7 signs your company needs automation
A straightforward checklist to spot where manual work is costing more than it seems.
Almost every company has processes that deserve automation — but they are not always easy to see from the inside. These seven signs show up again and again in the diagnoses we run. If you recognize three or more, it's worth a conversation.
1. The same information is typed more than once
An order arrives by message, someone copies it to a spreadsheet, then enters it into the system. Every manual copy is lost time and a chance for error.
2. Repeated questions drain the team
"What's the deadline?", "is it in stock?", "how do I get a copy of my invoice?" — if 80% of incoming messages are variations of the same ten questions, automated first-level triage frees hours every single day.
3. Reports take days to close
If month-end closing requires manually gathering data from several places, the report is born stale. Automatically consolidated information changes the quality of decisions.
4. Documents are read and retyped by hand
Invoices, contracts, receipts and forms can have their data extracted automatically, with human review reserved for exceptions.
5. The process depends on one person's memory
When only one person knows the right order of steps, the company has an operational risk disguised as routine. Automating is also documenting and protecting the process.
6. Errors are discovered too late
Value mismatches, duplicate records and missed deadlines that only surface when the customer complains are symptoms of a process without automated checks.
7. Growing would mean hiring at the same rate
If doubling sales requires doubling the back office, the operation doesn't scale. Well-placed automation changes that curve.
Recognized your operation in some of these signs? TED's initial diagnosis is free and commitment-free: we map your processes and show, with estimated gains, where automation would make a difference first.