5 Business Processes You Should Automate First
Not sure where to start with automation? These five high-impact processes deliver quick ROI and free up your team's most valuable time.
5 Business Processes You Should Automate First
When teams first consider automation, the possibilities can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? Which processes will give you the biggest return?
After implementing automations for dozens of businesses, we've found that certain processes consistently deliver quick wins. Here are the five we recommend automating first.
1. Lead Capture to CRM
The Manual Pain: Sales reps copy-paste leads from web forms, emails, and spreadsheets into your CRM. By the time they follow up, the lead has gone cold.
The Automated Fix: Web forms, LinkedIn, and ad platforms automatically push leads into your CRM with enrichment (company size, industry, contact info) and intelligent routing based on territory or deal size.
Why It's High-Impact: - Reduces lead response time from hours to minutes - Eliminates data entry errors that lose deals - Ensures no lead falls through the cracks - Typical time savings: 10-15 hours/week
Tools: HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive + Zapier/n8n + Clearbit/ZoomInfo
Learn more about our Lead-to-Closed-Won Operations services.
2. Invoice Generation & Accounts Receivable
The Manual Pain: Your team manually creates invoices, sends them via email, tracks payments in spreadsheets, and follows up on overdue accounts.
The Automated Fix: When a project completes or a subscription renews, invoices automatically generate, send, and sync with your accounting system. Payment reminders go out at 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day overdue.
Why It's High-Impact: - Faster payment collection (15-30% improvement in DSO) - Reduces billing errors that cost money - Frees finance team for strategic work - Typical time savings: 8-12 hours/week
Tools: QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, Bill.com
Interested in finance automation? We can help.
3. Customer Support Ticket Triage
The Manual Pain: Support requests come in via email, chat, phone, and social media. Someone manually reads each one, categorizes it, and assigns it to the right person.
The Automated Fix: All support channels funnel into one system. AI or rule-based triage automatically categorizes tickets (billing, technical, sales), sets priority based on keywords and customer tier, and routes to the right team member.
Why It's High-Impact: - Reduces first response time by 60-80% - Ensures urgent issues get immediate attention - Distributes workload evenly across team - Typical time savings: 5-10 hours/week
Tools: Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom + OpenAI/Claude
4. Employee Onboarding Workflows
The Manual Pain: HR manually sends welcome emails, creates accounts, schedules training, and tracks completion. New hires wait days for access and don't know what's expected.
The Automated Fix: When a new hire is added to your HRIS, automations create accounts (email, Slack, tools), send welcome sequences with embedded tasks, schedule meetings, and track completion with reminders.
Why It's High-Impact: - New hires productive on day 1 instead of day 5 - Nothing gets forgotten (compliance, training, equipment) - Better employee experience = lower early turnover - Typical time savings: 4-6 hours per new hire
Tools: BambooHR, Workday, Google Workspace, Slack, n8n
5. Report Generation & Distribution
The Manual Pain: Every week/month, someone manually pulls data from multiple systems, builds reports in Excel, formats them, and emails them to stakeholders.
The Automated Fix: On a schedule, automations query your databases/APIs, transform the data, generate formatted reports (PDF, dashboard, CSV), and distribute them to the right people via email or Slack.
Why It's High-Impact: - Reports are always on time and accurate - Data is fresher (daily vs. weekly) - Analysts focus on insights, not data wrangling - Typical time savings: 6-10 hours/week
Tools: Google Sheets, Looker, Metabase, n8n, BigQuery
How to Choose Your First Automation
Use this simple prioritization framework:
1. High Manual Hours – What takes the most time? 2. High Error Rate – What breaks or gets forgotten often? 3. High Business Impact – What directly affects revenue or customers? 4. Low Technical Complexity – What can be done in 2-4 weeks?
The best first automation hits all four. For most businesses, that's lead capture or invoice generation.
Getting Started
1. Map the current process – Document every step, system, and handoff 2. Identify the pain points – Where do things slow down or break? 3. Define success metrics – What does "better" look like? 4. Start with a pilot – Automate one workflow end-to-end 5. Measure and iterate – Track the impact and refine
Most businesses see 3-10× ROI on their first automation within 90 days. The key is starting with a high-impact, low-complexity process and proving value quickly.
Want to learn more about what we automate? Check out our full service offerings or read our guide on calculating automation ROI.
Ready to automate your first process? [Fill out our intake form](/contact) or [book a free consultation](https://cal.com/brooksflow) to discuss your specific needs.
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