How to choose the first process to digitalize

The most common question we get is not "which tool should I buy". It is "where do I start". And the answer matters more than it looks: the first process you digitalize determines whether the team starts believing in the programme or files it under initiatives that made everyone's life harder.

The three criteria

High volume, few exceptions. Look for work that repeats the same way many times. A process that happens 400 times a month with three variations is an ideal candidate. One that happens 15 times a month and never the same way will burn the whole budget on special cases.

Visible pain for the people doing it. If the people running the process every day do not feel the problem, they will not adopt the solution. Ask them directly: which task annoys you most? The answer is usually spot on.

A result measurable in weeks. Pick something where, two months later, you can say "this used to take X hours a month, now it takes Y". Without that number, phase two has to be defended with opinions.

The classic mistake

Many companies start with the most important process — usually the full sales cycle or production management. It is understandable and almost always wrong. Those processes are the most complex, the most political and involve the most people. Failing there costs credibility you will need for everything that follows.

Start with the boring administrative process nobody defends: expense approvals, inbound invoices, time tracking. They are less glamorous, and that is exactly why they work well as a first step.

Measure before you change

Before implementing anything, measure for two weeks. How often it happens, how long each instance takes, how many people it touches, how many errors it generates. That simple record is what lets you prove the return later — and it is the part almost everyone skips.