Guide

Automating the admin in a trade business

Automation gets oversold. For a small trade business it means something modest and useful. The same handful of jobs you do every week, done by software instead of by you at nine in the evening.

Start with what repeats

Write down every task you do more than once a week that follows the same steps. That list is your automation list and it is usually shorter than people expect.

Anything that needs judgement stays with you. Everything else is a candidate.

The usual wins

These are the ones that pay off for almost every trade.

  • Website enquiries landing straight in your system and on your phone
  • An automatic reply confirming you got the message
  • Reminders to follow up on quotes
  • Review requests going out after a job is finished
  • Yearly service reminders to past customers

Keep the human bits human

Quoting, tricky conversations and anything involving a complaint should never be automated. People can tell, and it does damage.

Automate the reminders and the admin, not the relationship.

Do not overbuild it

One or two automations that work beat a complicated setup nobody understands. Add them one at a time and make sure each one is genuinely saving you time before the next.

When we set this up for clients we start with the enquiry flow, because that is where lost money is.

Common questions

What should a small trade automate first?

The enquiry path. Getting every website enquiry to your phone immediately, with an automatic acknowledgement to the customer.

Is automation expensive to set up?

The basics are not, and they are included when we build the site and the enquiry flow together.

Where to go next

Want us to sort this for you?

We build the site for free and look after the hosting, the updates and the local SEO for €59.99 a month on a 12 month minimum. Have a chat with us and see if it suits.

More guides like this

See all guides