In business automation, you entrust some of the processes in your organisation to specific software to make more time and resources for
other processes that are crucial to your operations. If you want to maximise your team or focus on the more competitive aspect of your
business, there are a lot of reasons for you to choose business process automation. Here are just five of the many benefits of automating
business processes.
1. Reduced costs
Automating some of the processes in your business will reduce your overall operational costs and help
protect
your income.
Firstly, because part of your processes are relegated to business software, tasks that would take five team members traditionally, can be
completed with three. You won’t need a big team of workers, reducing manpower costs.
In addition, because your processes are electronic, the files are also electronic, which means all costs associated with producing physical
documents such as paper, ink and power use for printers and extra storage buildings are minimised.
2. Efficiency
Business process automation programs are designed for doing menial, routine tasks and they’re designed to accomplish them efficiently.
Because they are made to focus on doing a particular task, completion times for tasks are shorter and all resources required for their
completion are used efficiently.
3. Reliability and consistency
Automated processes are more consistent and reliable than manually completing tasks. Because the same algorithms are followed each time a
task is done, the quality of work is consistent. With this it’s also easier to set expectations.
4. Better focus for employees
Not all tasks in your business can be automated, particularly those that rely on the individual skills of your employees. However,
automating some of the processes in your business can still benefit your employees in many ways, the most notable being that they won’t need
to worry about menial tasks and be able to focus more on competitive tasks. Time is spent more on core activities.
5. Easier tracking and documentation
Automation makes your business processes easier to monitor and document, unlike manual processes where documentation in itself is another
task and it’s hard to pinpoint who is liable if mistakes are made. With business process automation, your workflows create a virtual paper
trail that you can use as reference if needed later on. Many applications also provide detailed reports that give you a bird’s eye view of
the current status of your tasks, like how much has been completed or which tasks must be prioritised for certain goals.
Examples of processes that can be automated
Now that you know a little about the benefits of business process automation, here are some examples of the processes that you can automate:
Management of client relationships - If your business has a lot of customers, keeping track of everyone manually may not be easy. The are a
lot of applications that allow businesses to maintain relationships with each customer in a number of ways, e.g. contact management, lead management and analytics. This can be useful for sole proprietors and businesses that
operate at home.
Prioritisation of projects - Managing projects is easier when they’re automated because it allows managers to keep track of the progress of
each task related to the completion of the project much more efficiently than they would manually.
Employee leave and payroll - Managing human resources can be painstaking, especially for companies with a lot of employees. Automating tasks
such as approval of leave and calculating salaries are great ways to reduce the workload of HR workers, allowing them to focus on other
important tasks.
Want more advice on which tools to use so you can maximise the financial potential of your business? Get in touch with Easdowns today by visiting our website or by
contacting our business advisers and planners today!
