Automating time-consuming tasks can save your firm massive amounts of time and free up employees to perform the functions that can’t be automated, such as tasks that require complex thinking.
Here’s the thing: It is estimated that just about half of all work activities can be automated with technology that is available today.
Automating just the basic, most repetitive tasks saves time and money [and eliminates error].
What kind of tasks can be automated?
To identify and begin automating the most time-consuming, repetitive tasks, follow these steps:
Get your teams together to list all organisational tasks that are regularly repeated and the most time-consuming. Typically, these would include things like data entry, reporting, billing, payments, and emailing.
Get someone to search for technology that can automate these tasks. Look for software that can be used for multiple tasks. An example is the DataGrows CRM and Practice Management solution which automates a number of the repetitive tasks that accountants and auditors need to perform and is South African-specific. For example, the software allows you to keep all customer details in one central place so that all relevant departments can access it. It also allows for the automation of monthly client emails and SARS task reminders.
Make sure that all the technologies you choose can be integrated to work together.
Which tasks should be automated first? The ones that balance out the cost and difficulty of automating the task versus the potential increase in productivity.
Examples of automatable processes:
Accounting: Task scheduling, SARS day counter for escalation, and revenue reporting.
Business growth: finding and following up qualified leads, calendar scheduling and appointments, and new client onboarding.
Customer support: Process ticket routing, automatically answer FAQs, reminders & follow-ups, and client satisfaction surveys.
HR: Job application process management, salaries, and leave requests.
How much time [& money] can you save by automating?
Here’s a simple calculation to work out how much time and money can be saved by automating a specific task:
Calculate how long it would take for the app to complete the task. Let’s say a specific monthly task would take 1 minute to complete if automated.
Calculate how long it would take for a human to complete the task (allow time for mistakes, breaks, or errors). Let’s say the same task takes 3 days to complete manually. That is 3 days saved, plus the cost of labour.
Work out the cost per hour.
Now compare the two values.
DataGrows software saves time and costs.
DataGrows offers CRM and Practice Management software created by South African accountants for South African accountants and auditors to track time, generate reports, and store documents all from one system.
Here’s a taste of what can be done with DataGrows CRM and Practice Management software:
Performance and progress reports.
Automatically schedule re-occurring tasks
Generate share certificates.
Track billable hours.
Automate monthly emails to clients and employee reminders.
Why not take it for a free 1-month trial (no credit card details required) and see for yourself how it can save your firm time and money?
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