Workflow automation
Let software do the steps that never change.
If a task follows the same steps every time, a scheduled job or a small service can usually do it: reliably, at 3 a.m., and without getting bored. The point isn't to take people out of the process. It's to stop them spending their day on the parts a computer does better.
What I do
Scheduled jobs
Collect files from email, shared folders or other systems, process them, and put the results where they belong, on a schedule.
Documents from templates
Contracts, letters, reports and emails generated from your data, consistent every time.
Reading documents
Data pulled out of PDFs and other documents, with checks, and a person reviewing anything unusual.
Handovers and approvals
A simple, visible flow for work that passes between people, so nothing waits unnoticed in an inbox.
Visible results
Every automated step leaves a log, and an alert goes out when something needs a person.
Is it worth automating? How I decide
| What I see | What I usually suggest |
|---|---|
| The task is frequent and the steps are always the same | Automate it fully |
| The steps are the same, but some cases need judgement | Automate the routine and send the exceptions to a person |
| The task happens a few times a year | A checklist or a template is often enough |
| Nobody agrees how the process should work, or it keeps changing | Settle the process first, automate it afterwards |
| Documents arrive in many different layouts | Automated extraction with checks, and AI only where it really helps |
Automating a broken process only makes the mistakes happen faster. Sometimes the first step is agreeing how the work should flow.
How an automation project usually goes
Watch the work
You show me the task as it's done today, exceptions included.
Find the routine
Separate the steps that never change from the ones that need judgement.
Agree the scope
A written proposal: what gets automated, what stays manual, what it costs.
Run it alongside
The automation runs next to the manual process until the results match.
Hand over
Documentation, a readable log and a clear owner for the exceptions.
Questions about this
What happens when a case doesn't fit the rules?
It goes to a person, with the reason shown. Good automation handles the routine and makes the exceptions easy to spot. It doesn't guess.
Where does the automation run?
Where it fits your setup: on a server or Windows machine you already have, or as a small cloud service. We agree it in the proposal, along with who looks after it.
How do we know it ran?
Every run leaves a log you can read, and you get a notification when something fails or needs a decision. Nothing should fail silently.
Can you automate work in a system we don't control, like a supplier portal?
Sometimes. It depends on what the system allows, including its terms of use. Describe the case and I'll tell you what's possible.