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Home/Case studies/Southern Rivers Fly Fishing

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.

Southern Rivers Fly FishingOwner OperatorJanuary 2025Live
Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
AI Booking & CRM Platform
Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
~3hrs → 30min
admin per booking
~250 hrs
saved per season
0
post-trip email backlog

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

calendar.google.com
MAR31
Calendar
March 10 – 16, 2025
Week
J
GMT+13
MON
10
TUE
11
WED
12
THU
13
FRI
14
SAT
15
SUN
16
GMT+13
Tom away ✈
2 enquiries unanswered
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
10 AM
11 AM
12 PM
1 PM
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM
5 PM
6 PM
Backcountry - Greenstone
8 - 10am
Mark T - 2 ppl - DEPOSIT?
send pre-trip email
David O - gear sizes?
7am
Float trip - Mataura
9:30 - 11am
CALL Sarah re dates
Heli - confirm guide
9 - 11am
??? double booked
9:30am
Liang - declaration not signed
Invoice - Patterson??
Wade trip - Oreti
10:30am
review reminder - Emma
Backcountry - Caples
7:30 - 9am
Tom H - balance owing
Heli day - Olivia R (3 ppl)
9am - 1pm
chase Patterson invoice!!

Every booking tracked by hand in Google Calendar, with client details and declarations buried in Gmail.

app.southernriversflyfishing.co.nz/admin/bookings
admin
Jake Hughes
jake@southernriversflyfishing.co.nz
Sign out

Bookings

12 bookings found

Calendar List Board
#ClientDatesActivityGuide(s)StatusTrip InfoCreated
1042
Mark Thompson
mark.thompson@gmail.com
2 people
Mar 12, 2025
to Mar 14, 2025
Fly Fishing - Multi-Day Backcountry
Jake
Confirmed
Complete
Mar 2, 2025
1041
Sarah Chen
sarah.chen@outlook.com
Mar 8, 2025
Fly Fishing - Half Day
Tom Bailey
Ready
Complete
Feb 28, 2025
1040
David Okafor
d.okafor@gmail.com
4 people
Mar 15, 2025
to Mar 17, 2025
Fly Fishing - Heli-Fishing Multi-Day Charter
Connor
Pending Deposit
1/4(25%)
Feb 26, 2025
1039
Emma Wilson
emma.wilson@me.com
2 people
Mar 10, 2025
Hunting - Free-Range Red Stag Hunt
Jake
Enquired
Not started
Feb 25, 2025
1038
James Patterson
jpatterson@xtra.co.nz
Mar 5, 2025
to Mar 6, 2025
Fly Fishing - Half Day
Tom Bailey
Complete
Complete
Feb 18, 2025
1037
Liang Wei
liang.wei@gmail.com
3 people
Mar 18, 2025
to Mar 20, 2025
Fly Fishing - Heli-Fishing Full Day Charter-Enquired
Not started
Feb 24, 2025
1036
Olivia Reed
olivia.reed@icloud.com
2 people
Mar 22, 2025
Wild Food Experience - Heli Wild Food Lunch
Jake
Confirmed
1/2(50%)
Feb 14, 2025
1035
The Harrap Group
tom.harrap@gmail.com
4 people
Mar 2, 2025
to Mar 4, 2025
Fly Fishing - Multi-Day Backcountry
Connor
Tom Bailey
Complete
Complete
Feb 9, 2025

A single booking pipeline. Xero invoices go out automatically and bookings confirm themselves when payment lands.

mail.google.com
Gmail
Search mail
J
RefreshMore
1–50 of 312
Mark Thompson
BookingsRe: March backcountry dates — still available? - Hi Jake, just following up on my email from last week, keen to lock in those dates before they go...
Mar 12
Tom Bailey
Can't make the 14th - Hey Jake something's come up for Saturday, really sorry. Can you get cover for the backcountry day?
Mar 12
Sarah Chen
BookingsDeposit payment — how do I pay? - Hi, I'd like to confirm but not sure how to send the deposit. Do you take bank transfer or card?
Mar 11
Xero
OverdueInvoice INV-0247 is overdue - A payment reminder for your records. This invoice is now 9 days overdue...
Mar 11
David Okafor
Gear sizes + dietary - Sending through our details for the trip, my partner is vegetarian and I'm a size 11 wading boot...
Mar 10
Patterson Group
EnquiriesBooking for 4 — quote please - We're a group of four looking at a guided day in late March, could you send through a quote and...
Mar 10
Olivia Reed
EnquiriesHoneymoon trip enquiry - Hi! My husband and I are visiting NZ in April and would love a guided day on the river, are you...
Mar 9
Liang Wei
Question about wading - First timer here, a bit nervous about the river crossing, how deep does it get and is it safe for...
Mar 9
James Patterson (3)
Re: Re: Re: dates - So just to confirm where we landed — are we good for the 22nd or the 23rd? Want to book flights...
Mar 8
Rebecca Frost
Anniversary surprise — possible? - Trying to organise a surprise day for my partner who's mad about fly fishing, what dates do you...
Mar 8
Emma Wilson
Re: pre-trip info - Sorry slow reply! Here are the declarations attached, see you on the 6th...
Mar 7
Bookings.com
EnquiriesNew website enquiry - A new enquiry has been submitted through your contact form. Reply within 24 hours to...
Mar 7
Connor
Availability next week - Free Tues, Wed and Fri if you need a hand with any of the bookings, let me know...
Mar 6
Daniel Mertz
Lost property — sunglasses - Think I left my polarised sunnies in the truck after the trip, any chance you found them?
Mar 6

Every client email written from scratch, often days late after a run of guiding.

mail.google.com
Gmail
Search mail
J
Compose
Inbox14
Starred
Snoozed
Sent
Drafts6
More
Labels
Bookings
Enquiries
Declarations
Re: Backcountry trip enquiry — March 12-14Bookings
M
Mark Thompson<mark.thompson@gmail.com>9:42 AM (2 hours ago)
to me
Hi Jake, keen to lock in those three days in March for two of us. Do you have availability, and what's the deposit to secure it?
Cheers, Mark
J
Jake — Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
To: Mark Thompson <mark.thompson@gmail.com>
Drafted by AI
Hi Mark,

Great to hear from you — yes, we've got those three days free (12–14 March), and I'd love to get you and your mate out on the river. I've pencilled you in and can hold the dates for 48 hours.

To confirm, the deposit is 50% (NZD $1,350), and I'll send a secure payment link plus a short pre-trip form to capture gear sizes and any dietary needs.

Looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Jake — Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
Send

The AI drafts each reply in Gmail with the right context. Jake tweaks and sends in seconds.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets
Guide Schedule 2025 (MASTER) - FINAL v3
FileEditViewInsertFormatDataToolsAll changes saved in Drive
100%
Filter
B7
jake
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
1
Date
Guide
Client
Activity
Status
Paid?
Notes
2
12/03
Jake
Mark Thompson
Guided Wade
Confirmed
Yes
deposit received, all good
3
12/03
jake
Patterson Group
Heli
CONFLICT
??
DOUBLE BOOKED - same day as Mark!!
4
Mar 13
Tom
Sarah Chen
Backcountry
confirmed?
deposit
waiting on declaration form
5
14th
Connor
David Okafor
Float Trip
TBC
No
needs gear sizes - CALL CLIENT
6
14/03
J
Liang Wei
Day Trip
PENDING
???
is this still on? no reply since Tues
7
15/03
Tom B
Emma Wilson
Guided Wade
Confirmed
Yes
8
15/03
Tom
Olivia Reed
Backcountry
??
unpaid
double booked w/ Tom?? check w Jake
9
Mar 16
Connor
James P.
Heli
Confirmed
Yes
guide swapped - update Tom
10
17/03
jake
Mark Thompson
Float Trip
TBC
deposit
11
18/03
Tom B
Sarah Chen
Day Trip
Confirmed
Yes
moved from 11th - tell client
12
18/3
Connor
Patterson Group
Heli
PENDING
No
deposit not received - chase!!
13
19/03
Jake
Olivia Reed
Backcountry
Confirmed
Yes
14
20/03
Tom
David Okafor
Guided Wade
confirmed?
??
waiting on declaration
15
Mar 21
Tom B
Liang Wei
Heli
CONFLICT
unpaid
DOUBLE BOOKED w/ Emma - who takes it??
16
21/03
Tom B
Emma Wilson
Heli
TBC
deposit
17
22/03
Connor
James P.
Float Trip
Confirmed
Yes
needs gear sizes
18
23/3
J
Sarah Chen
Day Trip
??
???
is this still on?
19
20
21
22
Schedule
Invoices
Clients
Sheet 1 of 3

Guides waiting on Jake to relay their upcoming trips.

app.southernriversflyfishing.co.nz/guide
Southern RiversSouthern Rivers
Back to admin
Tom Bailey
tom@southernriversflyfishing.co.nz
Sign out

My Calendar

View your assigned trips and manage your availability.

11days booked · 2024/25 season

March 2025

MonthWeek
Legend:ConfirmedReadyCompleteUnavailable
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
24
25
26
27
28
1
2
3
Confirmed
Sarah Chen
Fly Fishing - Half Day
Mar 3
4
5
6
7
8
Ready
James Patterson
Fly Fishing - Half Day
Mar 8
9
10
11
12
ConfirmedDay 1/3
Mark Thompson
Multi-Day Backcountry
Mar 12 - Mar 14
13
ConfirmedDay 2/3
Mark Thompson
Multi-Day Backcountry
Mar 12 - Mar 14
14
ConfirmedDay 3/3
Mark Thompson
Multi-Day Backcountry
Mar 12 - Mar 14
15
16
17
18
Ready
The Harrap Group
Heli-Fishing Full Day
Mar 18
19
20
21
22
Complete
Olivia Reed
Heli Wild Food Lunch
Mar 22
23
24
25
26
27
ConfirmedDay 1/3
David Okafor
Multi-Day Backcountry
Mar 27 - Mar 29
28
29
30

A guide portal where each guide sees their own upcoming bookings.

go.xero.com/app/invoicing/new
XxeroDashboard Business Accounting Contacts Reports
JH

New invoice

Draft  ·  saved 2 mins ago
To
Mark Thompson
Date
12 Mar 2025
Due date
19 Mar 2025
Invoice number
INV-0248
Reference
Booking #1042
Item
Description
Qty
Unit price
Account
Amount NZD
Guided Wade — Half Day
Fly fishing guided wade, half day
1.00
650.00
Sales
650.00
Backcountry — Day 2
Multi-day backcountry guiding
1.00
950.00
Sales
950.00
Add a new line
Subtotal1,600.00
GST (15%)240.00
TotalNZD 1,840.00

Every invoice built by hand in Xero, then chased to work out who had actually paid.

app.southernriversflyfishing.co.nz/admin/invoices
admin
Jake Hughes
jake@southernriversflyfishing.co.nz
Sign out

Invoices

Deposit and final invoices are created automatically by the agent, synced to Xero, and reconciled to each trip. Bookings confirm themselves when payment lands.
Paid
$24,180
9 invoices
Awaiting payment
$4,260
3 authorised
Draft
$540
1 not sent
Trip expenses reconciled
$3,910
matched to trips

14 invoices

CreatedBookingClientTypeAmountStatus
11 Mar 2025#1042
Mark Thompson
mark.thompson@gmail.com
deposit$920.00paid
11 Mar 2025#1042
Mark Thompson
mark.thompson@gmail.com
final$920.00authorised
10 Mar 2025#1040
David Okafor
d.okafor@gmail.com
deposit$1,650.00authorised
8 Mar 2025#1038
James Patterson
jpatterson@xtra.co.nz
deposit$325.00paid
8 Mar 2025#1038
James Patterson
jpatterson@xtra.co.nz
final$325.00paid
5 Mar 2025#1035
The Harrap Group
tom.harrap@gmail.com
deposit$1,900.00paid
5 Mar 2025#1035
The Harrap Group
tom.harrap@gmail.com
final$1,900.00paid
2 Mar 2025#1031
Olivia Reed
olivia.reed@icloud.com
deposit$540.00draft

Deposit and final invoices fire automatically from the platform, sync to Xero, track who has paid, and reconcile trip expenses against each trip.

mail.google.com
Gmail
label:declarations
J
Compose
Inbox47
Starred
Snoozed
Sent
Drafts9
Labels
Bookings
Declarations
Enquiries

Trip declarations + client info — Backcountry 12 Mar

Declarations
M
Mark Thompson <mark.thompson@gmail.com>
9:42 AM
to me

Hi Jake, finally got the forms sorted. Attached are the signed health & safety declarations for me and my mate Dave, plus a photo of Dave's licence since he couldn't scan it. Let me know if you need anything else. Cheers, Mark

4 attachments
Declaration_Mark.pdf
PDF · 240 KB
Declaration_Dave_signed.pdf
PDF · 198 KB
IMG_4821.jpg
JPG · 1.8 MB
dietary_notes.docx
DOCX · 32 KB
Reply
Forward
Still waiting on declarations from 2 other guests. Need to download these, file them, and update the spreadsheet by hand.

Health and safety declarations and client details arriving as email attachments, downloaded and filed by hand.

app.southernriversflyfishing.co.nz/form/1042
Southern Rivers Fly Fishing

Southern Rivers Fly Fishing

Group Member Nomination

Nominate your group members

Nominate your group members and complete their booking information. This includes the health and safety declaration required before you can join your Southern Rivers trip.

Group Member Progress3 of 4 complete
3 Complete 1 Remaining
MT
Mark Thompson
Member 1 · Main contact (you)
Declaration signed Complete
DO
Dave Okafor
Member 2 · dave.okafor@gmail.com
Declaration signed Complete
SC
Sarah Chen
Member 3 · sarah.chen@outlook.com
Declaration signed Complete
?
New member
Member 4 · Invite sent
Booking info neededContinue
Add Another Member
Health & Safety Declaration
I have read and understood the safety terms and customer declaration above.
Signature
Mark Thompson
Nothing for Jake to chase.
Need help?

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.

J
Jake
Owner Operator, Southern Rivers Fly Fishing

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.

TimeProcessing a booking went from about three hours of admin across all the different tools to about 30 minutes. Across a season of roughly 100 bookings between Jake and his guides, that is around 250 hours saved.
MoneyThose 250 hours are hours Jake and his guides were spending on admin instead of guiding or selling. The system pays back the time it takes to run it many times over.
Fewer mistakesClient details, declarations, and invoices are handled consistently by the system instead of chased by hand, so things stop falling through the cracks.
Runs while he's awayThe backlog that used to pile up every time Jake went guiding is gone. The system keeps working on the river days, so there is nothing to dig out of when he gets back.
Room to scaleJake can take on more clients and add more guides without hiring someone to manage the admin. The business is no longer capped by how many emails one person can answer.

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. 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 system pays for itself well inside the first season.

AI Email AgentBooking PipelineXero InvoicingGuide PortalCRM

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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