Is your firm ready for automation? A ten-question check for one admin task

Step by step

1. 1It happens often

   Building and maintaining an automation takes effort. A task that happens once a quarter rarely repays it; a checklist and a saved prompt do the job. Weekly or daily tasks are where automation earns its keep.

2. 2The steps repeat

   Automations follow rules. If every inquiry needs a different reply, automate the part that repeats (collecting the same five answers) and leave the reply to a person.

3. 3The inputs are digital and in one place

   This is the most common blocker. Invoices tracked in the accounting software and in a spreadsheet and in someone's head cannot drive reminders, because the automation cannot tell which one is true. Pick one place.

4. 4Someone owns it

   Automations break quietly: a password changes, a column is renamed, a folder moves. An owner notices the drafts have stopped arriving.

5. 5Someone reviews the output

   Every automation on this site writes drafts and lists, not sent emails. That only works if a person reads the drafts. Decide who and when before you start.

Readiness is about a task, not a firm. The same firm can have invoice reminders that are ready to automate tomorrow and a project set-up process that lives in one person's head. Check one task at a time. Pick the one that is frequent and repetitive, not the one that feels most important.

The check above is our own rubric, built from what an automation needs in order to run. It is not a benchmark and does not compare your firm with others.

What the three results mean

Two answers override the score. If nobody will review the output (question 8), or you do not know what client data the task touches (question 10), the result is "Tidy first" however high the rest scores.

A worked example

A firm of eight checks two tasks.

• Late-invoice reminders: weekly, same steps, invoices already in one log with due dates, the office manager owns it and reads drafts. Result: ready. They automate the drafts.
• New project set-up: monthly, the folder structure differs by principal, nothing written down. Result: write it down first. They agree one folder template and check again next month.

For inputs kept in one place, the month-end guide shows a receipts sheet and the late-invoice guide shows an invoice log.

The ten questions as a checklist

The same questions as the check above, with the fix for each one, to print or paste into your notes. Check one task at a time.

Download the templates as a plain text file, no signup needed.

1. Does the task happen at least once a week?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Batch it: if it only happens monthly, a checklist and a prompt may be all it needs.
2. Are the steps the same each time, with few exceptions?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: List the last five times it happened and mark where each one differed. Automate the common path; leave exceptions to a person.
3. Are the steps written down anywhere?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Write the procedure first. Talk through the last time you did it and turn that into numbered steps.
4. Are the inputs digital (email, a form, a spreadsheet, a PDF), not paper or memory?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Move the input to one digital place: a form for inquiries, a folder for receipts, a log for invoices.
5. Does each input live in one known place?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Pick the one place each input lives and tell the team. Two invoice logs means neither is right.
6. Are files, projects and clients named the same way every time?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Agree a naming pattern (for example a project code first) and rename the active projects.
7. Does one person own the task?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Name an owner. An automation needs someone who notices when it stops.
8. Will someone review what the automation produces before it reaches a client?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Decide who reads the drafts, and when. Without a reviewer, keep the task manual.
9. Do you have admin access to the tools involved (email, drive, accounting)?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Find out who holds the admin logins and whether the tools allow connections to other software.
10. Do you know what client data the task touches, and whether your contracts limit where it can go?
   [ ] Yes  [ ] Partly  [ ] No
   If not yes: Read the confidentiality clause in your standard contract and the AI tool's data terms. See the privacy guide.

Result: [Ready to automate / Tidy first / Write it down first]
Two answers override the score: if nobody will review the output (question 8) or you do not know what client data the task touches (question 10), the result is Tidy first.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Archon: The Admin Prompt Pack (includes the prompt that turns a spoken explanation into a written procedure)
• Archon: AI and client data privacy basics (the data terms behind question 10)