GUIDES
Automation for SMEs: which five workflows should you start with?
Ben Schmidt, Owner of Flowrenix · Updated:
Short answer
The best way into automation is a workflow that runs the same way every week and is done by hand today, such as appointment reminders, the invoicing run or payment matching. Whether it pays off can be estimated with a simple calculation: time per task multiplied by frequency, compared with the one-off costs and the ongoing effort.
Start small, with the most frequent task
Automation sounds like a big project. In practice it is individual tasks that repeat every week: writing a reminder, creating an invoice, ticking off a payment, putting together a list for the accountant.
I recommend starting with a single workflow rather than twenty at once. A single workflow is implemented quickly, first runs in parallel with the manual work and shows within a few weeks whether more are worthwhile.
Five workflows to start with
These five are the ones I most often get rid of in projects. Each can be implemented and measured on its own.
Appointment reminders
The confirmation goes out immediately after booking, the reminder automatically 24 hours before the appointment. This saves calls, and nobody has to remember to do it.
Invoicing run
Once the service has been provided, the invoice is generated and sent, with a Swiss QR-bill. Nobody has to gather services and fill in templates at the end of the month.
Payment matching
Incoming payments are matched to the open invoice, and a reminder goes out once the deadline has passed. You can see at any time what is outstanding, instead of ticking off bank statements by hand.
Sorting enquiries
Enquiries from the form, email and WhatsApp land in one place instead of being spread over three channels. You can see at a glance which enquiry has not yet been answered.
Monthly export for the accountant
On the first of the month the export is in your accountant's inbox, in the form they need. Gathering receipts and lists is no longer necessary.
How to roughly estimate the benefit
Whether automation pays off can be estimated with a simple calculation. You do not need software for this, just honest figures from your own week.
- Measure how many minutes a single task takes today, for example writing and sending an invoice.
- Count how often the task occurs per month.
- Multiply the two: that is the time the workflow costs you per month today.
- Subtract what remains manual even with automation, such as reviewing special cases.
- Compare the time saved with the one-off costs and the ongoing effort for support and tools.
A worked example
The following example uses assumed values and does not come from a client project. If a task takes 6 minutes and occurs 100 times a month, that is 600 minutes, or 10 hours per month. If one hour remains for special cases after automation, you save 9 hours a month.
Whether that is a lot or a little depends on what your hour is worth and what you do with the time instead. On top of that comes a benefit that is harder to put in minutes: invoices that are no longer forgotten, reminders that always arrive on time, and fewer typing errors.
When it does not pay off
A task you do three times a year does not pay off. Nor does automation help if the workflow does not really exist: if everyone in the business does it differently today, an automation does not create order but faster chaos.
In that case we clarify the workflow first. That costs less and achieves more. And if automation is meant to replace a decision that has not been made, I tell you so openly.
How I go about it
First we go through your week and note what repeats and how often. Then I sort the workflows by frequency times effort, and you receive a capped price. The first workflow runs in test mode in parallel with the manual work until the result is correct over several cases. Every workflow logs what it has done and reports errors.
As tools I use n8n, Make, Supabase Edge Functions and scheduled tasks. Where an existing solution is enough, I use it. Details are on the page Automation.
Finding the first workflow
If you do not yet know which workflow comes first: describe a task that costs you time every week in the automation check. An AI model sketches concrete options with a first step, free of charge and without registration. The sketch does not replace a conversation, but it gives you a basis for one.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
The task you do most often and that runs the same way every time. A single workflow is implemented quickly and shows whether more are worthwhile.
What several connected workflows cost depends on the number of programs involved and on the special cases. Before we start, you receive a capped price in writing, and it will not be more.
Every workflow logs what it has done and reports errors. You learn about a failure instead of noticing it weeks later through a missing invoice. Faults during operation are part of support.
Not necessarily. Many workflows connect programs you already use. Only when the data is not kept cleanly in any program is your own system the more economical foundation.