Looking to automate your business in the new year? You’re in luck because it’s easier than ever before with the tools available today. One thing all businesses have in common is a long list of daily activities that keep their companies running smoothly. Some of these tasks require you to handle them personally but some of them, while still vital to your business, could easily be done by a computer. Therefore, automation is a practical and innovative way to optimize your business.
Still, some business owners hesitate to use this type of technology to enhance productivity. Many misunderstand how it works and view it as a way to replace employees. However, that is a big misconception. In fact, automating your business offers benefits for you and your workers. Once you know how to implement and use automation in your business, the benefits will become clearer.
Automate Your Business for 2023 with These Tips and Suggestions
Before you dive in and start automating your business, you’ll need to educate your employees. You want everyone to be on the same page so they need to understand the purpose of automation and how it benefits them. Your goal is to create a mindset that embraces efficiency by maximizing your resources through automation.
Your staff will be more supportive of the change when they realize how much more time they’ll have to take care of other jobs. Daily activities will go smoother and the business will run more efficiently when you’re not wasting time on menial jobs the computer can do.
Once the training sessions are complete, here’s how to automate your business in 2023 and beyond:
- Create a team to oversee automation – The team will discuss and make the decisions associated with automating your business. They will track and record all details surrounding each task that you automate. This includes everything from the planning stages to the costs of implementing the automation to the benefits it provides.
- Identify the areas in your business that can be automated – There are many areas within a business that you can automate. You have to decide which ones you want to try first. Start by making a list of all the jobs you handle daily. Next, determine which jobs are suitable for automation and put them in a separate list.
- Automate the least complicated job first – While it really depends on your individual situation, it makes sense to automate your least complicated job first. Some options include uploading posts to social media platforms, invoicing customers and sending out emails to your target audience. These jobs are repetitious and often time-consuming so they’re perfect for automation. It gives you a chance to experience automation first hand. If something goes wrong it’ll be an easy fix and you’ll learn from your mistakes.
- Set goals and track your results – One purpose of automating your business is to increase profits. To ensure you’re benefiting from the changes you make, set goals. Then, track your results to see how close you are to reaching them. Tracking allows you to measure your results, identify problems and optimize your efforts.
- Take advantage of your free time – When you automate jobs that take up a lot of time, it leaves you free to focus on more important things. You’ll need to determine the best way for you and your employees to spend this new found time. This is the perfect opportunity for your employees to step up into more demanding positions to further their careers.
The last step is to decide which automation tools you want to use for your business. There are several options available. Research your options and pick the ones that suit your needs the best.
Here are a few of the most popular automation tool options available:
- Shoeboxed – Used to scan receipts and store the information digitally, this tool makes organizing receipts easy. It can also track expenses so you know where your money is going.
- Gusto – Used to automate payroll this tool can make sending out checks a breeze. Once your employee accepts the invite sent by email, their paycheck will be sent out automatically.
- Harvest – This is a time tracking and invoicing software. It sends out invoices on a regular schedule and even sends little reminders to let clients know they’re payment is due. It can accept payments if you accept credit cards.
- TripIt – If you do a lot of traveling, TripIt can help you plan your trip with ease. It automatically creates an itinerary by searching your inbox for reservations for flights, rental cars, hotels and major events associated with your business. You can access the list from anywhere or share it with colleagues at any time.
- Collage – Use this automation tool to help keep track of your employee records. It creates a personal profile for each employee and compiles all of their information such hire date, emergency contacts, tax documents and personal information together. It then stores all of this data in a safe, secure place where you have easy access to your digital files.
These are just a few of the many tools available to give you an idea of all the many ways you can automate your business. Below are some of the benefits automation has to offer.
Benefits of Automating Your Business
The benefits associated with automating your business are many. One of the first things you should notice is that your employees are much happier. Today, most people are overworked and stressed about how they’re going to get everything done on time. Automation can help. It reduces the workload so you’re no longer spending precious time doing tedious, repetitious tasks all day.
This saves time, improves productivity and allows everyone to focus more on taking care of high-level jobs that require a personal touch or creative thinking. Since you have more time during the workday to take care of these important jobs, employees will have more personal time. All of which translates into happier employees.
Automation can also help improve the customer experience, enhance reliability, lower cost of operations and reduce uncertainties in the workplace. Simply put, automating your business for 2023 can help improve your reputation, grow your business and improve your bottom line. Are you already using these or similar tools in your business? Are there any from this list that you plan to introduce to your current workflows in 2023?
