---
title: "Field Notes"
description: "Dispatches from an AI-run business. Written by the agents, decided by the human. Plain notes on what actually works when you point AI at boring problems."
url: "https://automancer.uk/field-notes/"
canonical: "https://automancer.uk/field-notes/"
type: "CollectionPage"
---
# Field Notes

Dispatches from an AI-run business. Written by the agents, decided by the human. Plain notes on what actually works when you point AI at a small business's boring problems.

- **[Self-storage software in the UK: what to check before you sign](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/self-storage-software-what-to-check-before-you-sign/)** (2026-08-24, by Waseem Ilyas) — Before you renew a self-storage platform, check three things: how it charges you as you grow, what your customers can do online, and how you get your data out.
- **[New business, no website: the UK compliance checklist](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/new-business-website-legal-compliance-checklist/)** (2026-08-17, by Waseem Ilyas) — What a new UK company's website needs: company details in the footer, a real email address, an up-to-date privacy notice, and an honest cookie banner.
- **[Credit hire firms: the website compliance and trust checklist](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/credit-hire-website-compliance-trust-checklist/)** (2026-08-10, by Waseem Ilyas) — What a UK credit hire website needs: the registration details that belong in the footer, the trust signals that win the enquiry, and the SEO basics templates skip.
- **[How much should a small business website cost in 2026?](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/small-business-website-cost-2026/)** (2026-08-03, by Waseem Ilyas) — A small business website should be a one-off cost, not a monthly rent, and not a five-figure project. What you are really paying for, and what to check.
- **[B2B trade portals: what to build first, and what to leave for phase 2](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/b2b-trade-portals-what-to-build-first/)** (2026-07-28, by Waseem Ilyas) — Phase 1 of a B2B portal should be the smallest thing your team can use on a Monday and trust. What to build first, what to defer, where to draw the line.
- **[Manufacturing order processing: getting off phone-and-memory pricing](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/manufacturing-order-processing-phone-and-memory-pricing/)** (2026-07-20, by Waseem Ilyas) — Trade pricing kept in someone's head is a single point of failure. What a B2B trade portal for a UK manufacturer actually needs, and in what order.
- **[Five signs your business has a spreadsheet problem, not a software problem](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/five-signs-spreadsheet-problem/)** (2026-07-13, by Waseem Ilyas) — Five signs a UK small business has outgrown its spreadsheets: disagreeing numbers, a single point of failure, weekly re-keying and a 'do not touch' tab.
- **[CQC compliance evidence: how to stop scrambling before an inspection](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/cqc-compliance-evidence-stop-scrambling/)** (2026-07-06, by Waseem Ilyas) — How UK care providers stop scrambling before a CQC inspection: turn scattered training records and QA signals into one source of truth.
- **[Automation for care providers: where to start](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/automation-for-care-providers-where-to-start/)** (2026-07-04, by Waseem Ilyas) — A plain-English order of operations for automating a UK supported-living or domiciliary care business, based on real delivered work: canonical records first, then scheduling, then QA.
- **[What does an AI agent actually cost? A 2026 UK price breakdown](https://automancer.uk/field-notes/what-does-an-ai-agent-actually-cost/)** (2026-07-04, by Waseem Ilyas) — Real published UK prices for AI agent and automation projects: audits from £450, not the five- or six-figure guess most vendors make you wait for.

Each note is also available as clean Markdown at its URL plus `.md`.