Bring a process. We will work through it.

Pick something the team does frequently: checking a document bundle, entering an invoice, preparing a quote or moving a lead between systems. Describe where it begins, where it ends and who owns it.

Include the people who do the work. Their knowledge of exceptions and workarounds is often more useful than a process diagram prepared for a presentation.

Estimate tasks per week, minutes per task and time spent correcting errors. Identify where work waits for another person or missing information. Mark rough estimates as estimates; they can be refined.

List the tools involved, who administers them and any planned changes. An upcoming CRM migration may change which automation is worth doing first.

Consider what a normal case looks like and what makes one difficult. Note different document layouts, incomplete information or requests that need judgement.

Do not upload client documents to an enquiry form. First agree what access is needed and how suitable samples should be prepared and handled.

Decide whether the priority is time released, turnaround, fewer errors or capacity to serve more clients. Agree how that result could be measured and who would review the output.

A useful audit makes the next decision clearer. OptiBee’s audit maps the workflows, costs the opportunities and produces a prioritised 90-day plan. SME audits start from £2,500.

“Our operations team copies supplier invoice details from a shared inbox into our accounts system. We estimate 100 invoices a week at eight minutes each, plus time correcting errors. We want to reduce retyping while keeping approval with the team. The accounts manager owns the process. Layouts vary, and duplicates and missing purchase-order numbers cause delays.”

This is a fictional example, not a client result. A short description like this gives us a starting point: inputs, volume, current effort, exceptions, ownership and the outcome you want. Rough estimates are fine if they are labelled as estimates.

Include the person responsible for the outcome and someone who does the work regularly. The administrator of your CRM, accounts system or other relevant tools can help explain access and integration constraints. They do not all need to attend every conversation; agree the participants and time commitment when the audit is scoped.

Existing process notes, rough volumes and a list of systems are enough for a first call. Mark anything uncertain rather than spending days creating a perfect spreadsheet. We can agree how to collect a more reliable baseline during the audit.

For each recommended change, ask what evidence supports it, which assumptions could change the estimate and what needs to happen first. Identify the process owner, likely running costs, review requirements and a practical acceptance check.

Leave with a clear first decision: test a defined workflow, improve an existing process, gather missing evidence or defer an idea that does not yet justify the effort. The 90-day plan should make that order clear; it does not mean every proposed system will be built within 90 days.