Professional Services Automation | 21Labs
2026-11-10
Automation for firms that bill for expertise
A professional firm sells knowledge and judgement. Around that sits a thread of repeat work: collecting the same documents from every new client, issuing the same engagement terms, chasing the same missing signature, and sending the same status update. Professional services automation hands that thread to software so the people you hired for their expertise spend their days using it.
21Labs is an agency in Sydney that serves businesses across Australia. This page covers one slice of our workflow automation service, built around the way firms work: accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, planners, architects, engineers, recruiters and advisers of every kind. It is written for partners, principals and practice-minded office managers who want billable time back.
The problem, in your words
- "A new client takes three weeks to onboard and half of it is chasing documents."
- "We ask every client for the same things and they send them to four different people."
- "Engagement letters are copied from the last job and edited by hand."
- "Clients ring to ask where their file is up to."
- "Time gets billed late because somebody has to assemble it."
Firms feel this more than most. The work is high value, the clients are patient only up to a point, and every hour spent on paperwork is an hour not billed.
What 21Labs does
Client intake that starts clean
A single intake form captures what you need from the first contact, checks that the answers are complete and creates the client record. The new client sees a clear next step and your team sees a clean file.
Document collection without the chasing
We set up a checklist for each type of engagement, a place for clients to upload, and reminders to the client for whatever is missing. When documents arrive, they are filed where your team expects them. Where a document needs reading, such as pulling the key details from a bank statement or a contract, we use AI tools for the first pass and a person confirms.
Engagement paperwork
Terms, scope and fee details are drafted from your templates using the answers from intake, then sent for review and signature. Your people approve each one before it goes out.
Status updates and client reporting
Clients hear from you at the right moments without anyone writing the email: file received, work started, query raised, work complete. Where you report on a client's position on a schedule, the report assembles itself from your data.
Billing steps
Time and fees collected, invoices prepared for approval, reminders sent on the overdue ones. Your firm decides the rules and keeps the final say.
How the engagement runs
The 21Labs cycle is the same for every client. The full version is at how we work.
1. Discovery
Free. We follow a client through your firm, from first enquiry to final invoice, and find the steps that repeat. You receive a plan and a price.
2. Agreed price
The price is agreed before work starts. Instalments are available and the total stays fixed.
3. Delivery
We build and test on your real engagement types and walk your team through the result.
4. Measured results
We measure the numbers agreed up front and report on what changed.
5. Renewal
Stop after delivery or stay on a monthly retainer so the workflows follow your firm as it changes. When you need more, we scope the next step.
Where to start
Begin with a free discovery. We learn how your business runs, then agree the right size of work with you. Get in touch to start, or read the packages and prices first.
Who it is not for
- A firm hoping software can give advice. Advice and sign-off stay with your qualified people. We automate the work around them.
- A firm without a settled process. If every engagement runs differently, begin with AI strategy to decide what good looks like.
- A business pain that sits in sales. Quote follow-up and enquiry replies are covered in sales and enquiry automation.
- General office admin. Scheduling, invoicing and reporting across a whole business are covered by business process automation.
If you can describe how a client moves through your firm, you are ready for discovery. Use the contact form to start.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does automation for a professional services firm cost?
- Discovery is free. After it you get a plan and a fixed price before any work starts. Larger projects, such as a client portal, are quoted as Custom after discovery. The packages and prices are on our services page.
- How does it start?
- Send the contact form and tell us what kind of firm you run. We reply within 24 hours and set up a free discovery. We follow one client from first enquiry to final invoice, mark the steps that repeat, and come back with a plan and a price.
- Is client information safe?
- Client confidentiality shapes how we design the work. We use the systems your firm already trusts where we can, limit what each step can see, and agree in discovery where client information is allowed to go. We make no claims about certifications.
- Do you replace our case management or accounting software?
- No. We connect the software you already use so information flows between your intake forms, document storage, billing and email. If a gap needs a new tool, we recommend one that fits your firm and explain why.
- Can it work for accountants, lawyers and other advisers?
- Yes. The steps are similar across firms that bill for expertise: intake, identity and document collection, engagement terms, work in progress, billing and client updates. We shape the workflow to your firm's own process and do not give legal or accounting advice.
- Will clients still deal with a person?
- Yes. Automation handles the paperwork and the chasing. Advice, judgement and relationships stay with your people. Anything a client sees can be reviewed by someone at your firm first.
- How do we know it worked?
- We agree the measures in discovery, such as time from enquiry to signed engagement and documents chased by hand. After delivery we measure them and report what changed.