Plain talk about costs, data and AI.

routinefrei is a Hamburg agency for AI automation in small businesses: medical practices, law and tax firms, trades, hospitality, real estate and logistics. We build workflows that take routine off your hands: email triage, appointment and calendar organization, document workflows and looking after your website. We don't sell software; we set up workflows in the programs you already use, operate them and stay reachable. All at fixed prices, published openly on the pricing page. The services page gives an overview of everything we offer.

No. Your software stays. You keep DATEV, beA, practice software, POS system, calendar and mailbox; we connect them through interfaces and automate the manual steps in between: assigning incoming items, transferring data, triggering reminders. That lowers the barrier, because nobody has to learn a new system and no data migration is needed. Only when a tool is genuinely missing do we suggest one, and even then the workflows belong to you. Which systems are connected today and which we assess per project is on the integrations page.

Email triage means your inbox is pre-sorted automatically. Every incoming email is assigned to a category, for example appointment, invoice, inquiry or complaint. Standard cases get a draft reply, and whatever stays unanswered lands on a follow-up list. You decide what goes out: drafts are never sent unchecked. The triage is part of the time management + email system package, which is included in the pilot automation for 990 €. Details are on the email automation and time management page, and in the live demo you can try the triage right away.

No. You need neither an IT department nor prior knowledge. The customer workspace starts with Gmail and Google Calendar; further systems such as Microsoft 365, CRM or telephony are assessed and integrated per project only. We set everything up, your team is trained, and the agreed scope is documented in plain language. In day-to-day operation we take care of maintenance and adjustments; you simply keep working in your familiar programs. What ongoing support costs is published openly on the pricing page.

n8n is a workflow tool whose core is open source. It connects your existing programs through interfaces and runs processes automatically: email received, data extracted, task created, reminder set. We build on it for two reasons. First, it adapts flexibly to small businesses, without per-seat license costs. Second, it protects you from dependency: the workflows belong to you, and you can export them and keep running them without us. Where n8n comes into play for us is shown on the services page.

For context: on the market, individual workflows cost around 300 to 1,500 €, complete automation projects 1,500 to 12,000 €, often without providers naming their prices at all. Ours are public: entry with the pilot automation for 990 € fixed price, automation sprint from 4,900 €, website from 290 €. Monthly: website maintenance from 25.99 €, automation operations from 290 €, AI partner from 1,490 €. All prices net plus VAT. Before every project you receive a binding quote with a clear scope. All packages are on the pricing page.

The pilot automation costs 990 € fixed price and is typically live after 14 days. It includes one specific automation of your choice, for example inquiry triage or chasing missing receipts, and always the time management + email system package: the AI inbox triage (sorting, drafts, follow-up) and the appointment cockpit (calendar order, reminders, weekly plan). Setup, training and documentation come on top. Ongoing API costs are shown transparently as a separate line item; nothing is hidden in the calculation. Details are on the email automation and time management page and on the pricing page.

Three support packages, all with public prices: website maintenance from 25.99 € per month with updates, backups and small changes. Automation operations from 290 € per month with workflow monitoring, ongoing adjustments and a fixed point of contact. AI partner from 1,490 € per month with a 12-month term, for businesses that want to keep automating continuously. For us, support means: we notice when something is stuck, often before you do, and the workflows grow along with your business. All details are on the pricing page.

One-off projects are one-off, with no ongoing commitment. Ongoing operation, meaning website maintenance and automation operations, can be canceled monthly. Only the AI partner has a 12-month term, because it is designed for continuous expansion. Exit freedom matters to us: the core of our systems is open source, and the workflows belong to you. If you leave, you take them with you and keep running them yourself or with another provider, no vendor lock-in. The terms per package are on the pricing page.

Often yes, but not always. For context: tax advisors, for example, spend one to two hours per day on client emails, which adds up to several working weeks of routine per year. That is exactly where the pilot automation for 990 € starts. But honesty cuts both ways: if you only need one small thing, say a simple appointment reminder, a single tool without an agency is sometimes enough. In a free initial consultation we will also tell you if a project doesn't pay off for you yet.

We build every automation so it can be operated in line with data protection law: data flows are documented before production, data minimization applies, and where necessary a data processing agreement is part of it. We deliberately make no blanket compliance promises, because it always depends on the specific use. The EU AI Act plays a role too: since 2 February 2025 the duty to ensure sufficient AI literacy applies (Art. 4), and certain transparency duties take effect from 2 August 2026 (Art. 50). Our labeling and documentation packages support your implementation; the specific legal assessment remains project-based.

If we process personal data on your behalf, you receive a suitable data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR before production, including technical and organizational measures and a list of subprocessors. Whether a DPA is required is assessed from the specific data flow, not as a blanket rule. The templates are ready and are adapted per project; this is part of our onboarding and costs nothing extra. For law and tax firms, professional secrecy applies on top; more on that in the question on Section 203 of the German Criminal Code further down.

We define this per project and document it before production: hosting, model region, subprocessors and data flows are set down in writing before real data flows. For particularly sensitive data we assess European or locally operated models. Only the systems and people needed for the agreed process have access. We do not resell data and do not use it to train third-party models. Access is documented, and you can inspect the records at any time.

Yes, under clear conditions. Health data is specially protected (Art. 9 GDPR), so for practices the rule is: a data processing agreement before the start, data minimization, documented data flows and, depending on the use, a data protection impact assessment. For sensitive steps we assess European or locally operated models so patient data does not leave the agreed scope. Much can also be built so the AI works entirely without patient data, for example when pre-sorting inquiries. The matching workflows are on the AI automation for medical practices page.

More than many think, but with one special feature: according to the FAQ of the German Federal Chamber of Tax Advisors (as of 01/2026), a DPA alone is not enough to satisfy Section 203 of the German Criminal Code; a confidentiality declaration from the service provider is required in addition. Both are part of our onboarding for firms. Well suited to automation are processes that touch mandate content not at all or only in structured form: assigning incoming mail, recording deadlines, chasing missing documents, keeping follow-up lists. What we build for firms is on the AI automation for law firms and tax advisors page.

A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) under Art. 35 GDPR is required when processing is likely to pose a high risk to the people affected, typically for example with extensive processing of health data or systematic evaluation of individuals. A simple inbox pre-sort without sensitive data does not usually trigger a DPIA; an AI analysis of patient records very well can. In the initial consultation we tell you honestly where your project stands, supply the technical documentation as a basis, and in borderline cases recommend coordinating with your data protection officer.

Uncomplicated: you write to us via the contact form or by email, and on business days we reply within 24 hours. In the conversation we look at your workflows together: where time gets lost, what grates every day, what should go first. Then you receive a binding fixed-price quote with a clear scope, no slide decks, no subscription pressure. If we think automation doesn't pay off for you yet, we say that too. The conversation is free and non-binding, and you don't need to prepare anything.

The pilot automation is typically live after 14 days, from order confirmation to running operation. An automation sprint takes two to six weeks, depending on scope. With the website takeover, the pace depends mainly on your previous hosting provider; we start the technical audit as soon as we have access. In every case we work in short, visible steps: you see first results early, in your inbox and in your calendar, instead of one big handover at the end.

Yes. We dock onto your existing systems instead of replacing them, so there is no cut-over day when everything is suddenly different. New workflows first run alongside in draft mode: the AI sorts and suggests, your team keeps working as usual and checks the results. Only once everything sits reliably do we switch it live together with you, step by step. Appointments, phone and day-to-day business keep running normally the whole time; no system goes down and no data is migrated.

Setup always includes training your team in plain language, plus documentation of the agreed scope that stand-ins can work with too. After that, the choice is yours: with automation operations from 290 € per month we monitor the workflows, adjust them and remain your fixed point of contact. Without a support package the workflows still belong to you; you run them yourself and bring us in selectively when needed. The support packages are on the pricing page, and the AI assistant on the home page answers questions too.

Two levels. First the AI: it never decides sensitive matters on its own. Draft replies don't go out unchecked, and complaints and legal topics are automatically escalated to a human. Second the technology: if a workflow fails, nothing is lost. Your emails stay right in your mailbox, the calendar remains your calendar; for a while there is simply manual work again. With automation operations we monitor the workflows continuously and often fix disruptions before you notice them. What support covers exactly is on the pricing page.

Practices receive 150 to 300 calls per week, and over 60 percent of them are routine: appointments, prescriptions, opening hours. Exactly this routine can be shifted: a structured request form plus AI inbox triage pre-sorts appointment and prescription requests automatically, creates draft replies and keeps follow-up lists. According to industry analyses, automatic appointment reminders typically cut no-shows by 20 to 40 percent. The team spends less time on the phone, and the line frees up for real concerns. The workflows are on the AI automation for medical practices page.

Verifiable numbers from the market: tax advisors spend one to two hours per day on client emails, and structured email automation cuts that effort by 40 to 60 percent. Automated document processing saves 40 to 80 hours per month, depending on firm size. Important for an honest calculation: the savings do not appear on day one but after a learning phase in which your team checks and corrects categories and drafts. The workflows are on the AI automation for law firms and tax advisors page.

Easiest where the same manual steps come up every day. Taking and confirming inquiries: 40 to 60 percent of calls to trades businesses go unanswered, and an automatic reply channel catches that. Add preparing quotes, confirming appointments and sending reminders, and the invoicing routine, where 25 to 30 minutes per invoice is common. In total, 5 to 15 hours of office time per week can be saved this way. One line we draw deliberately: the AI prepares quotes but never sends them unchecked. More on the AI automation for trades businesses page.

Automation does not replace your employees; it gives them time back. What gets automated is the routine: the sorting, retyping, reminding, following up. The decisions, the advice and the craft stay with your people. How high the pressure is shows in tax and law firms: around 65 percent report an acute skills shortage, and over 10,000 positions are unfilled. If you cannot fill open positions, you can free the hours you do have from routine. Often that is exactly the difference between 'we can manage it' and 'we can't'. What this means for each industry is shown on the services page.

Website takeover means we look after your existing website completely: domain administration, hosting, updates, backups and content maintenance. Your domain remains your property; we only manage it for you. At the start we run a technical audit and a basic optimization covering load time, SEO basics and your Google Business Profile, from 290 € one-off. After that, website maintenance from 25.99 € per month takes over day-to-day operation, including a monthly report. All details are on the website takeover & visibility page.

For businesses whose website exists but is no longer looked after: restaurants, practices and local businesses where the former web designer is no longer reachable, updates pile up or Google listings go stale. We have built and maintained exactly this, for example for the restaurant Levant Hamburg with website, reservations and cookie-free analytics, and for AlsterSURFER in Hamburg with a redesign that kept the existing booking flow. If you maintain your website yourself and are happy with it, you don't need us for this; that is part of an honest answer too.

It stays. We take over the existing website with all its content, texts and images, and change nothing without agreement. At the start, the technical audit documents the current state: what is good, what slows things down, what is missing. Then we optimize carefully, for example load time, SEO basics and the entries in your Google Business Profile. Larger rebuilds or a redesign are a separate, explicitly commissioned decision, not a quiet side effect. In the monthly report you see what has changed. How the takeover works is on the website takeover & visibility page.