Guides to business automation
From mapping a business process to automating email paperwork: what to know before you start.
What is a business process? From mapping to improvement and automation
What a business process is, how to draw a process map and write a process definition, and where to start improving and automating, explained with an order-to-cash example that starts with email.
Read → GuideSigned delivery receipts and delivery notes: how to log them in Excel
How to photograph signed delivery notes, delivery tickets and proof-of-delivery slips, record each one as a row in an Excel log, and find them later by date, site or document number.
Read → GuideJob-site receipts: logging paper receipts in Excel from photos
How to photograph paper receipts from construction, fit-out and manufacturing sites, log them in an expense sheet, and keep the details the IRS and HMRC expect your records to show.
Read → GuideDaily work reports: collecting paper and photo reports into one sheet per site
Which columns a daily work report should have, and how to gather paper reports and photos from group chats into one sheet so you can find and total them by site at month end.
Read → GuideFax, scanned and photo orders: getting them into one order log
How to gather customer orders that arrive by fax, as photos or scanned PDFs, and by email into one Excel order log, and keep track of delivery dates.
Read → GuideThree ways to get tables and documents from photos into Excel
A comparison of Excel's Data from Picture, generative AI chatbots, and adding rows to a fixed sheet for each document type, with guidance on which fits which situation.
Read → GuideInventory count sheets: collecting handwritten counts in Excel
How to photograph handwritten count sheets from a year-end physical inventory, collect them in one sheet, check book vs. counted quantities by item, and which columns to keep.
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