Learn how to choose a process to automate, connect your tools and define approvals, testing and support. Business examples and a project in Guadalajara, Mexico.
A client accepts a proposal. Sales lets the admin team know, someone asks for the missing details, and somebody needs to create the project so operations can get started. Each person does their part, but between steps there are emails, messages and things someone has to remember.
Business process automation connects those steps. It uses rules and tools to move information, assign work and flag decisions that need someone's attention. Your team can see where each request stands and what needs to happen next.
If you're thinking about hiring someone to build this, start with one specific workflow in your business. Let's look at how to choose it and what to agree on before building it.
Which processes can you automate
Look for workflows with an input, several actions and an outcome you can recognize. For example:
| Process | Possible workflow |
|---|---|
| Service request | Receive the inquiry, assign someone, prepare a proposal, approve it and coordinate the start of work |
| Document approval | Receive a version, send it for review, record changes and notify people when it's approved |
| Event registration | Receive confirmation, send reminders and record arrival |
Each workflow contains smaller tasks. You can start with one of those if that's where most of the repetitive work happens. The guide to business task automation explains how to choose that first step.
When several people or tools are involved, look at what happens between them too. Who receives the information, where they find it and how they know they're ready to continue.
Choose a process you already understand
I'd start with a frequent, reasonably stable process. Something your team can explain using a recent request, including the moments when they had to ask a question, make a correction or wait.
Write down what starts it, what information each person needs and what counts as finished. Then look at how often it happens and how much work it takes today. That gives you a reference for evaluating the result.
Include the people who do the work. A document your management team considers approved may still need a review from operations. Finding that detail now helps you design the whole workflow.
If the process changes every week, agree on a way to handle it first. And if it happens rarely and your team handles it well, it can stay manual.
An example from the request to the start of service
Imagine a company that receives service requests through its website. Sales prepares proposals and operations coordinates the work once the client accepts. Here's an example of how it could work:
- A request arrives. The form message is saved with the details the client provided.
- Someone is assigned. The request appears in their work queue and they receive a notification.
- The proposal is prepared. The person responsible reviews what the client needs and fills in the details.
- Approval is requested. The right person reviews a specific version and can approve it or return it with comments.
- The client's acceptance is recorded. The team confirms that the service can now be scheduled.
- Operations receives the work. The accepted proposal, contact details and agreed conditions are available in the same record.
There are practical questions the project needs to answer. What happens if the client changes the date? Who covers for someone on vacation? Does an updated proposal need another approval?
Those answers are part of the scope. Write them down alongside the workflow so the person building it can account for them.
Connect the tools you already use
List the systems the information passes through. That might be your form, email, a CRM and the tool you use to organize work.
Ask your provider to review the available connections and the plans you're paying for. Some parts may work with existing features; others will need an integration or custom development.
You'll also need to decide where each piece of information gets updated. If sales changes the client's contact details, define how that update reaches operations. If both teams can edit them, agree on how to resolve differences.
My n8n automation tutorial includes a demonstration connecting a form, records and emails. It can help you picture how information moves from one tool to another.
A connected workflow in Guadalajara
At Kigo, we built the website for La Kermesse by Tequila Campo Azul, an event in Guadalajara, Mexico. The project connects guest registration, reminders and entry to the event.
The workflow starts before the party and continues through arrival. That scope lets you look at each step in relation to the next. For your project, try to define an equally clear beginning and end, along with the people who need to be involved.
Check what happens when the situation changes
Ask to test the workflow with someone from each team involved. Along with completing a normal request, check these cases:
- The same form arrives twice and creates a single item to handle.
- Information is missing and the request reaches someone who can complete it.
- A proposal comes back with comments and keeps its review history.
- The client cancels and the remaining actions stop.
- A connection fails, the person responsible gets notified and the information remains available to send again.
When recovering a failed submission, the system needs to recognize the steps it already completed. That lets it continue from where it stopped and avoid repeating actions.
Your team also needs to be able to pause the process and handle a case manually. Ask to learn how before the project is handed over.
Agree on costs and who will look after it
The proposal should explain which workflow is included, which systems it connects and which decisions people will keep making. The number of approvals, data that needs organizing and exceptions all affect the work involved.
Separate the implementation cost from subscriptions, hosting and usage charges. Then review support: who receives error notifications, who fixes a connection and how changes are quoted.
Also agree on who will own the accounts and who can administer them. Someone in your business needs to understand the process and be able to decide when it needs adjusting.
To discuss process automation for your business, tell us which workflow you want to improve, which tools you use and where work gets held up. From there, we can start defining a first delivery that your team can test from beginning to end.