The problem
Immigration firms send the same kinds of document again and again: client care letters for each route, letters of authority and covering letters, each adapted from the last one by hand. If a firm produces 40 such documents a month and each takes 20 minutes to adapt and check, that's 800 minutes, about 13.3 hours a month.
What the AI does
Gavel Workflows turns your own Word templates into documents filled from a short questionnaire: client name, route, fee, dates and dependants. The Lite plan covers basic Word and PDF document automation with 10 templates and one builder seat. A caseworker answers the questions, Gavel produces the document, and the adviser checks it before it goes out. The templates are the firm's own approved precedents.
A worked example
An immigration firm in Croydon produces about 40 client care letters, letters of authority and covering letters a month. It automates its 8 most used templates in Gavel Lite, and a caseworker generates each document for the adviser to check.
Before
20 minutes to adapt and check each of 40 documents: about 13.3 hours a month
After
About 5 minutes to answer the questions and check each: about 3.3 hours a month
What it's worth
About $466£350€417A$672C$658 a month of caseworker time, if it is worth $47£35€42A$67C$66 an hour: 15 minutes saved on each of 40 documents is 600 minutes, 10 hours. Gavel Lite is $100£75€89A$144C$141 a month, or $84£63€75A$121C$118 a month billed annually, for one builder and 10 templates. Allow a few days up front to build and test the templates.
How to set it up
- Choose up to 10 documents you send most and bring each precedent up to date with current rules and fees.
- Build one template in Gavel's 7-day trial and test it with unusual cases, such as several dependants.
- Ask Gavel about EU hosting and its data processing terms, and record your COLP's approval.
- Have the adviser check every generated document before it is sent or signed.
- Review each template whenever Home Office fees, the rules or your own terms change.
What goes wrong
- A template with an out-of-date fee or rule reference repeats the error in every letter. Date each template and review it when the rules change.
- Gavel stores data in the United States by default, with EU hosting offered. Immigration files are sensitive, so agree hosting before entering client details.
- Lite allows one builder seat and 10 templates. More builders need Pro at $354£266€317A$511C$500 a month, or $293£220€262A$422C$414 billed annually.
- Automation speeds up drafting, not judgment. Whether a letter suits the client's circumstances is for the adviser.