Automations that keep working, month after month
Managed Automation gives you one team to build, host, monitor, and improve your automations on secure Canadian infrastructure. When software changes or a workflow fails, we catch it and fix it before it disrupts your team. One flat monthly fee covers the work.
Automations don't break loudly. They break silently.
A vendor changes their invoice format. QuickBooks pushes an update. A login expires. Your automation doesn't throw up an error screen — it just quietly stops doing its job.
By the time someone notices, you're weeks behind and nobody knows why. That's not an automation problem — it's an ownership problem, and it's exactly what this plan exists to solve.
A successful build is only the beginning
Most automation projects are scoped, shipped, and handed over. The system works well on day one — but it depends on logins, servers, and other companies' software, and all of those change without asking your permission. Someone needs to be watching.
At DigitalStaff, the team that builds your automation is the team that runs it. We host it, we monitor it, and when QuickBooks or Sage changes something, dealing with it is our job — not a ticket in your IT queue. That's why maintain and scale is a step in our process, not a later upsell.
New here? Start with our full services guideA month in the life of a managed automation
Hosting, monitoring, and maintenance can sound abstract. Here is a composite month built from real events across our client portfolio.
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Week 1 · What we monitored
The quiet week
Your invoice automation handles 412 documents. Three needed a human decision and went to your bookkeeper. Everything else just ran.
412 documents processed. 3 exceptions handled.
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Week 2 · What broke (and got fixed)
A vendor changes something
A supplier switches billing systems and their invoices start arriving in a format the automation hasn't seen before. We're alerted the same day and have it handled before your team notices.
Zero downtime. No surprise fee.
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Week 3 · What we caught early
A software update tries to ruin your month-end
QuickBooks announces it's retiring an older connection method — the kind of notice most businesses never read. We read it, update your connection, and month-end runs like nothing happened.
Ready days before the deadline.
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Week 4 · What we improved
The system gets better
In the monthly review we spot that one vendor's invoices always need a manual lookup before they can be approved. We build that lookup into the automation — one less thing on your team's plate.
A smaller review pile next month.
Reliable automation should feel uneventful. Monitoring, fixes, and improvements happen without creating another project for your team.
“The system has been working flawlessly for over a year.”
Chuck Baresich
President, Haggerty Creek Ltd.
One monthly fee covers the work behind reliable automation
This is the Managed Automation tier on our pricing page. Your automations live on our infrastructure, and the hosting, monitoring, fixes, and ongoing improvements are included.
- Built and hosted on secure Canadian infrastructure — nothing new for your IT team to manage
- 24/7 monitoring, with alerts we act on before you feel them
- Fixes included when software changes or something breaks
- Ongoing improvements, plus a monthly report so you can see the work
- No lock-in — scale down, pause, or leave with a transition plan
Managed Automation
Your monthly status view
Canada
Hosting
24/7
Monitoring
Included
Fixes
Want a clear picture of what your automations need?
One-off build vs. monthly plan vs. hiring internally
All three are legitimate options. The right choice depends on who will own the system after launch.
Managed Automation You want the system to work without owning the day-to-day maintenance
- What you pay
- One flat monthly fee
- Who hosts and runs it
- We do, on monitored Canadian infrastructure
- When it breaks at 2 a.m.
- We usually know before you do. The fix is included
- When a vendor changes their API
- Included
- Improvements over time
- Ongoing. We keep tuning and expanding
- Knowledge when someone leaves
- Held by a team, not a person
One-off build You have an internal team ready to run and maintain it
- What you pay
- Fixed project price, once
- Who hosts and runs it
- You do: your servers, your logins
- When it breaks at 2 a.m.
- You find out at 9 a.m., then call someone for a quote
- When a vendor changes their API
- A new change order
- Improvements over time
- Locked to the original scope
- Knowledge when someone leaves
- Documented at handover, then it drifts
Hire internally Automation is core to your product and needs a dedicated employee
- What you pay
- $70,000+ a year in salary, before benefits
- Who hosts and runs it
- Your new hire, and whoever replaces them
- When it breaks at 2 a.m.
- Depends who noticed, and whether they still work there
- When a vendor changes their API
- Their next few days
- Improvements over time
- When they have spare time between fires
- Knowledge when someone leaves
- Walks out the door
| Criteria | One-off build | Managed Automation | Hire internally |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Fixed project price, once | One flat monthly fee | $70,000+ a year in salary, before benefits |
| Who hosts and runs it | You do: your servers, your logins | We do, on monitored Canadian infrastructure | Your new hire, and whoever replaces them |
| When it breaks at 2 a.m. | You find out at 9 a.m., then call someone for a quote | We usually know before you do. The fix is included | Depends who noticed, and whether they still work there |
| When a vendor changes their API | A new change order | Included | Their next few days |
| Improvements over time | Locked to the original scope | Ongoing. We keep tuning and expanding | When they have spare time between fires |
| Knowledge when someone leaves | Documented at handover, then it drifts | Held by a team, not a person | Walks out the door |
| Best when… | You have internal people ready to own it day to day | You want it to just work, month after month | Automation is core to your product, not your back office |
If you have a capable internal team ready to own the system, a one-off build is a valid choice. We provide documentation, training, and launch support for that option too. But if nobody at your company has "keep the robots running" in their job description, don't pretend somebody does — that's how a $15,000 automation ends up quietly dead a year after the person who understood it leaves.
Three ways businesses arrive at this page
Your best next step depends on what is already running and how quickly you want to expand.
"We don't have any automations yet"
Start with discovery. We identify the highest-ROI processes and build the first automation before this plan takes over.
"Someone built us automations and left"
We audit what exists, stabilize it, and take over the hosting, monitoring, and maintenance. A rebuild is usually unnecessary — book a call and walk us through what you have.
"We want maintenance and a roadmap"
For new automations every month plus leadership strategy sessions, choose the Fractional Chief Automation Officer. Many clients move to Managed Automation at steady state.
“Oscar and his team are amazing, they are always there when we need them.”
Kevin Potts
President, Norseman Construction
Need a clear view of what your systems are doing? We also build custom automation apps and command centres.
Frequently asked questions
What does the flat monthly fee actually cover?
Hosting on our Canadian infrastructure, 24/7 monitoring, fixes, ongoing improvements, monthly reporting, and a team you can reach. Pricing scales with the complexity of your automation portfolio. Full details and starting prices are on the pricing page.
What happens when an automation breaks?
Usually, we know before you do. Monitoring alerts us to failures, unusual patterns, and drops in confidence. We investigate and fix them as part of the plan, without a surprise bill at the end.
Can you take over automations someone else built?
Yes. We audit orphaned Zapier workflows, half-finished scripts, and integrations built by developers who moved on. Then we stabilize what exists and take over the hosting, monitoring, and maintenance. You usually don't need to rebuild from scratch.
Do our automations have to run on your infrastructure?
By default, yes. That's how we guarantee monitoring, uptime, and fast fixes while giving your IT team nothing new to manage. Data is hosted in Canada. IP transfer and on-premise deployment are available as premium options.
What if we want to cancel?
There's no lock-in. If you move to a lower tier, everything keeps running. If you cancel entirely, we work with you on a transition plan rather than holding your workflows hostage. We keep clients by being useful every month, not by trapping them in contracts.
How is this different from the Fractional CAO?
Managed Automation keeps your existing portfolio healthy and improving. The Fractional Chief Automation Officer adds strategy, biweekly sessions, a prioritized roadmap, and one to two new automations each month. Many clients use the CAO while actively building, then move to Managed Automation at steady state.
We don't have any automations yet. Where do we start?
Start with discovery, not a monthly plan. We map your processes, rank opportunities by ROI, and build the first automation as a fixed-price project. Managed Automation takes over once there is something worth managing. The free automation plan is a zero-cost way to get a personalized shortlist.