there. Where your processes touch client information or client money, the security and the record-keeping are designed in from the start rather than added once the solution is built. That discipline is part of what you are paying for.
How long does an automation project take?
It depends on how your business runs, how large your team is, and how complex the workflows have become, and anyone quoting you a timeline before they understand those three things is guessing. What we will commit to is that you know the scope, the price and the deliverables before any work starts. Each stage is quoted before we begin it, with no hidden fees and a clear list of what you are receiving, with milestones built in. If something we find along the way changes the scope, you hear about it at the time and decide, rather than discovering it later on an invoice. It is important to choose a transparent service provider when undertaking automation and we are committed to open conversation all the way through the process.
Should I automate my workflows myself or bring someone in?
Most businesses can connect a few tools themselves and it works for a while. Then the business grows or somebody leaves, and it turns out the process was never written down and the automation quietly stopped running three weeks ago. Repairing that after the fact almost always costs more than building it properly would have. What you get from us is someone who has watched that same failure happen inside other businesses and designs against it from the start, somebody who documents the system while building it rather than promising to afterwards, and who has enough experience of your sector to know which parts come under pressure first. If you come to us and the honest answer is that you can do this yourself, we will tell you. As experienced automation practitioners, we would rather say that at the introductory call than build you something you did not need.
How do I choose an automation partner in South Africa?
Ask what happens before they build, and what happens after. Do they insist on understanding your operation first, or does the first conversation already contain a product pitch? A recommendation made before anyone has looked at how your business actually works is a sales pitch not a diagnosis. Ask how they handle your client data while they are building, and whether they can describe their own process for it in plain terms. Then ask if they have a service to maintain the system once it is live. Most of the disappointment in this market comes from unrealistic promises, for example a freelancer who stopped answering calls or the consultant whose report is still sitting on a server nobody opens.
Is this a software subscription or a platform?
Neither. We build a solution shaped around how your business actually works, and what gets built belongs to you. Every tool account sits in your name, which is a deliberate security decision. Your data and your access stay under your control rather than behind a supplier’s login, and you are never in the position of needing someone else’s cooperation to reach your own systems. There is no Lumino licence to renew and nothing you get locked into, so the system carries on working even if you stop working with us. The system is built to firstly extend your existing tools and any extra or third party tools are chosen because they suit your operation, your team’s comfort with technology and your budget.