Documents
- Invoices and orders read out of an inbox
- Line items checked against the order
- Mismatches routed to a person to approve
- An archive that can be searched by content
Process automation
Data moves between systems on its own, so nobody retypes it.
I connect the tools a company already uses and take the repeated typing off people: invoices, enquiries, orders, reports. Anything with a consequence stays a human decision. The work starts with one process, mapped on paper before any tool is chosen.
What gets automated
Documents, enquiries, orders and reports that someone currently handles by hand.
Enquiries and sales
- Form submissions into the CRM
- Classified and assigned to a person
- Replies drafted for approval
- Reminders on threads nobody answered
Catalogue and stock
- Catalogue synchronised with the storefront
- Stock and prices from one source
- Product descriptions and variants
- Orders exported to the warehouse system
Reporting
- Reports prepared automatically
- Dashboards over data from several systems
- Alerts when something moves out of range
- Delivery at a fixed time
How it starts
First we describe the task and the data it needs. Then I choose the tools and build a working automation.
Pick one process
We choose a task that regularly takes time or causes errors, then agree how to tell whether automation is helping.
Map it
The data, the tools, the decisions and the exceptions. Exceptions are what break an automation later, so they get written down before anything is built.
Build a small flow
I connect the tools needed for one task. We agree when the automation can act on its own and when it must pass a case to a person.
Extend after measuring
I test it on real cases and add to it only once the base flow works on them.
What it is built with
Two tools, and which one a job gets is settled in step two above.
n8n, by default
I use n8n to connect the steps of a task and the tools involved. Where a ready-made connection is missing, I build one. n8n can run on your company server; I choose the setup and costs around the data and number of tasks.
Make for simple connections
I use Make for tasks such as saving form submissions to a spreadsheet or sending Slack notifications, using ready-made connections between your tools.
Starting the project
Where to start
One or two sentences about work that comes back every week are enough. You do not need to know whether it is a job for a model, for a rule or for an integration between two tools. That is the first question I answer. I start with one process that has a visible stake, and automating a whole department is a sequence of further projects, each quoted on its own. Business process automation works well remotely: you describe the process in conversation and through access credentials, so I do not need to be on site.
When I say no
If a rule with three conditions does the job, a model would be a more expensive version of that rule, and I will tell you so. If two ready-made tools can be joined in Zapier or Make, nothing gets written. And if the form itself produces the errors, I fix the form before automating anything behind it.
Worth reading first
How to choose the process for a first automation, what to write down before asking for a quote and how the start looks are set out in an article on the blog.
Selected work
Projects you can see running. Each write-up shows what was built and how it works.
Automation quote
Say what somebody at your company does by hand today and how long it takes. I will reply with a price.
