Most tasks in a small firm could be automated in some way, but the first project matters most, because it shows your team whether automation can be trusted.
Four questions for any task
- Does it repeat? If the same steps happen every week, they are candidates. If every case is different, they are not.
- Are the rules clear? If a new hire could follow a written checklist, a system can too. If it depends on judgment, keep a person in charge.
- Is the cost of an error low and visible? Filing an email to the wrong folder is easy to spot and fix. Sending a wrong figure to a client is not.
- Does it take real time? A task that takes two minutes a month is not worth building around.
Good first candidates
- Filing client emails and attachments where they belong
- Asking for missing documents and sending reminders
- Setting up a new client or project the same way every time
- Drafting a standard document from your own template, for review
Leave alone, for now
- Anything that needs professional judgment: advice, decisions and sign-off stay with a person.
- Anything messy: if three people do it three different ways, fix the process first.
- Anything rare: building for something that happens twice a year rarely pays back.
Check the number before you build
Add up how many hours a month the task takes across your team, then compare a year of that time with the price of a fixed-price build. If you are not sure of the hours, that is what an assessment is for. You can try the admin cost calculator for a rough starting point, or get in touch.