If you've been copy-pasting data between spreadsheets for months, or running the same sequence of clicks every day, or manually generating reports that should happen automatically — a Python automation script can fix that.
But hiring someone to build it can feel opaque. What does it actually cost? How long does it take? What do you need to provide?
I've been building automation scripts for businesses for a few years. Here's the honest breakdown.
Typical automation jobs (with cost ranges)
Data processing and cleanup ($50–$200)
You have messy data from different sources (CSVs, spreadsheets, exports from your CRM). You need it cleaned, combined, and in a usable format. Usually 2–4 hours of work.
Automated reports ($100–$300)
You want a PDF or spreadsheet report generated automatically — either on a schedule or when triggered. Pulls from databases, Google Sheets, or APIs. 4–8 hours depending on complexity.
Web scraping and monitoring ($100–$400)
Track competitor prices, monitor availability, collect data from multiple sites. Requires some setup for reliability and anti-bot measures. Varies widely by site complexity.
Email automation ($75–$250)
Send personalized emails from a list, with templates and tracking. Plain text or HTML. Often 3–6 hours.
API integration ($150–$500+)
Connect two services that don't have a native integration — e.g., "when a Stripe payment comes in, add a row to Google Sheets and send a Slack notification." Depends on API documentation quality.
Custom business workflow ($200–$800+)
Multi-step automation that runs on a schedule, handles errors gracefully, and requires testing. This is when you want something production-ready, not just a one-off script.
Timeline
Most small projects (under $200): 24–48 hours delivery after I understand the requirements.
Medium projects ($200–$500): 3–5 days, including testing with your actual data.
Anything requiring ongoing maintenance or deployment to a server: we discuss a support arrangement.
What I need from you
- What manual process are you automating? Walk me through it step by step.
- What's the input? A CSV file, a URL to scrape, a database, an API?
- What should the output look like? A file, an email, a row in a spreadsheet, a notification?
- How often does this need to run? Once, daily, triggered by an event?
- Sample data. Even a small example helps me scope accurately.
How to get a quote
Email me at lukass.brad@gmail.com with:
- A description of the task (1–3 sentences)
- Any sample input data you can share
- When you need it by
I'll send a fixed price quote within a few hours. No hourly billing surprises.
My work samples: https://dev.to/brad_20095bd4959b60ad2335
If you need something simpler — a ready-made toolkit of Python scripts for common business tasks — I also have that: https://lukassbrad.gumroad.com/l/ugeka ($29, instant download).
Top comments (0)