Start with a list, not a tool
Before looking at any automation tool, spend a week writing down every task that repeats: what it is, how often it happens, how long it takes and who does it. Include the small ones. A two-minute task done twenty times a day adds up to more than three hours a week.
Four questions for each task
- How often does it happen? Daily tasks pay back faster than monthly ones.
- How long does it take each time, including the checking afterwards?
- What does a mistake cost? A wrong invoice costs more than a misfiled note.
- Could you write the rules down? If two people would do it differently, it is not ready to automate yet.
What makes a good first task
The best first task is rarely the biggest one. It happens often, follows clear rules, works on data that already exists in a file or a system, and is tedious for the person who does it.
A report put together from the same exports every week is a classic example; see how to automate a weekly report. So is copying requests from email into a tracking sheet; see how to turn emails into spreadsheet rows.
What to leave for later
- Tasks that need judgement every time, such as deciding which customer to call first.
- Processes that are still changing. Automate the version you are going to keep.
- Anything where a single mistake is very expensive, until a simpler task has shown that the automation is reliable.
One task, end to end
Automate the first task completely, from the input to the result, with a check before the result is used. Run it next to the manual version for a few cycles. Only then pick the next task: what you learn on the first one makes the second much easier.
Our Workflow Fix is exactly this: one task automated end to end, with a check step and handover notes, for a fixed price agreed before any work starts.