Most teams that try automation start with whatever annoys the loudest person in the room. Sometimes that works. Often it doesn't, because the most annoying task isn't the one that pays back fastest.
Here's the scoring method we use in our free audits. It takes about 20 minutes with a spreadsheet.
Step 1: List every repetitive task
Ask each person on the team to write down anything they do at least weekly that follows roughly the same steps. Don't filter yet. Typical answers: building the same Excel report, reconciling two systems, copying data from emails or PDFs, sending reminders, updating a CRM.
Step 2: Score each task on five questions
Give each a score from 1 (low) to 5 (high).
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Hours per month spent on it, across everyone | The size of the prize. |
| How rule-based is it? | Clear rules automate cleanly. Heavy judgement needs a person in the loop. |
| How stable is the process? | If it changes every month, the automation will too. |
| Cost of mistakes today | Errors in GST, payroll or invoices are expensive. Automation with checks removes them. |
| Data access: is the input digital and reachable? | Data trapped in paper or a locked system adds work before automation can start. |
Add the five scores. Anything above 18 is a strong first candidate.
Step 3: Check the "last mile"
Before committing, ask where the output goes. A reconciliation that produces a perfect file nobody opens hasn't saved anything. The best first projects end in something a person already uses: the report they send, the sheet they plan from, the WhatsApp message they'd otherwise type.
Step 4: Start with a pilot, not a platform
Automate one workflow end to end on real data. Measure hours before and after. That number becomes the business case for everything that follows, and it's far more convincing than any slide.
Examples that usually score high
- Monthly GST or bank reconciliation
- Weekly management reports rebuilt from ERP exports
- Invoice data entry from PDFs
- Payslip generation and dispatch
- Answering the same customer questions on WhatsApp
If you want a second pair of eyes on your list, that's exactly what our free 30-minute call is for.