Automating repetitive tasks
An automation is a program that carries out, always in the same way, a task you repeat by hand today. FastSolve builds it to measure, from your files, your tools and your own rules.
You can see the result before discussing it: the link below is available online, with no sign-up required.
The time you bill to no one
Four situations come up in almost every business we meet.
- Every month end, the same spreadsheet is opened, the same columns copied from one export into another, the same files renamed one by one.
- An order arrives by email. It is typed again into the tracking tool, then a second time into the invoicing sheet.
- A client asks for a certificate. Last year's document is reopened, the name, the date and the amount are changed, and you have to hope no line was left behind.
- Thirty supplier invoices arrive every month, and the amount, the date and the number of each one have to be noted by hand.
These actions have three things in common: they always follow the same rule, they call for no judgement, and they take up time that is billed to no one. That is exactly where an automation starts to pay for itself.
Four families of automation
Most of the requests we handle fall into one of these categories.
1. Producing your documents from your data
A quote, an invoice or a certificate always has the same structure: only a few values change from one copy to the next. The automation fetches them where they already sit, a form, a spreadsheet or your client file, and produces the finished document, ready to send.
Typical case. A charity has to issue a tax receipt to every donor. The receipt is now produced and sent as soon as the donation is recorded, and the Word template is never reopened.
2. Moving information between your tools
Your programs each work properly on their own, but they do not talk to each other. The same information is then entered two or three times, and it is usually the last entry that holds the mistake. An automation builds the bridge between them.
Typical case. A tradesman receives his enquiries through the form on his website. Each one now creates a row in his tracking sheet, with the date, the name, the job and the status. No more inbox to work through in the evening.
3. Being told at the right moment
Monitoring is work too, and it is the kind nobody counts. An automation watches on your behalf and only writes to you when a threshold is crossed or a specific event occurs.
Typical case. A shopkeeper is alerted as soon as an item falls below its minimum stock, with the quantity left and the usual supplier. The order goes out the same day rather than the following week.
4. Handling files in bulk
Renaming three hundred photographs, pulling one piece of information out of a hundred PDF documents, merging twelve exports into a single table: simple operations whose only problem is volume. This is the family where the time saved shows up fastest.
Typical case. An accounting firm receives its clients' supplier invoices as PDF files every month. Amounts, dates and suppliers are extracted automatically, then gathered into a table that only needs checking.
What an automation will not do
An automation applies rules. It does not decide.
- It does not handle the odd case nobody anticipated. It sets it aside and flags it to you, which is already the right behaviour.
- It does not guess a vague rule. If a price depends on how long the client has been with you and on the season, that can be written down. If it depends on how the day is going, it cannot be automated as it stands.
- It does not create information that exists nowhere. Automating data entry assumes the information is available somewhere in a usable form.
- It does not repair itself the day a third-party service changes its format. That is what maintenance is for, and it is planned from the start.
The gain applies to the repetitive part of the work, not to the part that calls for judgement.
Frequently asked questions about automation
How much does an automation cost?
The amount depends on three things: how many rules have to be reproduced, how many exceptions have to be handled, and whether or not a third-party tool has to be connected. A script that sorts files and a chain linking three programs are in no way comparable. The price is therefore set after scoping, once the task has been described precisely. As a guide, excluding VAT, most automations fall between 500 and 3,000 euros. A complete chain linking several applications can reach 8,000 euros.
Do I have to change the software I already use?
No, quite the opposite. An automation is grafted onto the tools already in place, because those are the ones your team knows how to use. Replacing a piece of software is a separate project, with a cost and a risk of an entirely different order.
Is this artificial intelligence?
Not necessarily, and often better not. A classic automation applies written rules: it produces the same result on every run and can be checked. Artificial intelligence only comes in where the rule cannot be written in advance, for instance to read a document whose layout differs from one supplier to the next. The choice is made during scoping, according to the need.
Does my data leave my premises?
That is settled during scoping, and the answer appears on the quote. An automation can be built to run on your own machine, on your own hosting or on ours, depending on how sensitive the information involved is.
How long does delivery take?
The timeline is given in the first reply to your enquiry, once the task is known. It depends mostly on the number of exceptions to handle, rarely on technical difficulty.
Describe the task, we will tell you whether it can be automated
See how a project runs, from scoping to delivery
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