How do you know when to automate something?

  • 27 February 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 66 views

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Hey there, community members!

I'm the managing editor here at Zapier, and we're working on an article about how to know when something you do is a good thing to automate.

We've got our own ideas about it, but wonder if any of you have criteria that help you decide when to make a Zap to replace a manual process. If we love what you have to say, we might reach out to get more information for the article.

Thanks!




This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

3 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +1

Hi Janine,

I always live by the following framework when it comes to automation:

  1. How much time is this task taking away from my core business function (sales, talking to customers, etc.)
  2. Is this task a rule-based system that I could easily train someone else to do?
  3. Does this task use software/SaaS products from start to finish?

If the answer to 2 and 3 is yes, I'm already thinking about automating the sh*t out of it, especially if the answer to #1 is more than 15-20 minutes a day.

All those little time blocks add up over the course of a year. 15 minutes saved per workday (252 avg. workdays a year) = over 3,000 minutes which is over 60 hours a year. Would you like to spend $500 - $1,000 on Zapier (plus hiring an automation expert!) to save you 60 hours in a year?

Of course.


Userlevel 7
Badge +10

More simply put:

"Is this a task you do more than once per month?"

"Is it the same steps each time?"

"Do you wish you could be doing anything else but this?"

If yes then go get Zapier 😎


Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Thanks for the responses, @Bryan_from_workload and @AndrewJDavison_Luhhu 

The piece is done, and live on the site. You can read it here:

Not sure when to automate a task? Start here