// EDITOR ’ S QUESTION //

WE ’ D RECOMMEND IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM THAT ENABLES YOU TO AUTOMATE MULTIPLE STRANDS OF YOUR BUSINESS AT ONCE .

Confining all the benefits of automation to a one-process-at-a-time roll-out is like driving home in second gear . Ok , so you might get there eventually , but it ’ s hardly the best use of your most precious resource – your time . And SMEs don ’ t have enough of that as it is .

We ’ d recommend implementing a comprehensive system that enables you to automate multiple strands of your business at once . We know it ’ s possible , because we developed one ! The more you can automate , the more time you can save , and the fewer human errors will creep into the system . If there ’ s a menial task you can automate , automate it .

Take financial admin for example . Do you really need to manually create invoices , quotes or credit notes every time you have to send them ? Or could you save time and money by automating that ? When you take on a project , do you need to manually track task progress and costs ? Or could an automated system do that more efficiently and accurately ? Automation can even be incorporated into your sales forecasting , removing the guesswork to calculate sales opportunity margins , forecasts and win probabilities .

Let ’ s not forget the HR departments who do so much in the background . Automation can be a lifesaver for them . Taking a work trip ? Systems like Oomph let you calculate mileage and other expenses automatically . Got conflicting holiday requests ? Oomph can resolve that for you automatically – no awkward conversations required .

All of this leaves staff with more time to add value elsewhere , pitching in with creative ideas , going the extra mile to nurture customer relationships and ensuring the sales pipeline keeps moving .

That ’ s not to say automation can ’ t help here too , complementing the work your staff put in . For example , Oomph can connect to your website ’ s contact form , automatically importing customer data into your system . From there , they can be added to your customisable sales stages and sent automated quotes , PDFs , marketing emails and more . But , because it ’ s all customisable , you ’ re always in control – you can step in with the human touch whenever it ’ s necessary .

Whoever said you can have too much of a good thing never used Oomph . We ’ ve made it our business to go beyond basic functionality to create a system that can automate tasks at every level of your business , from product portfolio management to supply chain administration , HR , marketing , project management and more .

So , when you ’ re looking at automating business processes , dream bigger . Be greedy . Because the only limits are the ones you put there yourself .

22 Intelligent SME . tech