Business Process Automation: 10 Tasks Companies Should Stop Doing Manually

Many business processes depend on someone remembering to follow up.

Examples include:

• Unpaid invoices
• Expiring contracts
• Abandoned applications
• Customer renewals
• Pending approvals
• Sales follow-ups
• Maintenance schedules

These tasks are ideal candidates for rule-based automation.

Instead of relying on memory:

Contract Expiry - 60 Days
        ↓
Notify Account Manager

Contract Expiry - 30 Days
        ↓
Notify Customer

Contract Expiry - 7 Days
        ↓
Escalate

The system ensures important events do not disappear inside someone's calendar or inbox.

Automation Does Not Always Require Custom Software

Not every workflow needs developers.

Simple automation can often be created using existing platforms.

Examples include:

• CRM automation
• ERP workflows
• Zapier
• Make
• Microsoft Power Automate
• Low-code platforms
• Built-in SaaS integrations

If these tools solve the problem reliably, use them.

Custom engineering becomes more relevant when workflows involve proprietary systems, complex business logic, legacy applications, specialized permissions, large transaction volumes, or integrations that standard automation tools cannot support.

In these cases, businesses may consider Custom Software Development to create applications and workflows around their actual operational requirements instead of continuously adapting processes to the limitations of generic tools.

How to Find Automation Opportunities

One of the easiest ways to find opportunities is to ask employees a simple question:

What task do you repeat every week that you wish you didn't have to do?

The answers can be surprisingly useful.

Look for processes involving:

• Copying and pasting
• Repeated data entry
• Spreadsheet exports
• Email approvals
• Recurring reports
• Manual notifications
• Moving files
• Checking the same information repeatedly

These are strong candidates for further investigation.

Calculate the Cost of Manual Work

Automation projects should solve measurable problems.