Automation saves the most money in businesses that are already a little bit organised. If the process lives only in your head, automating it means automating chaos.

This checklist takes about five minutes. Answer each question yes or no, honestly. It’ll tell you whether you’re ready to automate now, and if not, what to sort out first.

Want it on paper? There’s a printable version of this checklist you can fill in by hand or save as a PDF.

The questions

1. Can you name the one task that eats the most of your week? Not “admin” in general, but one specific job: answering inquiries, writing quotes, chasing invoices, scheduling.

2. Do you do that task the same way most of the time? Automation needs a pattern. If every case is different, it may be a job for a person, or for better templates first.

3. Could you explain it in ten steps or fewer to a new employee? If you can write it down, it can probably be automated. If you can’t, write it down first. That alone often saves time.

4. Does the task happen at least a few times a week? Automating something you do twice a year rarely pays off. Automating something you do twenty times a week usually does.

5. Is the information it needs already digital? Forms, emails, spreadsheets, apps. If it’s on paper or sticky notes, the first step is getting it into a tool.

6. Do your main tools have logins you control? Your email, calendar, invoicing and booking tools should be in accounts you own, not a former employee’s personal account.

7. Do you know roughly what the task costs you? In hours, or in lost customers. Even a rough number (“about five hours a week”, “we miss maybe ten calls a week”) lets you judge whether a fix is worth paying for.

8. Would a mistake be easy to catch and fix? Start with tasks where an error is a minor annoyance (a reminder sent twice), not a serious problem (a wrong price on a signed contract). Build trust before automating high-stakes steps.

9. Is someone available to check the results for the first few weeks? New automations need a little attention while they settle in. Ten minutes a day for a couple of weeks is usually enough.

10. Are you willing to change the process a little? The best automations often come from simplifying the process at the same time. If the current way is untouchable, the gains will be smaller.

Your score

  • 8 to 10 yes: You’re ready. Pick the task from question 1 and automate it.
  • 5 to 7 yes: You’re close. Fix the “no” answers that are quick (usually 3, 5 and 6), then start.
  • 0 to 4 yes: Do the groundwork first. Write the process down, move it into digital tools, and track how much time it takes for a couple of weeks. You’ll get value from that before any automation.

The most common gaps

From the questions above, the three that hold most businesses back are:

  • No written process (question 3). Fix it by writing the steps down the next time you do the task.
  • Information on paper (question 5). Fix it with a simple form or spreadsheet.
  • No idea of the cost (question 7). Fix it by counting for one week. My post on the cost of missed calls shows one way to do the sum.

Next step

If you scored 5 or more and want help picking what to automate first, that’s exactly what the free discovery call is for. Book a free 20-minute call and bring your answers. If you’d like a written plan with tools, costs and build order, the $149 strategy session covers that, and the fee comes off any build you order within 30 days.