July 11th 2023.
Time is a precious resource and the most valuable asset for any organization. Therefore, it is essential that organizations make the most of their limited time and invest it in activities and tasks that bring value to their business. One way to accomplish this is to adopt business process automation.
By automating routine and repetitive tasks, organizations can reclaim wasted time and use it to work on more productive or revenue-driven activities. Additionally, automation helps reduce the chances of manual errors, thus saving time and effort.
The great news is that business process automation is not just for enterprises and large organizations, but for small businesses as well. According to Zapier’s 2021 State of Business Automation Report, 88% of small and midsize businesses reported that automation enables them to compete with larger organizations. Moreover, 66% of them said that automation is now critical for running their businesses.
So the question is no longer whether small businesses should automate or not, but which processes and functions are the most suitable for automation. To help, here are the top 10 things that small businesses should consider automating first.
1. Client invoicing: Accounting and invoicing can be a major challenge for small businesses, especially with a smaller workforce. Automation tools can help track expenses and timesheets, verify data accuracy, and assemble invoices to be sent. Automated tracking of payment statuses and periodical notifications of any outstanding invoices can save time and effort. This can also help build a strong and reliable relationship with clients.
2. Marketing: Automated marketing tools can compensate for the limited budgets and workforce of small businesses. According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Trends Report 2022, 79% of organizations automate their marketing processes. Automation can be used for activities such as social media marketing, email marketing, keyword optimization, A/B testing, lead generation, and market research.
3. Project management: Automation can provide significant time and effort savings for project management. Many routine and administrative tasks can be automated, such as review and approval, reporting, billing, scheduling, task tracking, and time recording. A professional services automation tool such as Polaris PSA can be used to manage client projects and automate a range of project management processes.
4. Resource management: Automating resource management can help identify and allocate resources to different tasks and projects quickly and efficiently. Tools can check resource availability based on their schedules and time off, making it easier to have enough resources for a project.
5. Time tracking: Time tracking is crucial for payroll, project costs, and invoicing. Automating this process ensures accurate timesheets and reduces payroll and compliance issues. Automation also helps employees avoid having to fill out timesheets manually.
Time is one of the most valuable resources for any organization. That's why it's important to make sure it is spent on activities and tasks that bring value to the business. Business process automation can help with this by taking over routine and repetitive tasks. This will help free up time to focus on more productive or revenue-driven activities, as well as reduce the risk of manual errors.
Small businesses stand to benefit the most from automation, as the Zapier 2021 State of Business Automation Report found that 88% of small and midsize businesses reported that automation enables them to compete with bigger organizations. Moreover, 66% of them said that automation is critical for running their businesses now.
So, what should small businesses consider automating first? Client invoicing is one of the most important. With the right tools, you can automatically track expenses and timesheets, verify the accuracy of data, and put together ready-to-send invoices. This will speed up the accounting and invoicing process, helping you optimize your cash flows. You will no longer need to chase clients for payments or worry about the accuracy of your invoices.
Marketing is another area that should be automated. Automated marketing tools can help bridge the gap and even out the playing field between small businesses and their larger competitors. These tools can take over tedious tasks and help you focus better on developing marketing campaigns and strategies for business growth. Social media marketing, email marketing, keyword optimization, abandoned cart marketing automation, A/B testing, lead generation, and market research are some examples of activities that can be automated.
Project management is another area that can benefit from automation. Automating project management helps improve the productivity of your employees while reducing their workload simultaneously. Automating review and approval, reporting, billing, scheduling, task tracking, and time recording are some of the ways automation can be incorporated into project management.
Resource management and time tracking are also important processes that should be automated. Automating resource management helps identify and allocate resources to different tasks and projects quickly. This translates into significant time and effort savings which can be better utilized in other tasks. Automating time tracking ensures that employees submit accurate timesheets on time, reducing the risk of payroll and compliance issues down the line.
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