Sensible technology, close to the work.
Find the real need. Build the right thing.
Squared Lemons helps UK SMEs turn messy operational problems into working systems: software, automation, integrations, agents and AI where it genuinely helps.
We start by understanding the work, the systems, the people and the trade-offs. Sometimes the answer is AI. Sometimes it is better software, cleaner data, a small integration, or changing the process.
Founder-led by Jonathan Gill — former Watchfinder CTO/CIO, with 30 years writing, deploying and leading business-critical software.
No pitch deck. No software demo. Just a practical conversation about where technology could remove friction, reduce risk or make the work easier.
The hard part is not choosing an AI tool. It is understanding what the business actually needs.
Your team already has tools, habits and workarounds. New technology has to fit the business you actually run.
The obvious request is not always the useful one. Some ideas need AI. Some need software. Some need cleaner data, a better handover, or a polite no.
You need someone who can carry the technical judgement as well as the delivery: understand the need, choose the route, build the thing, and keep it safe enough to use.
CTO-level judgement, then hands-on delivery.
Find the real need
We look at the work as it actually happens: systems, handovers, spreadsheets, inboxes, decisions, exceptions, incentives and bottlenecks.
Choose sensible technology
We separate fashionable ideas from useful ones, then decide whether the answer is software, automation, integration, data cleanup, AI, or a process change.
Build and deploy carefully
We write, configure or connect what is needed, then test it against the real workflow — not a demo that only works in a meeting.
Lead the technical queue
For ongoing clients, we keep a visible backlog of business outcomes while managing the implementation detail privately: architecture, code, agents, testing, rollout and review.
This is for SMEs that need technical leadership close to the work.
You do not need a grand AI strategy to start. You need a technical lead who can work out where the friction is, what is worth building, and whether AI, automation, software or a simpler process change is the right answer.
Good fit
You can see technology and AI matter, but you need help deciding what is actually worth doing.
Your current tools are decent, but the handovers between them are still manual or fragile.
You need senior technical judgement and someone who can also write, deploy or direct the build.
You want AI used sensibly inside the business, not bolted on because the market is noisy.
Probably not
You want to add AI because everyone else is talking about it.
You only want a chatbot, a prompt pack, or a one-off automation with no operational context.
You need a large agency, a slide deck, or a six-month discovery phase before anything useful happens.
What sensible technology can turn into.
The right answer depends on the business. These are the kinds of systems we usually end up designing, building, connecting or leading.
Custom workflow software
Small, focused tools that remove repetitive admin, connect teams and fit the way the business already works.
Integrations and data plumbing
Practical connections between CRM, email, finance, project and support tools where manual handover is the problem.
Reporting and decision support
Systems that pull together messy data and produce useful summaries, exceptions and next actions.
AI workflow assistants
Assistants that help staff draft, check, summarise, classify or respond inside existing workflows.
Agentic automations
Bounded agents that carry out tasks across tools, with logging, review points and sensible failure handling.
Technical leadership rhythm
A visible queue of business outcomes, with Squared Lemons privately managing architecture, code, tests, deployment and review.
Founder-led. Deliberately small. Close to the work.
Squared Lemons is led by Jonathan Gill.
I have spent 30 years writing, deploying and leading business-critical software, including the systems behind Watchfinder through scale, funding and acquisition.
That background matters because the current AI hype is only one part of the problem. The useful work is in the detail: how your team makes decisions, where data lives, what breaks under pressure, what can be automated safely, and what should simply be better software.
When you work with Squared Lemons, the person helping shape the strategy is also close to the implementation: code, architecture, integrations, agents, deployment and review.
No handovers. No layers. No theatre.
Questions we should answer early.
Straight answers before we talk about tools, retainers or whether AI is even the right answer.
01 Is this an AI consultancy or fractional CTO support?
Is this an AI consultancy or fractional CTO support?
It sits between the two. Squared Lemons gives UK SMEs senior technical leadership close to implementation: understanding the operational need, choosing sensible technology, and then building, connecting or directing the right solution. AI is part of the toolkit, but not the whole proposition.
02 What does Automation Lead mean?
What does Automation Lead mean?
Automation Lead is a premium fractional relationship where Squared Lemons helps leadership identify the right operational problems, shape a visible business-outcome backlog, choose the technical route, and drive implementation. The client sees priorities, decisions and outcomes; Squared Lemons manages the technical detail privately.
03 Do you write and deploy software as well as advise?
Do you write and deploy software as well as advise?
Yes. The offer is grounded in hands-on technical experience. Depending on the need, the work might involve custom software, scripts, integrations, data flows, agentic automation, AI workflow assistants, vendor selection, or simply improving the process before technology is added.
04 How much does this kind of work cost?
How much does this kind of work cost?
For the premium Automation Lead relationship, engagements typically start from £12,000/month. Smaller fixed-scope diagnostics or audits may be appropriate first. Pricing depends on systems complexity, access requirements, urgency, stakeholder involvement and how much responsibility Squared Lemons is carrying.
05 What size business do you work with?
What size business do you work with?
The best fit is usually UK SMEs and growing businesses with enough operational complexity for technical leadership to matter: established teams, recurring admin, multiple systems, messy data or decisions that are too important to leave to generic tools. Very small businesses needing a simple one-off automation are usually better served elsewhere.
Let's find the real need.
Book a 30-minute conversation. We will look at the operational friction, the systems around it, and whether the practical next step is software, automation, AI, integration, or doing nothing yet.
No pitch deck. No vague transformation plan. If the need is not clear enough to justify technology, we will say so.