7 Business Tasks You Should Automate Today

Want to save time and reduce errors in your business? Automation is the answer. Here are 7 tasks you can automate right now to boost efficiency and free up your team for more important work:

1. Data Entry: Automate repetitive data entry tasks to cut processing time from 3 minutes to 10 seconds per entry and reduce errors.
2. Customer Follow-Ups: Use CRM tools to automate follow-up emails, reminders, and check-ins, improving lead conversion rates by 33%.
3. Invoice Management: Streamline invoicing with automated systems to process invoices 60% faster and lower costs by 40%.
4. Employee Onboarding: Simplify HR workflows with automated onboarding processes, saving up to 480 hours annually.
5. Social Media Management: Schedule posts and monitor engagement across platforms to maintain a consistent online presence.
6. Business Reports: Use automated dashboards for real-time insights, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.
7. Analytics: Automate data collection and analysis to track KPIs and optimize performance.

Automation saves time, reduces errors, and allows your team to focus on strategic tasks. Start with these areas to see immediate results.

Business Process Automation: What We've Learned From 250 ...

1. Data Entry Automation

Data entry is one of the most time-draining tasks for businesses. On average, it takes three minutes to complete a single entry, not counting additional delays. Over 40% of employees dedicate at least a quarter of their workweek to repetitive tasks. Automated tools can transform this lost time into measurable productivity.

Data Entry Software Options

Growth Process Automation simplifies manual data entry by creating efficient workflows. It uses a combination of:

• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for structured data like spreadsheets and forms
• Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) for unstructured data from diverse sources

This combination enhances efficiency, with 80% of RPA projects benefiting from paired technologies.

Key features include:

• Real-time data validation
• Automated form handling
• Document digitization
• Easy integration with existing systems

Results of Automated Data Entry

These tools bring clear improvements. Manual data entry typically has an error rate of 1% (100 mistakes per 10,000 entries), while automation processes each entry in just 10 seconds with almost no errors.

"Repetition leads to disengagement, which can lead to costly mistakes." - Purpose Built Software

"By delegating data entry to the software, you ensure that all the records are made in the same, pre-defined format. This way, all the records in the CRM database consist of the same data set, tracked details, etc."

Here’s what automation can achieve:

• Cuts processing time from 3 minutes to 10 seconds per entry
• Minimizes errors compared to manual entry
• Ensures uniform data formatting across all records
• Frees up 25% of employees’ time for more meaningful work

2. Customer Follow-Up Systems

Once data entry is automated, the next step to improve efficiency is optimizing customer follow-up. This is a big deal - between 40% and 80% of new leads never get properly followed up on.

Using CRM Tools for Follow-Up

With Growth Process Automation, you can set up automated sequences for things like welcome messages, responses to customer actions, regular check-ins, reminders for abandoned carts, and even service anniversary messages.

The numbers speak for themselves: businesses that use structured follow-up processes see up to 47% higher pricing and 64% better closing rates. Plus, nurtured leads create 19% more sales opportunities.

Strengthening Customer Relationships with Automation

"The best marketing strategy ever: care." – Gary Vaynerchuk

Automation makes it easier to personalize communication on a large scale. When done right, it can generate 50% more sales-ready leads while reducing costs by 33%. These systems can track things like:

• Email open rates to find the best times to reach out
• Click-through rates to understand what customers are interested in
• Response patterns to gauge purchase readiness
• Conversion data to measure how well follow-up sequences are working

Nurtured leads are 33% more likely to convert than those that aren’t. By blending personalization with regular communication, automated follow-up systems make it easier for businesses to maintain strong customer relationships while saving time and resources.

3. Invoice Management Systems

After improving customer follow-ups, the next step to streamline operations is automating financial workflows - starting with invoices. Manual invoice processing is time-consuming and resource-heavy. In fact, 63% of businesses still handle paper invoices, which highlights the need for automation.

How Automated Invoicing Helps

Automating invoices simplifies tasks, improves accuracy, and boosts productivity. It can cut processing times by up to 75% and reduce costs by as much as 80%.

For example, Warner Pacific reduced its invoice processing time from weeks to just days using OCR technology. Similarly, Siemens uses RPA to handle thousands of invoices every month with impressive accuracy.

Setting Up Invoice Approval Flows

A smooth approval workflow is crucial for effective invoice automation. Right now, 28% of accounts payable teams face issues with manual invoice approvals. An automated system typically handles:

• Invoice Receipt: Automatically capturing invoices via email or direct system uploads.
• Data Validation: Using AI to verify vendor details, dates, and amounts.
• Approval Routing: Routing invoices based on pre-set rules.
• Payment Processing: Scheduling payments automatically according to terms.

Coca-Cola implemented such a system, standardizing invoice approvals across multiple regions. This led to faster payment cycles and stronger supplier relationships.

Manual processing comes with challenges - 17% of teams struggle with data entry, 15% with invoice coding, and 34% lack visibility into payment data. Companies like Unilever have integrated OCR with automated workflows to improve efficiency and compliance. General Electric added analytics tools to their automated processes, allowing them to track performance better and optimize working capital.

Finally, comparing invoice details with purchase orders and delivery receipts can help reduce the 20–30% exception rate typically seen in manual systems.

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4. New Employee Onboarding

Automating employee onboarding simplifies HR tasks and improves the experience for new hires. With 58% of organizations reporting excessive reliance on paperwork during onboarding, automation offers a way to enhance efficiency and satisfaction.

Digital HR Document Processing

Replacing paper-based processes with digital workflows and e-signatures can make a huge impact. For example, digital solutions are linked to an 82% improvement in employee retention.

Behavioral Progression, for instance, reduced onboarding time for therapists from 4 weeks to 2.5 weeks by adopting digital processing tools. Digitizing documents is just the first step - structuring an efficient onboarding workflow is the next.

Building Onboarding Workflows

A well-designed onboarding workflow pairs technology with clear processes.

"We use Onboard to set up very detailed workflows, including multi-contributor tasks, notifications, reminders, and dashboards to see exactly where each onboarding experience stands at any given time." - Miki Loveless, HR Business Partner

For example, a national nonprofit with 400 employees connected their e-signature platform to their database. This eliminated manual data entry, reduced errors, and sped up document handling.

Key elements of an automated onboarding process include:

• Welcome messages and access to essential resources
• Smart routing for required forms
• Automated training schedules with checkpoints (e.g., day 1, 30, 90)
• Progress tracking to monitor onboarding stages

Organizations adopting automated onboarding processes report measurable benefits:

"Using DocuSign has solved the headache of getting employee documents completed and signed. Now the entire process is fast and easy for us and the signer. And the time-savings is huge as DocuSign automatic signing reminders eliminate the need for us to continually follow-up." - Carrie, Sr. Recruiter

Integrating these workflows with your existing HR systems ensures a secure and seamless onboarding experience.

5. Social Media Management

Managing social media can eat up a lot of time when done manually. Automation helps keep your accounts active while you focus on the bigger picture.

Post Scheduling Tools

Automation tools allow you to schedule posts weeks in advance. Businesses posting 6–8 times a month see their leads double. The key is to balance scheduled posts with live interactions.

"Test out and see what your audience likes and then automate it as much as possible." – Gregory Baldwin

Beyond scheduling, these tools also save time by helping with monitoring and engagement.

Time Savings with Social Automation

Social media automation combines scheduled posts with smart monitoring. Posting frequency should match each platform's norms - on Twitter, for example, top users post three times daily.

Here are some effective automation strategies:

• Content Calendar Planning: Create a visual calendar to ensure consistent and varied content. Tools like SocialBee even offer AI-powered planning.
• Cross-Platform Integration: Use tools that let you post across multiple platforms at once. Pallyy is a great option for managing visual content.
• Analytics and Optimization: Platforms like Buffer provide performance metrics to help you tweak your posting strategy.

"Edgar freakin' rocks. It's shaved hundreds of hours off my workload. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it now." – Stu McLaren

To keep your posts authentic while using automation:

• Regularly check automated posts to ensure they’re still relevant.
• Adjust your schedule based on how your audience interacts.
• Tailor content for each platform’s audience.
• Set aside time for real-time engagement and replies.

6. Business Reports and Analytics

Automated reports can turn hours of manual data collection into just minutes of actionable insights. With these systems in place, businesses can make faster, data-driven decisions while reducing the risk of human error.

Automated Dashboard Setup

By connecting data sources through APIs, you can create self-updating dashboards that eliminate the need for manual report compilation.

For example, Dolls Kill, a fashion retailer, used customizable dashboards to gain real-time visibility into their data. This allowed their teams to track hourly sales and monitor customer service metrics, boosting efficiency as they transitioned from an online-only model to physical retail locations. With instant access to real-time data, businesses can act quickly and strategically.

Key components of effective dashboard automation include:

This centralized approach allows businesses to make informed decisions quickly and confidently.

Using Reports for Quick Decisions

Automated dashboards, paired with focused KPI tracking, simplify decision-making by highlighting the most critical metrics. These reports help you act quickly and decisively.

Track these key performance indicators (KPIs):

One mid-sized tech company achieved a 15% increase in market share and 20% revenue growth over two years by focusing on targeted marketing and product improvements.

"Business Growth Metrics are more than mere numbers–they are vital signs of an organization's health and trajectory." - Mark Bridges

To get the most from automated reporting:

• Configure alerts for major metric changes
• Schedule regular report deliveries
• Customize dashboards for specific roles
• Review and adjust KPIs every quarter

Keep in mind that acquiring new customers typically costs five times more than retaining existing ones, making both metrics critical to track. Focus on SMART metrics (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to ensure your insights lead to meaningful actions.

Conclusion: Starting Your Automation Project

Key Areas to Focus On

Start by automating tasks that provide the most impact with minimal disruption. Here’s a quick breakdown:

These areas can serve as a practical starting point for your automation journey.

Steps to Get Started

With a clear understanding of the benefits, you can now take actionable steps to kick off your automation project.

1. Document Your Current Processes
   Lay out your workflows in detail to create a strong foundation for automation.
2. Pinpoint High-Priority Tasks
   Focus on the 20% of tasks causing 80% of inefficiencies. For instance, a manufacturing company automated its quality control process, cutting inspection costs from $100,000 to $50,000 annually while improving defect detection rates from 85% to 98%.
3. Establish Measurable Goals
   Track your automation success using metrics like:
   • Time taken to complete tasks
   • Error reduction
   • Cost per transaction
   • Employee productivity
   • Customer satisfaction
4. Plan Your Implementation
   Create a detailed rollout strategy. Include user training, backup systems, integration steps, and clear timelines. Ensure IT involvement early on and keep manual backups ready during the transition.