Almost every business has work that nobody likes doing and that still comes round every week. Some of it can be automated, some of it cannot. The difference is surprisingly easy to spot, even without technical knowledge.
Seven signs
- It happens regularly. Every day, every week, with every enquiry.
- The steps are the same every time. First this, then that, then the next thing.
- Data is retyped. From an email into the system, from the system into the invoice, from the invoice into the accounts.
- There are rules. If a sentence along the lines of “If …, then …” describes the process, that is a good sign.
- Typing errors happen. Wherever people copy and paste, mistakes creep in.
- There is waiting. Something sits there until someone has time to pass it on.
- It depends on one person. When she is on holiday, the process stops.
When it is not worth it
When every case is different and calls for experience and judgement. When the process only comes up a few times a year. Or when nobody can say exactly how it actually works. Then it needs to be put in order first, not automated.
A simple test
Write the process down on one page, step by step. If it fits on the page, and a new employee could handle it with that page on her first day, then software can very probably handle it too.
The calculation
Minutes per run times runs per week times weeks per year. Ten minutes, twenty times a week, comes to more than 150 hours a year. Set that against the cost: with us, a first automated chain starts at €2,900, and support at €190 a month. Where it does not pay off, we tell you.
A person approves
Automating does not mean giving up control. With us, a person approves anything that goes out or moves money.