With dozens of processes that could theoretically be automated, here's the framework for picking the one to automate first.
Automate the process that costs the most time or money today, even if it's slightly harder to build — the ROI shows up faster and justifies the next automation.
Score each candidate process on frequency, time cost, and error cost. The top of that list is where to start.
Lead routing and follow-up, recurring report generation, data entry between disconnected systems, and repetitive customer communication.
Anything rare, low-volume, or still actively changing is a bad first automation target.
Write down the current time cost and error rate before automating, then measure the same thing after. This is the only way to know the investment was justified.