AI Agent
Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
An AI-enabled CRM and booking platform that runs the admin while Jake runs the river
A sole operator was losing 10 to 20 hours a week to admin spread across Google Calendar, Gmail, and manual Xero invoices. We built an AI booking and CRM platform that does the backend work and hands him drafts to send.
~NZ$15,000 of time back per season
Around 250 hours returned to Jake and his guides each season. Valued conservatively at NZ$60 an hour, that is roughly NZ$15,000 of time a year that used to go on admin. On top of that: fewer mistakes, and the capacity to take on more bookings and more guides without hiring an administrator.
The problem
What was actually broken
Before we met, Jake ran the whole operation himself. One person, five guides, and a tour business held together by Google Calendar and Gmail.
- 10 to 20 hours every week on admin, spread across disconnected tools.
- Invoices created by hand in Xero, one at a time.
- Client submissions and declarations chased and tracked manually through email.
- Bookings, availability, and client history all living in his head and his inbox.
Why it mattered now
The real problem showed up every time Jake went out guiding. He would be on the river for days, then come back to an inbox stacked with enquiries. He would lose a couple of days going through Gmail, checking client details, working out which days were still free, and replying to everyone before he could even think about the next trip. The business could not grow past him. Adding guides only added admin.
The approach
How we approached it
We did not start with software. We started with three weeks of discovery, in person, watching how Jake actually ran his business.
- 1
Three weeks of discovery
I sat with Jake and mapped every step of how he worked, every tool, every handoff, and every pain point. The goal was to understand the business before changing it.
- 2
Protect the human connection
Jake's clients book him because of him. We were clear from the start that the AI would work in the background. Jake stays the voice of the business.
- 3
Build the MVP around the worst pain
We built an AI with access to everything it needed: the knowledge base, the FAQs, and live booking and client data. It drafts replies in Gmail so Jake clicks through a few drafts instead of typing every email from scratch.
- 4
Five sessions to tune it together
After the MVP, Jake and I sat down for five one-hour sessions in person. We walked through the experience, tweaked the AI prompts, and refined it until it sounded like him.
- 5
Monitoring and ongoing maintenance
We added monitoring and observability so the system can be trusted to run unattended, plus ongoing maintenance as the business grows.
The solution
What we built
Jake now has a system that does the backend admin while he stays in front of his clients. He still reads the emails that matter and keeps that personal connection. The AI watches every inbound email and handles everything behind it, leaving him a draft to tweak and send.
AI email monitoring and drafting
Reads every inbound email, pulls the right booking and client context, and drafts a reply in Gmail for Jake to send.
Automated invoicing with Xero
Deposit and final invoices fire automatically from the platform and sync to Xero. The system tracks who has paid, confirms bookings when payment lands, and reconciles trip expenses against each trip.
Client portal for declarations
Guests log in to nominate their group members and sign health and safety declarations themselves. No more chasing forms or filing email attachments by hand.
Guide portal
His guides log in to see their upcoming bookings, instead of waiting on Jake to relay them.
Automated pre-trip and reminders
Sends pre-trip emails to gather client information, chases declarations, and sends reminders without Jake lifting a finger.
Post-trip review reminders
Automatically follows up after each trip, work Jake used to do by hand.
Marketing sync
Keeps his Mailchimp marketing list in sync as bookings and clients move through the pipeline.
Before & after
From manual to automatic
Before
After
Every booking tracked by hand in Google Calendar, with client details and declarations buried in Gmail.
A single booking pipeline. Xero invoices go out automatically and bookings confirm themselves when payment lands.
Every client email written from scratch, often days late after a run of guiding.
The AI drafts each reply in Gmail with the right context. Jake tweaks and sends in seconds.
Guides waiting on Jake to relay their upcoming trips.
A guide portal where each guide sees their own upcoming bookings.
Every invoice built by hand in Xero, then chased to work out who had actually paid.
Deposit and final invoices fire automatically from the platform, sync to Xero, track who has paid, and reconcile trip expenses against each trip.
Health and safety declarations and client details arriving as email attachments, downloaded and filed by hand.
A client portal where guests nominate their group and sign health and safety declarations themselves, with nothing for Jake to chase.
Having you to bounce ideas off is amazing and I can't wait to brainstorm more and see where it takes things. I really appreciate all your efforts with this, you have been a dream to work with. You can be proud of that mate.
The impact
What it changed
The numbers matter, but so does what they unlock. Jake got his week back, and he got a business that can grow without him.
Return on investment
Around 250 hours back, every season.
That is roughly six full working weeks of admin handed back to the business each season, worth around NZ$15,000 a year in time alone. It is the difference between a business capped at one person's inbox and one that can keep adding guides. For a sole operator, the build pays for itself well inside the first season, and keeps paying every season after.
More work
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About us
We turn your goals into AI and software that actually works
A team of product engineers based in Queenstown, NZ. We work with you to understand the problem first, then build the right thing — not just the possible thing.
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