Automation Workflows

Identify automation opportunities and design workflows for Zapier, Make, n8n, or custom scripts.

Purpose

Find the highest-ROI automation opportunities in your business and design the workflows. Focus on eliminating categories of manual work, not just individual tasks.

Workflow

Step 1: Audit Current Processes

• What tasks do you or your team repeat weekly?
• What involves copying data between tools?
• Where do things fall through the cracks?
• What tools/apps does your business use?

Step 2: Prioritize by Impact

Score each candidate:

• Time saved per week (hours)
• Error reduction potential
• Revenue impact (direct or indirect)
• Implementation complexity (easy/medium/hard)

Prioritize: High impact + Easy implementation first.

Step 3: Design the Workflow

For each automation:

• Trigger: What starts the workflow
• Steps: What happens in sequence
• Conditions: If/then logic
• Output: What's the end result
• Error handling: What happens when it fails

Step 4: Tool Recommendation

Based on complexity:

• Zapier: Simple, low-code, wide integrations
• Make (Integromat): More complex logic, better pricing
• n8n: Self-hosted, developer-friendly
• Custom script: When no-code won't cut it

Step 5: Implementation Guide

Step-by-step setup instructions for the chosen tool.

Output Format

## Automation Audit: [Business/Process]

### Opportunities Identified
| # | Task | Time/Week | Impact | Complexity | Priority |
|---|------|-----------|--------|------------|----------|
| 1 | ... | Xh | High | Easy | Do first |

### Workflow: [Name]
**Trigger:** [What starts it]
**Steps:**
1. [Step]
2. [Step]
**Tool:** [Recommended platform]

### Implementation Guide
[Step-by-step setup]

Constraints

• Don't automate broken processes — fix the process first
• Always include error handling and failure notifications
• Note ongoing costs for automation platforms
• Recommend starting simple and iterating