# Refer a client whose team is buried in repetitive work

You know which clients spend their week copying, chasing and checking. Introduce one with a clear task. I check whether it is worth automating and tell you the outcome either way.

Updated 12 October 2026 . 4 min read . Alexey Shurov

## A referral starts with one piece of work

Accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and resellers of accounting and stock systems see the work between the systems. A client retypes emailed orders. A team chases missing timesheets. Someone copies figures into a report each week. Those are useful places to start a conversation about automation, which means having a system do a repeatable task.

You bring knowledge of the client and the task. I bring a way to check whether that task is worth automating. I work alone, so the person who discusses the job is also the person responsible for building and running it. The client stays your client.

### 1. Agree the referral terms first

Contact me before making an introduction. We agree a referral fee in writing before any introduction takes place. The agreement sets out what the fee covers and when it is due. You can describe the kind of task at this stage without sending client records.

### 2. Introduce the client and the task

Once the terms are agreed and the client is happy to talk, make the introduction. A short description of the repeated job is enough to start. Say what arrives, what the team does with it and where the finished work needs to go. You do not need to choose a technical solution.

### 3. Check the task with the client

I run the free five question check and a first call with the client. The aim is to understand the volume, the rules and the parts that need a person. I ask about the work as it happens today. A task that sounds simple may hide questions that only the team can answer.

### 4. Get the outcome either way

I tell you whether the job looks suitable and what happens next. If it is the wrong fit, you hear that too. A referral does not commit the client to a project. If there is a useful next step, the client sees the proposed job and its terms before deciding.

## What the client gets

The first result is a plain answer about one task. If it is worth taking further, the proposal describes what the system handles, what stays with the team and how unclear cases reach a named person. It also says what is needed from the client before work can start.

For a job run as a monthly service, I build the system, run it and keep it current as the agreed work changes. The system handles the repeated steps. People decide the cases it cannot settle. The scope needs to make that boundary clear before the client agrees.

## What you can rely on

I only discuss the agreed job with the client. I do not sell accounting, payroll or software. Your relationship with the client stays yours. The referral is for a defined piece of operational work, with you told the outcome either way.

If the conversation points to a different task, I bring it back to the agreed scope. A separate piece of work needs a separate discussion. An introduction is not permission to approach the client about unrelated services.

## When this is the wrong fit

A rare task with little handling may not justify a system. Work with no settled rules may need those rules written down first. A client who cannot name someone to decide unclear cases is not ready to hand the repeated steps to a system.

This is also the wrong referral for a client seeking accounting advice, a payroll provider or a new software package. Those needs belong with the relevant adviser or supplier.

## Choose a task you can describe plainly

Start with a client who can point to the same work coming back each week. A useful description names the input, the repeated steps and the expected result. Agree the referral terms before introducing the client.

## Common questions

### Who is this for?

Accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and resellers of accounting and stock systems who know a client with repetitive operational work.

### Do I need to explain the technology?

No. Describe the task. I ask the client about the rules, the systems involved and the unclear cases.

### When is the referral fee agreed?

In writing before any introduction. The agreement sets the terms so both sides know where they stand.

### What happens if the client is not a fit?

I tell you the outcome. The free five question check is a way to decide whether to proceed, and an honest no is a useful answer.

## Useful next[ServiceOne job, run for you every monthYou name one piece of repetitive work. I build the system that does it, run it every month for a fixed fee, and send anything unclear to a person on your team.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automation-run-for-you/)[Free toolWhat to automate first, a scoring toolPick a task your team repeats every week and answer five quick questions. You get a plain answer on whether it is worth automating, what helps and what to watch. Score up to four tasks and it tells you where to start, and you can keep the result as a private plan page.](https://shurco.ai/tools/what-to-automate-first/)[DistributionAutomating sales order entry from emailed purchase ordersPurchase orders arrive by email as PDFs, spreadsheets and free text, and someone keys every line into the ERP. For one wholesale distributor that became a checked pipeline, then the same approach ran across every country in a group.](https://shurco.ai/solutions/sales-order-entry-automation/)

## More guides[GuideAI agent pricing in 2026, what vendors actually chargeVendors now charge for agents by the conversation, the outcome, the action or the credit. Here are the published prices, what each unit really means, and how to compare them on your own workload.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-agent-pricing/)[ServiceA monthly test for your customer facing AI assistantOnce a month, I ask your website or phone assistant ordinary customer questions. You get what it got wrong, its exact words and what to change. The first test is free.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-assistant-monthly-test/)[PlaybookHow to automate daily site reports across many sitesThe report takes days because the data lives in many places and someone has to chase it. Here is how to gather it in parallel, catch the numbers that disagree and produce a report a manager can check.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-daily-site-reports/)[PlaybookHow to automate quoting for a manufacturer or distributorSlow quotes lose work. There are three quite different kinds of quoting automation, and most buying mistakes come from picking the wrong kind. Here is how to tell which one your quotes need.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-quoting-for-manufacturers/)[PlaybookHow to automate sales order entry in Business CentralCustomers email orders as PDFs, spreadsheets and free text, and someone keys each line into Business Central. Here are the three ways to take that work away, with what Microsoft's own agent does and where it stops.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-sales-order-entry-business-central/)[PlaybookHow to automate timesheet processing for payrollTimesheets arrive as spreadsheets, PDFs, photos and scans, and payroll has a deadline that does not move. This is the order to automate it in, and the checks that stop a wrong payslip.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-timesheet-processing-for-payroll/)

## Want this in your operation

I build and run production AI agents that take repetitive work off operational teams. [Tell me what your team spends too long on.](https://shurco.ai/#contact)

Web version https://shurco.ai/guides/refer-a-client/