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Stop doing the admin. Let the system do it.

Custom automation is the layer of software and AI that runs the repetitive admin a service business does every day: answering calls, replying to enquiries, following up leads, chasing overdue payments, updating customer records. For most Australian service businesses, this work eats 10 to 15 hours a week and costs another 30 to 40% in leads that go to voicemail or never get followed up. LUNA Systems builds the automation that does it for you. Not a template, not 'AI in a box'. A custom workflow built around your real business: your phone, your booking system, your CRM, your accounting software, your team's hours, your industry's compliance rules. We sell outcomes (stop losing calls, never let a lead go cold, get paid on time, cut the admin out of bookings) not tools. The tools sit underneath, doing the work. A 2023 Smartsheet survey found that knowledge workers spend 40% of their time on repetitive administrative tasks that could be automated. Custom automation is how that time comes back. Quoted per business after a discovery call. One monthly fee covers software, support, and iteration. No five SaaS subscriptions to juggle.

By Justine Coupland · Last updated May 2026

How It Works

How It Works

1

Discovery call

30 minutes on the phone. You tell us what's breaking, what tools you've already got, what you've tried before, and what success would look like. We listen. No pitch deck.

2

Audit + plan

We look at your current setup: your booking system, your CRM (if any), your phone, your payment and accounting tools. You get a written plan covering which outcome to tackle first, what we'd build, what tools we'd use, and the realistic timeline. The plan is yours whether you hire us or not.

3

Build phase

Typically 2 to 6 weeks depending on scope. We build in stages so you see progress every week. Each piece is tested before it goes live with your real customers.

4

Launch and run

Once it's live, we run it. Monthly reports in plain English: missed calls recovered, leads followed up, invoices sent, overdue accounts recovered. We're inside the system most days during the first month, less often once it's stable.

5

Iterate quarterly

Every quarter we look at what's working, what's not, and what to add next. The system evolves with your business.

What's Included

Features

Stop losing calls and follow up every lead: instant auto-response to every form, web chat, and missed call, with automatic SMS within 60 seconds for the calls that don't need a live conversation. Voicemail conversion is under 15%; we replace that with a system that catches every caller while they're still warm, then runs a 7 to 14 day follow-up sequence for anyone who doesn't book first time. CRM tagging by lead source so you know what's actually converting. For calls that do need a real conversation, see our dedicated <a href="/services/ai-receptionist">AI receptionist</a> page, which is a specialised build in its own right, not a section here
Get paid without chasing it: a GST-compliant invoice goes out the moment a job's marked complete, branded SMS and email reminders chase overdue accounts on a set schedule, deposits are collected at booking to lock in the work, failed card payments retry automatically, and every payment reconciles straight into Xero or MYOB. Card details are never stored by us or by you; they're tokenised by the PCI-compliant processor. Where a card surcharge is used, it's set to reflect only the actual cost of acceptance, in line with RBA and ACCC rules. Surcharging beyond that isn't legal in Australia, and we build every setup to stay on the right side of it
Cut the admin out of everyday workflows: multi-step, if/then sequences with conditional logic connect your existing tools: lead follow-up, quote chasing, appointment reminders, team notifications, invoicing, review requests. Time-delayed actions and multi-channel sequences run 24/7 in the background while you get notified only for what matters
Missed call? Instant text-back: if a call goes unanswered, the caller gets a personalised SMS within 30 seconds acknowledging the missed call and offering a booking link or callback request. Works with your existing business number, with separate templates for business hours and after hours. Research from PATLive shows 85% of callers whose calls go unanswered never try again, and the MIT Lead Response Management Study found leads contacted within 5 minutes are 21 times more likely to convert than those contacted after 30 minutes
Need booking specifically? That's its own build: online booking with reminders, deposits, and no-show prevention lives on our dedicated <a href="/services/booking-automation">booking automation</a> page, not folded in here
One monthly fee covering software, support and iteration, not '$150 to investigate the broken Zapier' invoices. Software costs (Twilio SMS, OpenAI usage, payment processor fees) passed through at cost and listed transparently on every invoice
You own everything: all accounts (Twilio, OpenAI, Stripe, Square, Xero, MYOB, your CRM, your domain) are in your name. If we ever part ways, you keep the lot. We don't hold your automations hostage
Built around your business, not a template. We use the tools that fit your business (Cliniko, Halaxy, ServiceM8, Tradify, GoHighLevel, n8n, custom code) not a one-size-fits-all platform we'd love to sell you
No lock-in: month-to-month, cancel any month with 30 days' notice
Powered by AI, reviewed by humans: every automation and every payment flow is reviewed before it goes live with your real customers

Industry Examples

How Different Businesses Use This

Tradies (plumbers, electricians, builders)

Missed-call SMS within 60 seconds with a booking link, automated quote follow-ups, job marked complete in ServiceM8 or Tradify triggers an invoice the same hour with a pay-now card link, reminders chase the slow payers automatically, payment reconciles into Xero. You stop carrying a fortnight of unsent invoices in your ute. See /industries/tradies.

Clinics & allied health

Cliniko or Halaxy integration, automated recall reminders, after-hours triage with emergency routing, gap payments and consult fees taken by card at point of service, deposits for longer appointments, clean reconciliation into the practice books. Card data tokenised by the processor, never stored by the practice. See /industries/clinics.

Cosmetic clinics & practitioners

Full AHPRA + TGA compliance built in. Pre-consultation forms with medical history, deposit collection, cooling-off period handling, automated follow-up sequences. Dedicated practice, see /healthcare/cosmetic-clinics.

Salons & beauty

Deposit required at booking for colour and longer services so a no-show doesn't cost you the chair, balance charged automatically on the day, 24h and 2h SMS reminders, no-show prevention with one-tap reschedule. Typical result: no-show rate drops to 3 to 5%. See /industries/salons.

Professional services (accountants, bookkeepers)

Fixed-fee engagements billed on a schedule, recurring retainers collected by direct debit through GoCardless, overdue reminders that don't strain the client relationship, automatic reconciliation into Xero or MYOB. See /industries/accountants.

FAQ

Common Questions

Can I just pick one outcome, or do I have to do all of them?

Pick one. Most clients start with the outcome that's bleeding the most money, usually missed calls or overdue payments for tradies, missed calls or no-shows for clinics. We build that one piece, prove it works, then add the next outcome when you're ready. We don't bundle for the sake of it.

Is this the same as your AI receptionist or booking automation services?

No, though they connect. Custom automations covers the admin layer around calls, leads, payments, and workflows. If you need an AI to actually hold a phone conversation, that's the dedicated AI receptionist build. If you need an online booking system with reminders and no-show prevention as the core project, that's booking automation. We'll tell you which one (or which combination) fits on the discovery call.

Will this work for my specific business?

Almost certainly yes if you're an Australian service business. Almost certainly no if you're a high-volume e-commerce store or a B2B SaaS. Different problems, different solutions. The discovery call is where we figure out which one you are.

How much does this cost?

Depends on scope. A single-outcome build (just missed-call recovery, say, or just invoicing-and-chasing) is much less than a full multi-outcome stack. We quote after the discovery call so the number matches the work. There's no public price list because no two builds are the same.

Is card surcharging legal in Australia?

Yes, surcharging a card payment is legal in Australia, with one hard rule: the surcharge can't be more than what it actually costs you to accept that card. You can't use it as a profit line. The ACCC enforces this and it's set by the RBA's surcharging rules. We configure any surcharge to reflect only your real cost of acceptance, so you stay on the right side of it. Plenty of businesses choose to absorb the fee instead, and we'll talk you through both on the discovery call.

Do you store my customers' card details?

No, and neither do you. Card details are tokenised by the PCI-compliant processor (Stripe or Square): they hold the actual card data in their secure vault and hand your system a token that stands in for it. LUNA never touches a raw card number, and neither does your business.

Will this work with Xero or MYOB?

Yes, those are the two we set up most. Payments reconcile automatically against the matching invoice in Xero or MYOB, so your books stay current without anyone doing manual matching at month-end. If you're on something else (QuickBooks, Reckon), we'll check the integration on the discovery call before we promise anything.

Do you use Zapier / Make / GoHighLevel / [other platform]?

We use whatever's right for the job. GoHighLevel for businesses that want SMS + email + CRM + automations in one platform. n8n for businesses that want server-side automation they can self-host. Zapier or Make for one-off integrations. Custom code where the existing tools can't handle it. We pick what works for your business, not what we're certified to sell.

What if my industry has compliance rules (AHPRA, TGA, legal)?

We work with regulated healthcare (AHPRA), pharmaceutical/cosmetic (TGA), financial services (ASIC), and legal practices regularly. Every automation built for a regulated business, including payment flows, is reviewed against the relevant compliance rules before it goes live.

What happens if I want to leave?

You take everything with you. All accounts are in your name. We hand over documentation of what's been built, what's running where, and what each automation does. The system keeps running. You either find another agency to take it on, or your in-house person picks it up.

How long until I see results?

First outcomes (missed-call recovery, instant lead response, faster invoicing) usually generate measurable results within 2 weeks. Payment-cycle changes (days-to-pay, recovered failed payments) show up within the first billing cycle. The bigger benefit, the 'I've stopped thinking about this' feeling, usually arrives at the 90-day mark.

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Pricing

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