AI automation · New Zealand

AI automation for NZ businesses

We connect AI to the systems you already run, so the checking, planning and drafting happens on its own and your team signs off the result.

Book a free 30-minute callSee the work
  • 5.0on Google
  • 50+businesses helped
Maugers Contracting crew in hi-vis standing in front of one of their excavators in Christchurch
Maugers Contracting, Christchurch. Their managers built their own automations with us.

Admin that runs itself, checked by your team

We build AI that does the repeatable admin for you: reading the email, checking the timesheet, updating the plan, drafting the report. It runs inside the Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Xero you already use, and a person approves anything that matters.

Named proof

A civil contractor that runs its week through Claude

The staff and plant planner on a made-up week: crews and plant by site and day, the weather, a wet-day jobs list and what is coming up
The live staff and plant planner, shown on made-up data.
Civil contracting · Christchurch

Maugers Contracting: crews, plant and paperwork, run through Claude

A Christchurch civil contractor whose managers and supervisors built their own Claude tools in three sessions, led by a live staff and plant planner that pulls QuipCheck, Outlook leave and site updates into one view.

10 min
to build the first shared staff and plant planner
20 hrs
of manual work for a detailed construction programme, now a proofread
1 year
of a staff member's timesheets checked in one pass
Read the full case study
How it works

The AI does the legwork, a person makes the call

Every automation we build follows the same shape, whether it is a timesheet check or a weekly report.

  1. Something happens

    An email lands, a form is filled, or the clock hits Monday 7am.

  2. Claude gathers

    It reads the inbox, calendar, spreadsheet or Xero it is connected to.

  3. It checks and drafts

    Flags what is missing or wrong and drafts the reply, plan or report.

  4. You approve

    Nothing is sent, paid or changed without a person.

    A person decides
Claude in the centre, connected to Outlook and Calendar, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint, Excel and Xero, with Workbench and QuipCheck through Claude in Chrome and Navman through data exports
How Claude connects to the systems Maugers already used. No new platform.
What gets automated

The admin our clients hand over first

  • Staff and plant planning, refreshed from leave calendars and pre-start checks
  • Timesheets checked against logs, a year at a time if needed
  • Health and safety forms: which are in and which are missing, in one question
  • Hire invoices drafted in Xero from last month's, for the owner to approve
  • Certification and rego expiry checks that run every week
  • Email triage with the replies drafted in your own words
Claude duplicating a hire invoice for a new month, showing the old and new lines side by side before saving it to Xero as a draft
Site Safety's invoice skill, shown on demo data.

Automations running in NZ businesses

  • Maugers Contracting
  • Trap and Trigger
  • Site Safety
  • Shakti
  • Metrix Timber
  • Wide Span Sheds
  • Cohesive Construction
  • Nick Petrie
  • OCULA Group
Reviews

From clients running it

5.0 average on Google

Blake built me a custom AI 'brain' that now handles a chunk of my day-to-day admin and research gathering. He took the time to understand how I actually work before building anything, and has been responsive every time I've hit a snag.

Read more

Great combination of technical skill and genuine patience with a non-technical client. Would recommend him to anyone wanting to put AI to real use in their business. Thanks Blake!

Nicholas PetrieNicholas PetrieLeadership Researcher, Executive Coach & Keynote Speaker

Blake has become our go-to for everything AI in our business - from setting up Claude and training our team, to building integrations like our PayHero setup that we had struggled with ourselves.

Read more

He is a genuine sounding board, hits his timelines, and hands over tools that work with clear instructions. We would happily recommend Blake and Harkness AI to any business looking to get real value out of AI.

Trap and Trigger LtdNick ZaloumisDirector, Trap and Trigger Ltd
Questions

What people ask us

What can AI automate in a small NZ business?

The repeatable admin: planning who goes where, checking timesheets and forms, drafting invoices, quotes and email replies, and pulling weekly reports together. If a person does it the same way every week from information that already sits in your systems, it is usually a good candidate.

Do we need new software for AI automation?

Usually not. We connect Claude to what you already run, such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero and job management apps, through built-in connectors, browser access or custom connectors. Maugers Contracting kept every system it had.

Will the AI send or pay anything on its own?

No. We set automations up to draft and flag, and a person approves anything that leaves the business or touches money. Where a tool allows it, we give the AI read-only or draft-only access.

How long does an AI automation take to build?

A single process is usually days to a couple of weeks. Maugers' first shared staff and plant planner took about ten minutes to build in a workshop and grew from there. Bigger multi-system builds are scoped and quoted as a project.

How much does AI automation cost in NZ?

It depends on how many systems are involved. One process is a small, fixed-price job; connecting job management, accounting and documents is scoped as a project. Either way you get a fixed price in writing after a free call, before anything starts.

Bring the job that eats your week

On a free call we will tell you honestly whether AI can take it off you, what it would cost and what we would build first.

Book a free 30-minute call See the case studies

Last updated 6 October 2026