20 tasks you can automate
A checklist for small businesses. Go through it and tick everything you currently do by hand every week. The time figures come from real small businesses — yours may be higher or lower.
How to use this: tick what applies, then add up the hours at the bottom. Anything you tick three or more times is almost always worth automating. Tip: press Ctrl+P (or ⌘+P) to save this as a PDF or print it.
Customer enquiries & communication
The most common time sink — and the one that costs you money fastest, because slow replies lose jobs.
Answering the same questions by e-mail over and over (prices, hours, how it works)
costs you approx. 3–6 h/monthCopying contact-form enquiries into a list or spreadsheet by hand
costs you approx. 1–2 h/monthTyping out “we got your enquiry” confirmations yourself
costs you approx. 1–3 h/monthSorting enquiries: who is a serious lead and who isn't
costs you approx. 2–4 h/monthFollowing up with people who never replied to your quote
costs you approx. 2–3 h/month — and skipping it loses you workAppointments
Agreeing a time over e-mail takes four to six messages on average. A booking link takes zero.
Going back and forth by e-mail or phone to find a time
costs you approx. 2–5 h/monthSending appointment reminders yourself
costs you approx. 1–2 h/month — and cuts no-shows significantlyCopying appointments out of e-mails into your calendar by hand
costs you approx. 1–2 h/monthInvoicing & bookkeeping
Automating here pays twice: it saves time and makes sure you never forget to bill someone.
Rebuilding every invoice from a template each time
costs you approx. 2–5 h/monthWriting recurring invoices (subscriptions, maintenance) manually every month
costs you approx. 10–15 min per client per monthChecking which invoices are still unpaid and chasing them
costs you approx. 1–3 h/monthCollecting and sorting receipts for your accountant
costs you approx. 2–4 h/monthMarketing & reviews
The work that almost always gets dropped when it doesn't happen automatically.
Asking happy customers for a Google review one by one
costs you approx. 1–2 h/month — and brings in new customers long-termPosting the same content manually across several platforms
costs you approx. 2–4 h/monthUpdating opening hours, offers or prices separately in several places
costs you approx. 1–2 h/monthAssembling and sending newsletters or customer updates by hand
costs you approx. 2–4 h/monthInternal processes & data
Invisible work: nobody notices it, but it eats time every single week.
Typing the same data into two systems (e.g. shop and bookkeeping)
costs you approx. 2–6 h/monthRenaming, sorting and filing files and photos by hand
costs you approx. 1–3 h/monthFilling in quotes, contracts or standard documents manually
costs you approx. 2–4 h/monthRemembering to run backups and doing them yourself
costs you approx. 1 h/month — until it goes wrong once, then far moreChecking regularly whether your site, shop or booking system is still up
costs you approx. 1 h/month — or you find out about downtime when a customer callsNow add it up
If you ticked five items, you're realistically at 8 to 15 hours a month. That's two full working days gone every month — on work no customer ever sees and nobody pays you for.
The good news: most of these can be set up once and then run on their own. Not all of them — some cost more effort than they save. That's exactly what I'll tell you honestly before you order anything.
This checklist is free and you're welcome to pass it on. The time figures are practical estimates, not guarantees — what's actually worth automating depends on how your business runs.