Which workflows to automate first
A practical way to rank candidate workflows by value and feasibility, with an editable prioritization matrix you can fill in with your own numbers.
Business Systems & ERP
Workflow and business process automation
Across finance, HR, IT and operations, a lot of work is still done by hand: copying details between systems, chasing approvals, sending the same reminders. We help you choose the workflows worth automating, build them on the platforms you already license where possible, and keep people in the loop where judgement matters.
Who this service is for
A good fit if
- A process runs often, follows clear rules, and currently depends on someone remembering to do it.
- Approvals stall in inboxes and nobody can see where a request is or who holds it.
- Back-office teams key data from emails, PDFs or spreadsheets into your ERP or finance system.
- Employee onboarding and offboarding involve many hand-offs between HR, IT and managers.
- You already license tools such as Microsoft Power Automate, Salesforce Flow, HubSpot workflows or ERPNext and want them to do more of the work.
- Auditors or managers need a clear record of who approved what, and when.
Another approach may suit you better if
- The process changes every time or depends mostly on judgement. Automation will make it more rigid, not faster.
- The underlying data is unreliable. Automating it spreads errors faster, so fix the data first.
- You want software to make decisions about people, money or health without human review. We will not build that.
What this service is
Workflow automation uses software to carry out the predictable steps of a business process, such as routing a request, filling in a document, sending a reminder or updating a record, while people handle the steps that need judgement.
Good candidates share a few traits: they happen often, follow clear rules, have few exceptions, and cause real problems when forgotten or done wrong. Poor candidates are rare, judgement-heavy or constantly changing. Our guide to which workflows to automate explains how to tell the difference.
Workflows we commonly automate
In larger organizations the best opportunities are usually in the back office, where the same process runs hundreds of times across departments and sites.
- Purchasing and approvals: requisitions routed by amount, department and budget, with approval limits enforced and a full history.
- Supplier invoice intake: invoices read from email or scans, matched to purchase orders and receipts, and queued for approval in the ERP.
- Employee onboarding and offboarding: HR events that trigger account creation, licence assignment, equipment requests and access removal, so nothing depends on memory.
- Customer onboarding and contract approvals: credit checks, document collection and sign-off moving between sales, finance and legal.
- IT and facilities requests: standard requests routed, fulfilled and closed with the right approvals.
- Month-end and compliance tasks: close checklists, reconciliation reminders, policy acknowledgements and evidence collection for audits.
- Reporting: scheduled reports built and distributed to the right people without manual exports.
Where a workflow spans several applications, it usually needs system integration underneath it. Where it involves reading documents or unstructured text, AI and intelligent automation can take on the extraction, with a person reviewing the result.
Platforms
We build on what you already license wherever possible: Microsoft Power Automate and the wider Microsoft 365 platform, Salesforce Flow, HubSpot workflows, ERPNext and Prometheus workflows, and NetSuite SuiteFlow. When a workflow outgrows those tools, we use an integration platform or a small custom service. Mentioning a product does not mean we are a partner of its vendor.
Checklist: is this workflow ready to automate?
Fill this in for one workflow. If you cannot answer most items, the process probably needs clarifying before it is automated.
- Name the workflow in one line, for example "new supplier onboarding".
- Trigger: what starts it (a form, an email, a date, a status change)?
- Frequency: roughly how many times a week or month does it happen?
- Steps: list each step and who does it today.
- Rules: for each step, is the decision rule written down? What is it?
- Exceptions: what are the common exceptions, and who handles them?
- Approvals: which steps must a person confirm, and who has that authority?
- Systems: which applications are used, and are they the same every time?
- Data: is the information complete and reliable when the workflow starts?
- Cost of error: what happens if a step is done wrong or missed?
- Manual fallback: how would the work continue if the automation stopped?
- Owner: who will own the rules after it is automated?
For workflows that move information between systems, also see the integration readiness checklist.
What is included
The exact list is agreed in writing for each project. These are the usual deliverables and the usual boundaries.
Typical deliverables
- A workflow map showing each step, owner, rule, exception and approval, including the workarounds nobody wrote down.
- A prioritized automation backlog scored on volume, rule clarity, exceptions and the cost of mistakes.
- The automations, built in your existing platforms where possible, or as small custom services where not.
- Defined approval points where a person must confirm before the workflow continues.
- Exception routing to named people or queues, so nothing is silently skipped.
- An audit log of what each automation did, when, and on whose authority.
- A documented and tested manual fallback.
- Test evidence, a runbook and training for the people who use and maintain each workflow.
Not included unless agreed separately
- Automating decisions that legally or ethically need a person, such as hiring, credit or clinical decisions.
- New software subscriptions or licences, which you buy directly from the vendor, with our advice.
- Organization-wide restructuring or HR change programs.
- Ongoing support after handover, unless covered by a managed-service agreement.
What we will need from you
Most delays in this kind of work come from access and decisions, not from the technical build. Knowing these early keeps the project predictable.
- Time with the people who do the work today, to walk through how it really happens.
- Access to the systems involved, preferably in test environments.
- A process owner with authority to set the rules and approve exceptions.
- Examples of real cases, with personal information removed.
- Your internal control requirements, such as finance approval limits and segregation of duties.
Delivery
How the work is delivered
Each stage ends with something you can review before the next one starts.
Map the workflow
Walk through the process with the people who do it, including the exceptions and workarounds that are not written down anywhere.
Output: Workflow map.
Prioritize
Score each step on frequency, clarity of rules, exceptions and the cost of mistakes. Some steps stay manual on purpose.
Output: Prioritized automation backlog.
Build with approvals and fallback
Build the automation with explicit approval points, exception routing, logging and a manual route that still works.
Output: Working automation in a test environment.
Test and pilot
Test normal cases, exceptions and failures, then run a pilot with real users before switching over fully.
Output: Test evidence and pilot notes.
Hand over and improve
Hand over the runbook and rule ownership, train users and maintainers, and review the backlog for the next workflow.
Output: Runbook, training and an updated backlog.
Testing and handover
- Each rule is written in plain language as well as configured in the system.
- Exceptions are routed to a named person or queue rather than silently skipped.
- Approval steps and audit logs are checked against your control requirements.
- The manual fallback is tested, not just described.
- Users can see where an item is and what happens next.
- Automations run under service accounts owned by the organization, not an individual's login.
What affects the cost
We do not publish package prices. Each estimate is based on an agreed scope, in Canadian dollars, with taxes shown separately. These are the things that move the number most:
- The number of steps, exceptions and approval points.
- Whether your existing platforms can do the work or new tooling is needed.
- The number of systems the workflow touches and whether they need integrating first.
- Whether documents such as invoices or forms must be read and extracted automatically.
- Data quality and how much clean-up is needed first.
- The number of users and the training they need.
Questions buyers usually ask
How much time will automation save us?
We do not quote savings figures in advance. During mapping we record how often each task happens and how long it takes today, so you can estimate the effect with your own numbers and judge whether the work is worth it.
Do we need new software?
Often not. Microsoft 365, CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot, and ERPs such as ERPNext include workflow features. We use those first and suggest new tools only if they clearly justify their cost.
What if the automation makes a mistake?
The design includes validation checks, approval points for important steps and a log of every action. Exceptions go to a person, and the manual fallback lets work continue if you pause the automation.
Can you use AI in the workflow?
Where it genuinely helps, such as reading an invoice or drafting a summary for a person to review, and never as the final decision-maker for consequential outcomes. We explain the limits, data handling and cost before suggesting it.
Which workflow should we start with?
Usually a high-volume, rule-based process with a visible pain point and a willing owner, such as purchase approvals or supplier invoice intake. An early success builds confidence for harder workflows.
Related
AI solutions and intelligent automation
Apply AI where it clearly helps, from document processing to internal knowledge assistants and forecasting, with human oversight and careful data handling.
Business system integration
Connect the applications your organization runs on so data is entered once, moves reliably, and failures are caught instead of silently lost.
Is there a process your teams repeat every day?
Describe it in a few sentences. We will reply to talk through whether automating it is worthwhile and where to start.