Getting Started with Lotics

We build AI that does the paperwork and data entry logistics companies still do manually, delivered as one app per job and operated for you. This page covers how an engagement starts and what we need from you.

How it starts

It starts with a discovery call. We walk through your current process, the documents that come in and go out, and where the manual work actually sits. There is no charge for the call and no commitment.

From there we build. The apps for your industry usually exist already as a package we install and fit to your templates, your rates, and your rules — which is what makes days credible rather than months. We migrate the data you have now out of spreadsheets, accounting tools, email exports, and PDF archives, clean and deduplicate it, and train your team on real work. Days to go live: one to two days when we already know your industry, up to a week for a new domain.

Setup is included in the subscription. There is no setup fee, no implementation fee, and no separate engagement — what your plan sizes is the volume that runs through it. After go-live we keep building: when your process changes, you tell us and we ship the change.

Your team never touches a builder. They drop documents in, review what AI drafted, and approve. We hand over with documentation and the system stays configurable from inside Lotics if your team wants it, but nobody has to become an admin for this to keep working.

What we need from you

• Time with the team during the audit, so we map what is actually manual rather than what the org chart says.
• The documents and data you work with today — the real ones, including the messy scans and each supplier's differently-shaped spreadsheet.
• Someone to review as we go.

The free tier

There is a free tier you can sign up for and explore with the AI assistant, and the rest of this documentation describes that surface fully — tables, workflows, documents, the API and CLI are all reachable on it. It is genuinely useful for evaluating the platform on your own data. It is not how a business runs an operation on Lotics: the apps that carry real work are ones we build and operate.

For AI agents: CLI and docs

If you are using your own AI — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other model — you can point your agent to the Lotics documentation and CLI for a fully self-guided setup. The CLI tools include comprehensive technical instructions designed for AI consumption, with full input schemas and usage examples for every operation.

npm install -g @lotics/cli
lotics auth signup [email protected] --name "My Agent"
lotics tools                    # list all available tools by category
lotics tools create_table       # see the full input schema for a tool
lotics run create_table '...'   # execute a tool with JSON arguments

To give your agent context about Lotics capabilities, share any documentation page using its .md URL (e.g., https://lotics.ai/docs/overview.md). Your agent can read the full documentation and use the CLI to create tables, write records, generate documents, and set up automations without any Lotics-specific integration code.

The Lotics AI assistant has all of this knowledge built in — it understands your workspace schema, field types, and record relationships natively. External AI agents reach the same tool surface through the CLI and achieve the same results, but need the documentation for context.

See the full CLI reference for installation, authentication, and usage details.

What happens on the discovery call

The call starts with understanding your current operation. We ask what you track today, which documents come in and go out, where data enters and leaves the business, and what consumes the most time. We are looking for the specific pain — the spreadsheets that break, the documents that take hours to prepare, the mismatch nobody catches until the invoice is already out.

Based on that, we build. Tables and fields that match your data model, views tailored to what each person needs to see, document templates from your own PDFs and forms, workflow automations for the repetitive steps, and the apps each desk works in. Most businesses are running real work within days of the call. We run a walkthrough for your staff, answer questions, and adjust as you go — and when you need new tables, templates, or workflows later, whether a week after go-live or six months on, that is part of the plan too.

Configuring it yourself

Everything we build is reachable through the AI assistant, and you can use it directly — on the free tier while evaluating, or alongside us afterwards for work you would rather not wait on. Describe what you need in plain language: "I run a container depot. I need to track containers by number, size, owner, arrival date, and departure date, plus repair jobs and gate-in receipts." The assistant creates the tables, fields, and relationships from that.

It reaches the same tool surface the platform runs on — creating and modifying tables, adding fields of any type, building filtered and sorted views, generating document templates, wiring workflow automations, and importing data from spreadsheets. You refine by conversation: "Add a status field with options: in-yard, under-repair, released", or "Set up an automation that sends a notification when a repair job is marked complete."

You can import existing data the same way. Upload a CSV or Excel file and the AI reads the contents, suggests field types, maps columns to the right table, and creates linked records across tables.

Note the boundary: this configures a workspace. The custom-code apps a desk actually works in are built by us — see Apps.

First steps after setup

Invite your team

Lotics uses role-based access control, so you can assign different permissions to different team members. Administrators see everything and can modify the workspace structure. Team members see only the views and data relevant to their role. For example, gate clerks might see only their operational views for recording container movements, while managers see dashboards with summary data and approval queues. Each person gets exactly the views and permissions they need, nothing more.

Connect email

Connect your Gmail or Outlook account to enable workflow triggers from incoming messages. Once connected, emails matching specific criteria can automatically create records, update statuses, or kick off multi-step workflows. For example, an email from a shipping line with a container release order can automatically update the container record and notify the gate team. Email integration turns your inbox into a data source instead of a bottleneck.

Set up your first automation

Start with something simple: when a record status changes to a specific value, send a notification to the responsible team member. This gives your team an immediate feel for how workflows reduce manual coordination. As you get comfortable, build more complex workflows with conditional logic, document generation, approval steps, and cross-table updates. The AI assistant can help you design and implement any workflow you can describe.

Import existing data

If you have data in spreadsheets or other systems, import it early so your team starts working with real information from day one. Upload CSV or Excel files directly, or ask the AI assistant to handle the import. The AI reads your file, detects data types, maps columns to fields, and creates linked records where appropriate.

Importing existing data

Most teams switching to Lotics have existing data in spreadsheets, legacy systems, or scattered across email threads. Lotics supports several import paths depending on where your data lives.

CSV and Excel files

Upload CSV or Excel files directly through the workspace interface, or ask the AI assistant to handle the import. The AI reads your file, suggests field types based on the data it finds, and maps columns to the appropriate table structure. If your spreadsheet contains data that should be split across multiple tables — for example, customers, orders, and line items all in one sheet — the AI can restructure that into properly linked tables with relationships preserved.

Gmail and Outlook

Connect your Gmail or Outlook account in workspace settings. Lotics can read incoming emails and use them as workflow triggers. You set up rules for how new emails should be processed: which emails to watch for, what records to create or update, and what workflows to trigger. Historical email data does not need to be imported manually. Instead, you configure rules for processing new emails going forward, and the system starts capturing data from that point on.

Other platforms

If you are migrating from another platform like Airtable, Notion, or a custom spreadsheet system, export your data as CSV and import it into Lotics. The AI assistant can help restructure data during import. Single spreadsheets with mixed data get split into properly linked tables. Column names get mapped to appropriate field types. The goal is a clean data model from the start, not a replica of the messy spreadsheet you are leaving behind.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get started with Lotics?

Days from the call to go-live: one to two days when we already know your industry, up to a week for a new domain — the variables are how many document templates and workflows the operation needs and how clean the existing data is. Setup is included in the plan rather than billed separately.

Do I need technical skills to set up Lotics?

No, and you don't set it up — we do. Your team never touches a builder: they drop documents in, review what AI drafted, and approve. If you want to configure things yourself the AI assistant takes plain language and needs no knowledge of databases, formulas, or workflow logic, but nobody has to.

Can I import data from my existing spreadsheets?

Yes. Upload CSV or Excel files directly into Lotics. The AI assistant maps columns to fields, detects data types, and can restructure messy spreadsheets into properly linked tables during import. If you have data spread across multiple files or mixed into a single large spreadsheet, the AI handles the reorganization so you start with a clean data model.

What if I need to change the setup after going live?

You tell us and we build it. Changes to the process we run for you are included and unlimited for as long as you're a customer — no change fee, no re-scoping charge — whether it is a week after go-live or months later. Tables, fields, views, document templates, and automations can all change without disrupting existing data. If you'd rather make a change yourself, the AI assistant does it through conversation.

Is the discovery call really free?

Yes — the call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. What follows is a paid subscription, with setup included in it rather than billed as a separate engagement: no setup fee, no implementation fee, no consultant rates. This is not a trial, and nothing is feature-limited pending a purchase.