How long does setup take from abroad?

Under ten minutes, and nothing about it requires being in the UK. You add your property and tenancy in a few taps, connect your UK bank account through Open Banking by approving the connection in your own banking app, and August starts matching rent payments to tenancies straight away. Certificates and tenancy agreements can be uploaded whenever you find them; August reads the expiry dates and sets the reminders itself. There's no importing spreadsheets, no training, and no card needed to start. Most landlords do the whole thing from the sofa, whichever country the sofa is in.