The problem
You didn't start your business to spend evenings on paperwork.
Or to grow your payroll just to keep up with it. Here's where the time and money go:
Hours you're burning
- Intake filled out on paper, then typed in again
- The same job or file entered into three systems
- Documents chased down by email
- Invoices rebuilt from scattered notes
Business you're losing
- Calls that went to voicemail on a busy day
- Enquiries left sitting until Monday
- Quotes sent, and never followed up
- Past clients nobody got around to calling
What we do
We find the office work that can run itself — and build it.
Often built on the tools you already pay for. It usually falls into four areas:
Documents
Paperwork that reads and writes itself
Incoming forms, contracts and bills get analyzed and filed. Outgoing quotes, letters and reports get drafted from your templates. It all happens automatically. You just review.
Systems
Enter it once, it lands everywhere
No more typing the same thing into three programs. Enter it once, and it goes everywhere it's needed, including your books and reports.
Processes
Follow-ups that don't depend on memory
Every enquiry gets a reply, every quote a follow-up, and every unpaid invoice a reminder. Nothing slips.
Knowledge
Ask your own files anything
Everything your business knows, searchable by just asking. The answers come from your own records, not the internet.
Who it's for
We help all kinds of small businesses, including:
Trades & construction
Carpentry, Drywall, Electrical, Flooring, General Contracting, HVAC, Landscaping, Painting, Plumbing, Roofing
Professional practices
Accounting, Bookkeeping, Dental, Insurance, Law, Medical, Mortgage, Notaries, Physio, Real Estate, Veterinary
Other admin-heavy businesses
Car, RV & Boat Dealerships, Property Management, Restaurants, Retail & E-commerce, Salons & Spas, Studios, Wholesale & Distribution
Not on the list, or have questions?
If paperwork grows with every customer, we can probably help.
Book a free call →Privileged, clinical or financial files? The sensitive work can be handled locally, so client details don't leave the building.
Services & Pricing
Start with a free call or an audit. Then pick a plan.
No packages, no templates. Every plan is built around how your business already works.
1The audit: for anything bigger than one process.
AI audit
A conversation about your business: how your office runs, where things get stuck, and what you want to improve. Then a written report within five business days: what we can automate, what it would cost, and which plan fits.
2Then a monthly plan, with building included. Or custom software for bigger needs.
Assistant
$750/mo
Best for: one task
We take one repeating task off your plate, built around how you already do it, and keep it running.
For example: every intake form read, its details entered in your system, and the file archived
- 1 task automated
- Monitoring and fixes
- Monthly time-saved report
- Quick how-to guide
- Standard support
Operator
$1,800/mo
Best for: one department
We automate one department, starting with the task that saves you the most.
For example: Billing. Invoices sent when work is done, payments chased, supplier bills entered, and the books kept current
- Up to 5 tasks automated
- Monthly improvements
- Monthly review call
- Team walkthrough per task
- Priority support
Partner
from $4,500/mo
Best for: the whole office
Your own AI department. We automate several business functions at once, plan what's next, and train your team to use it.
For example: sales, operations and admin, each automated end to end
- Up to 12 tasks automated
- Proactive improvements
- Monthly strategy meeting
- Monthly AI training for staff
- Top priority support + visits
Custom software
Quoted after your audit
Best for: what off-the-shelf can't do
We build software around how you work, tailored to your specific needs, and it's yours to keep.
For example: a job-tracking system for your crews, a client portal for your practice, or one system that runs your whole business
- Fixed price upfront
- Built with your team
- Scoped in your audit
- Upkeep on a monthly plan
All prices + GST · If you ever cancel, you keep everything we built
About us
Built by someone who runs an office.
I'm Lars. I've spent over ten years in operations management — in Canada and internationally, across services and trades. Today I run the back office of a painting company here on Vancouver Island, and a few years ago I got tired of the busywork and built the software that now runs it: a crew app for daily clock-in, a management app for scheduling and job overview, and quotes and invoices that are drafted automatically.
Cedarpost is me doing that for other small businesses, from trades to professional practices and beyond, wherever the paperwork has outgrown the people doing it. I'm not an AI guy who read about your business in a report; I'm the office person who did something about the paperwork. And if AI isn't the right answer for something, I'll be the first to say so.
— Lars Hofmann, founder
You deal with the person who built it
No ticket queue, no junior staff. The person who set it up is the person you call.
We'll tell you what not to automate
If AI won't pay for itself on a job, we'll say so. Half of a good audit is knowing what to leave alone.
Your data stays yours
It's never used to train AI, you get all of it back if you leave, and nothing we build locks you out of your own systems. Sensitive files can be handled locally, on your own hardware.
Local, and happy to visit
Based on Vancouver Island. We'll come to your office when it helps, and work remotely with businesses across Canada.
FAQ
The honest questions
Is this just ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT is a chat window you type into. We build systems that do the work on their own, connected to the software you already use, mainly on Claude, from Anthropic.
I'm not technical.
You don't need to be. You run your business; we handle the build and hand you something that just works.
What do I get from the audit?
First, a short questionnaire and a 20–45 minute conversation, online or in person on the Island. You don't need to prepare anything or know anything about AI. Then a plain-English report, not a forty-page PDF: the quick wins you can act on right away, the bigger opportunities with real costs, and an honest list of what not to automate. We finish with a 60–90 minute walkthrough to go through it together.
What counts as a task?
One repeating job, from start to finish: one thing that kicks it off and one result. For example, "every quote gets followed up until there's an answer" is one task, even if it sends several messages. We agree the list of tasks with you in writing before we start.
Are there other costs?
Only the software the automations run on, like an automation tool or an AI subscription. Those accounts are in your name and billed to you directly by the provider, and we'll tell you exactly what they cost before we start. All our prices are plus GST.
What happens if I cancel?
You keep everything we built, and it keeps running. We just stop maintaining it. After the first few months, plans are month to month with 30 days' notice.
Will this replace my office person?
Sometimes it can, and we won't pretend otherwise. But the usual result is that the person you have stops drowning: quotes go out the same day, follow-ups happen, nothing slips. Same team, more work done, and no need for the next admin hire. I automated my own desk and became more useful, not redundant.
Is my data safe?
Yes. It stays yours, it's never used to train AI, you get it back if you ever leave, and if something goes wrong you hear about it within 72 hours. And if your files can't leave the building, the sensitive parts can be handled locally.
Do you do anything else?
Besides automation, we take on consulting, website design and other one-off projects. Book a free call and tell us what you need. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
Why the name Cedarpost?
A cedar post does more than hold up a fence. It carries porches, barns and whole post-and-beam buildings, and it stands up to West Coast weather for decades. That's the standard for what we build: systems that carry real weight in your business and keep holding up.
Stop losing your evenings to the office.
Book a free 15-minute call. We'll look at where your time goes and how we can help.
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