Introduction
Profix Maintenance is a Cork-based property maintenance company that offers corporate, commercial and public maintenance services to a wide range of clients across Ireland. They deliver extensive maintenance and repair services in the areas of Storm, Fire and Flood repair, with a focus on being able to adapt to unique and challenging client requirements on a daily basis.
Challenge
As demand for services increased, Profix faced growing pressure in managing and responding to quote requests. The process of preparing detailed, accurate quotes was highly manual and time-consuming, creating administrative bottlenecks. This limited the company’s ability to scale efficiently and created a backlog of quote requests, impacting both operational efficiency and customer experience. Prior to engaging with CeADAR, Profix had already begun its digital transformation journey through supports provided by the Local Enterprise Office (LEO), working with LeanBPI as a digital mentor. This work enabled the company to digitise core operational processes, including job tracking, data capture, and quote management systems, creating a strong data foundation for further innovation. Building on this progress, Profix engaged with CeADAR to explore how artificial intelligence could be applied to further streamline and scale its operations.
Solution
Through CeADAR’s Test Before Invest service, Profix collaborated with a data scientist to design and develop a working prototype for automated quote generation. The resulting solution is a browser-based application that streamlines the end-to-end quoting workflow. It integrates existing operational data with AI to generate structured, customer- ready quotes with minimal manual input.
The system works as follows:
● Job data is retrieved by integrating Profix’s existing system – Google Sheets workflow, which tracks work completed, materials used, labour hours, and associated costs.
● This structured data is passed to a Large Language Model (LLM), which generates a draft professional, customer-ready quote including descriptions of work, itemised costs, and relevant dates.
● Profix staff can review and refine the generated quote using simple, targeted instructions.
● Once approved, the finalised quote is submitted directly to SortMyBooks, Profix’s accounting platform.
This approach allows Profix to retain full control over outputs while significantly reducing the time required to produce high-quality, consistent quotes.
Director of Profix, Stephen Hartnett, had the following to say on the success of the project to date, “CeDAR’s AI program has significantly accelerated the quoting process for Profix Maintenance Services. The team’s dedication was evident throughout the extensive, step-by-step development process. Their commitment to a thorough, long-term approach ultimately delivered a highly effective solution for our business. A special thanks to Laura and Ajith for their exceptional support and guidance along the way”.
Results and Benefits
The prototype has transformed Profix’s administrative workflow by significantly reducing the effort required to generate detailed quotes.
Key benefits include:
● Faster turnaround times: Quotes that previously took hours to prepare can now be generated and refined in minutes.
● Reduced administrative burden: Automation of repetitive drafting tasks frees up staff to focus on higher-value operational work.
● Improved consistency: AI-generated drafts ensure a standardised, professional format across all client communications.
● Scalability: The business is now better equipped to handle increased volumes of quote requests without adding overhead.
● Human-in-the-loop: This approach allows Profix to maintain oversight and control while significantly reducing the time and effort required to prepare accurate, consistent quotations.
Importantly, the project demonstrated how AI can be practically and effectively applied within an SME environment. By leveraging CeADAR’s EDIH services, Profix was able to test and validate this approach in a low-risk setting, providing a clear pathway toward further digitalisation and AI adoption.
