Build it yourself in Zapier or Make, or have it built?
Zapier and Make are built so that anyone can connect two apps without writing code, and for small jobs they are the right answer. The question is where do-it-yourself stops being cheap. Usually it is the point where a broken automation costs you customers without anyone noticing.
Side by side
| Do it yourself | Built for you | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | One trigger, one action, low stakes | Several steps, customer data, anything that costs money when it stops |
| Your time | Learning the tool, building, and fixing it later | About two hours: one call, access to your tools, one review |
| Cost | The tool's subscription plus your hours | A fixed quote in writing before work starts; no hourly billing |
| When it breaks | Whatever alerts you set up yourself | It reports a heartbeat and pages us when it stops; fixed free for 30 days after handover |
| Who owns it | You | You: it runs in your accounts, and you get the code, docs and logins |
Should I build my own automations in Zapier or Make?
Yes, if the job is one trigger and one action between two tools you already use, such as copying each new form entry into a spreadsheet. That is exactly what these tools are for, and paying someone to do it is money you do not need to spend.
When is it worth paying someone to build it?
It is worth having it built when the workflow has several steps, touches customer data, or costs you money when it silently stops. Enquiries from three domains routed into one shared inbox, quotes followed up on a schedule, duplicate contacts merged in the CRM: each of those has enough moving parts that a small mistake stays hidden for weeks.
What goes wrong with do-it-yourself automations?
Mostly, they stop or misfire without telling anyone. On one job we found sign-up emails going to addresses with typos in the domain that had never been delivered, and a CRM workflow creating a new opportunity every time a customer replied. Neither was anyone's fault. Nobody was watching.
That is why everything we run reports a heartbeat and pages us when it stops.
What do you get when an automation is built for you?
You get a fixed quote in writing before anything starts, and a build that runs in your own accounts on your own keys. At the end we hand over the code, the docs and the logins, so nothing is locked to us. Anything we built that breaks is fixed free for 30 days after handover, and ongoing monthly Care is optional.
Do you use Zapier and Make?
Yes, where they fit, and we also build on n8n, another tool for connecting apps. The tool matters less than the setup around it: clear steps, a plan for what happens when a step fails, and someone who is told when it stops.
Not sure which side of the line your admin sits?
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