Billing and machine monitoring that runs itself, with a person approving every exception
Billing and machine monitoring that runs itself, with a person approving every exception before anything reaches the bank.
In 2026, as SafeArbor's interim COO (a contract role), I built the systems that run the company's day-to-day operations. SafeArbor operates automated pickup lockers inside retail stores.
The problem
The team learned a machine was down when a customer texted. Invoices were drafted by hand each month, and early automation created duplicate drafts.
What I built
- Machine monitoring that flags an offline locker within 10 to 15 minutes, across 12 machines watched around the clock.
- A billing engine that works out what each customer owes from their contract and drafts the invoice.
- A nightly check of billing data against the source, which finds and repairs missed records on its own.
- A customer portal where each customer sees only their own usage and billing.
- A CRM where an AI agent can add and update deals and contacts, but never overwrites anything a person edited in the past week without approval, and can't send marketing email at all.
How approval works
The system sends an invoice on its own only when it is a fixed monthly amount, unchanged from the month before, and not a customer's first. Everything else is held for a person to review. Nothing reaches the bank until someone approves it.
Results
Issuing real invoices since July 2026. A weekly email reports what ran and what the system fixed on its own. The whole platform runs for under $50 a month, without a developer on staff.