RPA tools like UiPath, Zapier, and Make.com let you build automated workflows between your business applications. They're powerful technology — and they require someone to design, build, test, maintain, and fix the automations when they inevitably break. Ironback uses these same tools (and more) as part of our infrastructure, but the difference is who operates them. RPA gives you a toolkit. Ironback gives you the partner who uses the toolkit to run your operations.
Trade businesses that don't have a developer or automation specialist on staff, have tried building Zapier workflows that keep breaking, or need capabilities beyond data-shuffling — voice handling, AI-powered estimating, intelligent dispatch, and judgment-based routing.
Tech-savvy businesses with a dedicated operations person who enjoys building automations, has the time to maintain them, and only needs simple data-transfer workflows between a handful of apps — no voice, no AI reasoning, no operational strategy required.
Real Cost Comparison
Year-one total cost of ownership — including setup, ongoing fees, and hidden management costs.
Flat $8,000/month retainer, 3-month minimum, month-to-month after. All automation design, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance included.
Zapier: $20–$750/month depending on task volume. Make.com: $9–$300/month. UiPath: $420/month per robot (enterprise). Plus 10–30 hours/month of skilled labor to design, maintain, and troubleshoot workflows ($75–$200/hour = $750–$6,000/month).
DIY RPA (Zapier/Make + maintenance): $3,600–$12,600/year in platform costs + $9,000–$72,000/year in developer/admin time for building and maintaining workflows + $5,000–$15,000 in lost revenue from broken automations you don't catch quickly. Total: $17,600–$99,600/year with no voice handling, no AI reasoning, and no operational strategy. Ironback: $49,500–$85,500/year all-inclusive with voice, AI, and 7-category coverage.
Common Questions
Yes. During the assessment, we audit your existing automations — which ones work reliably, which ones fail silently, and which ones are doing things the wrong way. We typically find that 30–40% of DIY zaps have error conditions nobody monitors, and another 20% duplicate effort or conflict with each other. Ironback consolidates, fixes, and extends your existing automations into a coherent operational system.
RPA tools can move data between systems. They can't answer a phone call in natural language, interpret a photo of water damage to generate an estimate, decide whether to dispatch the on-call tech or schedule for tomorrow based on urgency and crew availability, or write a follow-up email that references the specific conversation a customer had last week. Ironback's dedicated AI operations partner handles all of that. RPA is plumbing. Ironback is plumbing plus the plumber.
Everything we build runs on standard tools — the same platforms you'd use yourself. If you leave, you keep the workflows, the configurations, and the documentation. The difference is you'd need to maintain, monitor, and improve them yourself. We don't hold your infrastructure hostage. We just make it work better than you could on your own.
Industries Where This Decision Matters Most
These specialty trades see the biggest impact from choosing the right AI operations approach.
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Ironback is a dedicated AI operations partner for service businesses doing $1M–$20M. Flat $8,000/month, 3-month minimum. We find where AI unlocks value, build it, and run it. Start with the free Operations Scorecard — it quantifies waste across 7 categories in under 5 minutes.
Or see full pricing · Explore AI for service businesses