business workflow automation
Business workflow automation for repeat steps between teams
Business workflow automation links repeated steps between teams using agreed triggers, approvals and hand-offs. We first map the systems and process, then confirm what can be automated.
Business workflow automation: what the service covers
A customer accepts a quote and the invoice waits until the accountant remembers. A purchase request closes and nobody tells the supplier. A new hire starts and finds no email or system account because IT never heard. A customer pays late and nobody calls until two months have passed.
None of this means your staff are careless. The work depends on memory and messages, and automation moves the step from memory into the system.
Examples of what we automate
Sales to accounting
Accepting a quote creates a sales order, then a delivery order for the warehouse, then an invoice after delivery, then a collection reminder if payment runs late. The accounting side is covered in accounting software.
Website to sales team
An enquiry form creates an opportunity in CRM, assigns it to a rep by region or product, messages them, and reminds them if they have not called the customer within two hours. See the CRM system.
Internal approvals
A purchase request over a set amount goes to the manager, and if there is no reply in two days it goes to a senior manager. A leave request passes the line manager, then HR. Every approval is logged with the name and time.
New hire and leaver
Adding an employee creates tasks: prepare the laptop, open an email account, introduce the system, sign the contract. A departure creates tasks to remove access and recover equipment.
Collections and reminders
An invoice three days past due sends a polite reminder, after a week alerts the accountant, and after a month alerts the finance manager.
Stock and purchasing
An item reaching its minimum creates a purchase request to the usual supplier. Receiving goods notifies whoever asked for them. See inventory software.
WhatsApp and the customer
Order confirmation, a tracking number, an appointment reminder and a rating request after delivery reach the customer without an employee typing them. See WhatsApp automation.
How we build it
- Inside Odoo. Automated actions, scheduled rules, approvals and message templates, mostly without code. For a complex rule we write a module. See Odoo module development.
- Between different systems. Links through APIs and webhooks, and middleware such as Make or n8n where that is enough. See system integrations.
- AI where it helps. To classify a message, extract data from a document or answer a repeated question. See the AI assistant. For sensitive cases we always keep a person reviewing what the machine decides.
We start with the map, not the tools
Before any link we draw the step as it runs: who starts it, what follows, who approves, what happens on a refusal, and where it stalls today. We often find extra steps and remove them first, so we do not automate a flawed process.
Then we choose what deserves automation: what repeats often, what causes mistakes, what delays the customer. A task that happens once a year does not.
What happens when something fails
Each rule logs what it did and when. If a step fails, the owner gets an alert and the request stays pending, not lost. You can pause any rule with one click and restart it. We test rules on a test copy first.
Typical order of work
- A call and a step map for the three or four processes at the top of your list.
- Pick the first. A repeated process with clear conditions.
- Build and test the rule on sample data, with passing and failing scenarios.
- Live run under watch for a week.
- Then the second and third, once the team is used to it.
What you receive
- Working automation rules for the agreed processes.
- A written description of each rule: when it runs, what it does, who gets its alert.
- A log showing what the rules did and what stalled.
- A handover file and training videos for whoever manages the rules.
What we ask on the first call
Which tasks do your staff complain about because they repeat? Which systems do you use that data moves between by hand? Who approves what? How often does the process run each month? We set priorities from those answers.
After launch
Rules need review when a policy or a system changes. We hand over the description of the rules, and you can ask us to adjust one or add another.
Packages and the written quote
We review what you need, then send a written quote that sets the scope, timeline and deliverables. The written quote fixes the scope and the timeline, and we start after you approve it.
Frequently asked questions
A step that repeats often, has clear conditions, and causes errors or delays for the customer. We list your processes with you and start with the most useful.
No. Automation works inside Odoo and between other systems through APIs. If you run Odoo, it is easier because its apps share one database.
The system logs every action, and you can pause the rule and correct what was done. We start with low-risk rules before sensitive ones, and add human approval where needed.
Automation removes repeat tasks, not decisions that need judgement. Your staff are freed to follow up customers and settle exceptions.
Many Odoo settings can be changed by your system administrator after training, and what sits in the linking tools we explain in the handover file.
Hand the repeat steps to the system
Send three processes your team repeats by hand, and we reply with a written quote that sets the scope and timeline.