What does it mean to automate a process?

Automating a process means letting software carry out recurring work, so that a person no longer does it by hand. It concerns tasks with fixed steps: copying data, sending a message, preparing a document, raising a flag when something is off.

It is different from digitising. An invoice in Word instead of on paper is digitised. An invoice that builds itself from the hours your team logged is automated. You can only automate what is already digital, so digitising comes first. For the full definition and the benefits, see our explainer on the automation of business processes.

Why it matters for small businesses too

“No industry or government can carry out its business processes effectively and efficiently without automation,” says Prof. Dr. Hans Mulder of the Antwerp Management School (interview in Dutch). He is talking about banks, insurers and online stores with millions of transactions.

For an agency of twelve people, the issue is a different one: lack of time. Every invoice someone retypes and every schedule someone updates by hand is time that does not go to clients. In a tight labour market, that is the cheapest capacity you can free up.

It tends to go wrong when companies start too big. Mulder’s research on project-free working shows that it does go well for organisations that build in small steps and keep adjusting. That is the thread running through this article.

Which processes do you automate first?

Not everything is worth the effort. A process is a good candidate when it has four traits:

  • It comes back often. Weekly or more. Something you do twice a year never earns back the setup.
  • It runs the same way every time. Fixed steps, few exceptions.
  • Mistakes cost money. A forgotten invoice, a double-booked colleague, a lead nobody follows up.
  • It needs no judgment. Copying, sending and flagging are things software can do. Weighing things up is not.

Ten examples by department

DepartmentBy handAutomated
SalesRetyping a lead from a web formThe lead lands in your CRM straight away, with its source
SalesRemembering to call backA follow-up task appears when a deal changes stage
ProjectsUpdating the schedule in a spreadsheetThe capacity overview updates itself from the projects
ProjectsDiscovering an overbooking when it is too lateA warning as soon as someone goes over their weekly capacity
HoursRetyping hours into the invoice afterwardsApproved hours become invoice lines
InvoicingRebuilding the same invoice every monthThe recurring invoice is ready and waiting
InvoicingCalling about unpaid invoicesA reminder goes out after a fixed number of days
AccountingTyping over receiptsScan and import into your accounting package
HRRequesting leave by emailRequest and approval in your HR tool
Customer serviceAnswering the same question again and againA knowledge base or chatbot for frequent questions

Where FlowQi fits: it is built for the rows about projects, hours and invoicing. Clients, projects, tasks and logged hours live in one system, and the modules for time tracking, capacity planning and invoicing build on that. Accounting and HR stay in the packages you already use.

How to automate a process: the 6 steps of the automation journey

Step 1: List your recurring tasks

What do you do again every day, week or month? Sending invoices, answering the same questions, updating the schedule, checking hours. Write everything down, however small it seems. A freelance designer ends up with invoices and proposals. An agency with hours, scheduling and invoicing.

Step 2: Find the tasks that eat time

Next to each task, note how much time it costs per month and what it brings in. The tasks that cost a lot and bring in little go to the top.

Step 3: Choose one process

Not three. Pick the process that is easy to set up and shows results quickly. For most service businesses that is the road from hours to invoice: it holds the most retyping, and mistakes there cost revenue directly.

Step 4: Set it up

Three building blocks keep coming back:

  • Triggers. An event that sets something else in motion. Someone fills in a form, and the lead is in your CRM.
  • Templates. For proposals, invoices and recurring projects, so you stop entering the same details.
  • Rules. “If X happens, then Y.” An invoice is seven days overdue, so a reminder goes out.

Step 5: Test and adjust

Automating is not set and forget. Watch along for the first weeks: is the invoice right, does the reminder arrive at the right moment, does the client understand what they receive? A chatbot that gives wrong answers costs more than it saves.

Step 6: Expand

Once the first process has run for a month without you looking after it, take the next one from your list. In a year you build more that way than with one big project that stalls halfway.

What you are better off not automating

  • The first contact with a new client. An automatic confirmation is fine, but the conversation itself is yours.
  • Bad news. A delay or a higher invoice is something you tell a client in person, not by template.
  • A process that is broken. Automate a messy process and you get mess, faster. Fix the process first, then automate it.

Separate connections or one platform?

There are two routes. The first: you keep your separate tools and tie them together with a connector platform. That is flexible, but someone has to build and maintain the connections, and any change in one of the tools can break something.

The second: software in which the steps are already connected. There is nothing to build, because client, project, hours and invoice belong together. FlowQi is of that second kind. Read more in our article on workflow automation.

Conclusion

Anyone can learn to automate processes, and you do not need to be technical. Start with one task that comes back often and runs the same way every time, set it up well, and only expand once it runs by itself.

Want to start with projects, hours and invoices? Start free with Basic: CRM and projects for your whole team, with no end date.