Top 25 SMB Processes to Automate First (With Examples)

• Identify high-impact automation opportunities by business outcome
• Explore low-risk, no-code workflows with real-life examples
• Understand key metrics to measure success
• Learn which tasks benefit most from automation—and which need a human touch
• Build your first workflow in under 30 minutes, step by step

Why Automate? (And Why Now?)

Small business owners juggle time, money, and people—often all in one day. Automation helps reclaim lost hours and reduce friction across operations. The impact? More time for strategy, fewer errors, and happier customers.

Staff members wearing multiple hats benefit most—by automating their repetitive tasks, you free them to focus on value-driving work.

Snapshot: SMBs automating just 3–5 workflows often reclaim 5–15 hours a week per employee.

How to Pick the Right Processes to Automate First

The “3C” Rule

• Common — happens daily or weekly
• Click-heavy — involves lots of manual input
• Consequential — impacts revenue or customer satisfaction

Start simple: Select routine processes with low risk but measurable benefits. And remember—don’t automate chaos. First, tidy and standardize the process you plan to automate.

Quick Win Categories

• Lead generation and follow-up
• Appointment booking
• Billing and payments
• Employee onboarding
• Status updates (internal and external)

Explore curated automation ideas by team

Top 25 SMB Processes to Automate (With Real-World Examples)

Marketing & Sales Automation

• New lead capture → route to CRM
  Example: Web form → Add to Google Sheet + Slack alert
• Auto-follow-up emails to new leads
  Example: Send email 2 days after lead magnet download
• Lead scoring based on interaction
  Example: Tag leads who click emails and visit pricing
• Social media post scheduling
• Auto-reply to Instagram/Facebook DMs

Customer Service & Support

• Auto-send FAQ or confirmation replies
• Route tickets by topic or keyword
  Example: “Billing” in subject → Forward to finance
• Auto-request reviews post-purchase
• Chatbot assistant for off-hours
• Escalation triggers for stalled tickets

Admin & Operations

• Daily task reminders via Slack or email
• Create docs/templates from forms
  Example: Onboarding form → Generate welcome letter
• Recurring calendar invite creation
• Friday finance task reminders
• Auto-renaming and sorting uploaded files

HR & People Ops

• Auto-trigger new hire checklists
• Pre-day-1 forms and docs outgoing
• PTO request approval workflows
• Birthday/team anniversary notifications

Finance & Invoicing

• Recurring invoice generation
• Overdue invoice alerts to clients
• Send receipts to accounting software
  Example: Email receipt → Auto-forward to Xero
• Weekly dashboard email to owners
• Payment received → Thank-you email + upsell

How to Build This in Make.com

Build an Automation: Lead Form → Google Sheet + Slack

Use Case: When a lead fills out your site form, auto-capture it in a spreadsheet + notify your sales/ops channel.

1. Trigger Module: Webhook or Typeform/Forms Module
   Waits for new form submission
2. Action Module: Google Sheets → “Create Row”
   Insert name, email, timestamp into your lead tracking sheet
3. Action Module: Slack → “Post Message”
   Format custom alert to go to a specific channel (e.g. #sales-leads)
4. Optional Module: Gmail or MailerSend → Send “Thanks for reaching out” email to the lead

Highlight Labels:

• No Code
• Takes 10 Min
• High Impact

Test with your own dummy lead, check Slack and Sheets, and you’re done.

QA & Guardrails

What to Automate (and What Not to)

• Automate actions, not judgment calls
• Use human review for anything sensitive or client-facing
• Always test in draft with real data before going live
• Use “one-click approval” for risky steps

Examples:

• Automate: Generating a draft invoice
• Do NOT automate: Sending a final price quote without human check

Metrics & ROI

How to Know If It’s Working

Track each automation against specific business goals such as:

• Time saved — manual time vs. automation time
• Faster response times — support tickets or lead replies
• Fewer errors — cleaner data entry, fewer missed follow-ups
• Revenue lift — from faster upsells or more consistent outreach
• Customer satisfaction — via reviews, surveys, or feedback

Set a simple before/after checklist. Even tracking “minutes saved per task” can spotlight big wins over time.

Getting Started: A Smarter Next Step

Remember, automation is a habit—not a hero move. Start small. Pick one task per department and test the outcome. Then scale what works.

Need help getting started?

• Browse done-for-you workflows across teams on our Solutions page
• Want 1:1 help mapping opportunities? Join a whiteboard coaching session

Call to Action

Free up hours this week by automating your first three tasks. See examples now, or book a session to get expert help mapping your next moves.

End Note

Automation isn’t about replacing people—it’s about giving them time and energy back. The sooner you start, the sooner you figure out what’s worth automating and where the human touch still matters most. Start small. Learn fast. Grow smarter.