Your Business is Never Too Small to Automate

It might be tempting to count yourself out as you’re first getting your company off the ground. You might think when my business gets bigger, I’ll get some real accounting software or once my company grows, it’ll be time to automate that process. But, in fact, even a company in its nascent stage can benefit from automating many of its processes. And there are many free and low-fee automation options available – you just need to look for them.

What are the Benefits of Automation?

There are multiple reasons why you should consider employing automation in your business. For example:

• It increases efficiency and accuracy – when repetitive tasks are automated, they are completed quicker and there are fewer manual errors

• It creates cost savings – you’ll likely spend less on labor costs and even experience a boost in productivity

• It enables you to scale – it’s easier to grow if you have automation in place that eliminates the need for tasks to be completed manually

• It improves customer service – customers respond well to speed (efficiency) and consistency

• It gives you a competitive edge – you may very well surpass your competition because of your newly efficient operations and happy customers

5 Simple Ways to Add Automation to Your Company

Below we’ve listed five areas of your business where automation can improve your bottom line:

1. Scheduling Appointments

There are many programs available (Google Calendar, Calendly, and Acuity, to name a few) that automate the process of scheduling meetings. Save time by doing away with all the back and forth. Discovery calls, consultations, and appointments with clients will all be added to your calendar automatically – saving you lots of time!

2. Processing Sales 

Another way to automate is to utilize a Point-of-Sale (POS) platform like Shopify, Square, Toast, or Revel Systems. These systems process customer sales and send the payments directly to your business bank account. Eliminate all the in-between steps and, again, save time.

3. Bookkeeping 

It’s essential that your company’s finances be kept organized, correct, and timely. While there are many reasons why, one of the most important is so you have accurate financial data to base your business decisions on. Automating your bookkeeping will reduce manual errors and provide more timely reporting if done right. Consider the following bookkeeping programs: QuickBooks Online, Xero, and AccountingSuite. 

4. Paying Bills

Why spend time manually paying bills if you can fire once and forget? Use your bank or a service like QuickBooks Online or Bill.com to automate your bill payments. Beyond saving time and aggravation, this will help you avoid late and non-payment fees, penalties, and interest. 

5. Managing Projects

Finally, building some structure and automation around projects and tasks will allow you to operate more efficiently, saving time and money. Check out project management apps like monday, Notion, ClickUp, or Asana to coordinate meetings, to-dos, and reminders more seamlessly.

While automation might sound like a solution that only works for huge conglomerates or car manufacturers, the truth is that a company of any size can implement automation and reap its rewards. From automating bill payments and project management to sales, social media, bookkeeping, appointment scheduling, and more, there are certainly many ways to take advantage of this secret weapon – even if your company is on a strict budget. So, don’t wait – start thinking about automation and how it can help you today.