How do you know if you need automation help?

There are several ways to know if you need some automation help. The biggest and most obvious way to know you’d benefit from some automation is that you’re frequently feeling annoyed or frustrated by how long manual admin tasks are taking. Part of you will be thinking “there must be an easier way to get this done”. You might also spot this because you procrastinate on certain work.

1. Your process includes lots of repetitive tasks

  • Do you find yourself copying and pasting lots of data between different software? (We once discovered a business that had a member of staff who literally spent the whole day copying and pasting between systems!)
  • Are you manually sending emails, logins, spreadsheets and documents?

 

2. Your business processes feel slow

  • Are there bottlenecks where things regularly get stuck? with you? with one of your staff?
  • Do important tasks get forgotten or delayed because they rely on manual intervention or follow-ups?
  • Are you or your team procrastinating on certain types of work? Because it’s dull? Or something else?

 

3. You’re making mistakes because of human (and computer) error

  • Are typos, inaccuracies, missed deadlines, or forgotten tasks costing you time and money?
  • Are your mistakes annoying your clients?
  • Are you spending far too long formatting documents in MS Word?
  • Do you worry about data accuracy because things are done manually? Do you find your team are often creating documents that are inaccurate?
  • Do you frequently have to edit/fix/correct documents generated from one of your software tools?

 

4. You’re using multiple software apps, but they don’t talk to each other properly

  • Do you use HR software (e.g. Breathe), CRMs (e.g. Hubspot), Accounting tools (e.g. Xero) or any other tools management tools that don’t talk to each other properly? Or in the way that you need?
  • Are you manually entering or copying data from one software tool into another?
  • Do you have 10-20 (or more) spreadsheets in your business?

 

5. You don’t have time to figure out automation yourself

  • You know automation could help, you know what needs to happen, but you don’t have the time or technical skills to set it up.
  • You’ve tried tools like Zapier or Make.com, but they confuse you!