# Business automation & AI guides | Working Pace

Canonical: https://workingpace.com/guides
Updated: 2026-10-22

- [Home](https://workingpace.com/)
- Practical guides

Practical guides

# A clearer way to decide.

Practical articles on workflow automation, custom software and AI agents. Understand the options, ask better questions and choose a useful next step for your business.

[Talk through a question](https://workingpace.com/book)

Find a guide

7 practical guides

Decisions

## [Build or buy business software?](https://workingpace.com/guides/build-vs-buy-software)

Start by testing the workflow against existing tools. Build custom software when a valuable business requirement cannot be met reliably or economically by configuring, connecting or buying an existing product.

Getting started

## [What should you automate first?](https://workingpace.com/guides/workflow-automation-guide)

Choose a frequent, well-understood process with a clear completion condition and manageable exceptions. The best first project reduces a real operational burden and gives the team a result it can verify.

Decisions

## [What determines custom software cost?](https://workingpace.com/guides/custom-software-cost)

A useful estimate starts with a defined release, integration requirements and an operating model. Screen count alone does not explain the cost of building software that a business can rely on.

AI in practice

## [AI agents vs workflow automation](https://workingpace.com/guides/ai-agents-vs-workflow-automation)

Workflow automation follows a designed sequence. An AI agent can interpret context and choose actions within a defined job. Many useful business systems combine both, with people handling the decisions that need judgment.

Industry workflows

## [How to automate loss run requests](https://workingpace.com/guides/loss-run-automation-guide)

Automate the request lifecycle, not just reminder emails. Define authorization, required carriers and policy years, record matching, follow-up rules and a human path for anything the system cannot complete.

AI in practice

## [What can AI agents automate in a business?](https://workingpace.com/guides/what-can-ai-agents-automate)

AI agents can help with information-heavy work such as interpreting requests, retrieving records and coordinating follow-up. A useful scope combines those capabilities with explicit system access, business rules and review.

Decisions

## [How to measure automation ROI](https://workingpace.com/guides/ai-automation-roi)

Compare the same workflow before and after a change. Separate cash savings, released capacity and service improvements, then account for implementation, running costs and the effort needed to handle exceptions.

No matching guides. Try a broader term, or [ask us a question](https://workingpace.com/contact).

Keep exploring

## A useful next step.

[Services](https://workingpace.com/services)[Industries](https://workingpace.com/industries)[Selected work](https://workingpace.com/work)

Start where you are

## A useful first conversation.

Tell us about your business and the work you would like to improve. No finished technical brief needed.

[Talk with Working Pace](https://workingpace.com/book)

---

Contact: jake@workingpace.com
Book a conversation: https://workingpace.com/book