How to automate processes in your company: where to start

To automate processes in your company, start with work that is repetitive, happens often and follows clear rules: copying data from one program to another, entering orders, generating documents, sending an alert when something happens. Before touching anything, map out the process as it is done today and remove the steps that are not needed. Then choose the tool for the case: the feature your program already has, an automation tool that connects applications, or a custom integration when there is volume, there are exceptions or a program will not let you connect to it.

Updated October 27, 2026

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Thirty minutes, free and with no obligation, with the engineer who would lead the project.

Which processes to pick first

The ones that repeat: every day or every week, not once a year.
The ones with clear rules: if this happens, do that. The fewer judgement calls, the better.
The ones that copy data: from an email to the ERP, from one spreadsheet to another, from a form to the CRM.
The ones that fail because someone forgets: payment reminders, renewals, deadlines, stock running out.

Make a list with the hours you spend on each one every week. The first one to automate is the one that saves the most hours with the least risk, not the most eye-catching one.

Map it out before you automate it

Sit down with the person who does the work and write down every step: where the information comes from, where it is written, who decides what, and what happens when something does not add up. Almost always, steps turn up that no longer make sense.

Automating a messy process only makes it go faster in the wrong direction. First you put it in order; then you automate it.

Step by step: how to automate a process

Pick the process and write down how many hours a week go into it.
Map it as it is done today, with the person who does it.
Remove the steps that no longer make sense and fix the rules: what comes in, what is done with it and what comes out.
Decide where a person has to look: the doubtful cases, the large amounts, anything that goes to the customer.
Choose the tool: a feature of the program you already have, an automation tool or a custom integration.
Run it for a few days alongside the usual work, with real cases.
Add an alert for when it fails and measure the hours it saves.

Three ways to automate

With what you already have. Many ERPs, CRMs and online shops come with rules, alerts and connections that nobody has switched on. It is the first place to look.
With an automation tool. Platforms that connect applications with building blocks work well for simple flows between well-known programs, with low volume.
With a custom integration. When there is volume, there are many exceptions, the data cannot fail or a program has no connector, an integration built for your case is more reliable and easier to maintain.

The mistakes that cost dearly

Automating without anyone noticing when it fails: every automation has to send an alert when something does not go through.
Depending on a single person: if only they know how it works, the day they are away, it stops.
Chaining too many tools together: when a piece of data gets lost, nobody knows in which one.
Not measuring it: without knowing how many hours it took before, you cannot tell whether it was worth it.

How we do it at SANFELIU

At SANFELIU, a custom software consultancy in Barcelona, we build custom integrations and automations on AWS for companies that already have systems: orders, delivery notes and stock that go into the ERP by themselves, alerts, documents and dashboards. If an off-the-shelf tool solves it, we tell you.

For a single process, we start with a prototype with your data before any price; if there are several, with the audit, which ends in a phased plan with a fixed price per phase. Always at a fixed price per feature, with the code in your name.

Book a meeting

Thirty minutes, free and with no obligation, with the engineer who would lead the project.

Frequently asked questions

Which processes can an SME automate?

The ones that repeat and follow clear rules: entering orders into the ERP, moving data between programs, generating delivery notes or invoices, sending reminders about payments and deadlines, sorting emails and issues, or preparing regular reports.

Do you need to know how to code to automate processes?

For simple flows between well-known applications, no: there are automation tools that work with building blocks. When there is volume, there are exceptions or the ERP has no connector, you need a custom integration.

What software is used to automate processes?

It depends on the process: the features that already come with the ERP, the CRM or the online shop; automation platforms that connect applications with building blocks; robots that repeat clicks in programs that cannot be connected (RPA); custom integrations and, more recently, AI agents that do a whole job with a person who reviews it, what is called an AI factory.

How much does it cost to automate a process?

It depends on what it has to do, not on the hours. After the call, you see a prototype with your data and get a proposal with a fixed price per feature, which doesn’t change once accepted; for the whole business, the audit ends in a phased roadmap with a fixed price per phase. Reference prices are public on the pricing page.

Tell us about your case in thirty minutes.

Book a meeting with the engineer who would lead the project: thirty minutes, free and with no obligation. If we’re a fit, we tell you how we’d start; if not, who to turn to.

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