The average UK office worker spends 12.6 hours per week on repetitive administrative tasks. Copying data between systems. Chasing approvals. Sending follow-up emails. Formatting reports. Work that adds no value but somehow consumes a quarter of the working week.
Most of it could run without human intervention.
Here are ten processes that UK SMEs should automate first—ranked by the combination of time saved and ease of implementation.
1. Invoice Processing and Approval
The problem: Invoices arrive by email, get forwarded around, sit in inboxes waiting for approval, and eventually reach accounts payable. Average processing time: 15-25 minutes per invoice. Late payment penalties and missed early payment discounts add up.
The automation: Incoming invoices are automatically extracted from emails, key data (supplier, amount, due date) is captured using AI, and the invoice routes to the right approver based on amount and category. Approved invoices flow directly to your accounting system.
Time saved: 70-80% reduction in processing time. For a business handling 200 invoices monthly, that's 40+ hours reclaimed.
2. Employee Onboarding
The problem: New starter joins, and someone has to remember to set up their email, request equipment, schedule inductions, send welcome documents, add them to relevant systems, and notify their team. Things get missed. First impressions suffer.
The automation: HR enters new starter details once. The system creates accounts, sends equipment requests to IT, schedules calendar invites for inductions, emails welcome packs, and notifies relevant managers. Everything happens automatically, nothing falls through cracks.
Time saved: 3-5 hours per new employee, plus consistency improvement.
3. Report Generation and Distribution
The problem: Every Monday, someone exports data from three systems, pastes it into a template, formats it correctly, and emails it to the management team. It takes two hours, and it's mind-numbing.
The automation: Reports generate automatically from live data sources, format themselves according to templates, and land in inboxes at 8am Monday. If any metric exceeds threshold, specific alerts trigger.
Time saved: 2-4 hours weekly, plus reports are always on time and always accurate.
4. Customer Follow-Up Sequences
The problem: After a meeting or quote, someone should follow up in three days. Then again in a week. Then a final check after two weeks. But your sales team is busy with live opportunities, so follow-ups slip. Deals go cold.
The automation: After a quote is sent, a sequence triggers automatically. Day three: "Just checking you received our proposal." Day seven: "Any questions I can answer?" Day fourteen: "Is this still a priority for you?" Sequences pause if the customer replies.
Time saved: 30 minutes per opportunity, plus significant improvement in conversion rates.
5. Data Synchronisation Between Systems
The problem: Customer updates their address in the CRM. Now someone has to update it in the accounting system, the support desk, and the marketing platform. They forget. Different systems show different information.
The automation: When data changes in your master system, it propagates to all connected systems within minutes. One source of truth, maintained automatically.
Time saved: Varies hugely, but eliminating "which system is correct?" conversations alone justifies the investment.
6. Leave Request Approval
The problem: Employee emails their manager requesting holiday. Manager emails back approval. Employee emails HR. HR updates the system. Manager forgets, double-books the team.
The automation: Employee submits request through a form or app. Manager gets notification, approves with one click. Calendar blocks automatically. HR system updates. Team visibility maintained.
Time saved: 15-20 minutes per request, plus elimination of booking conflicts.
7. Expense Claim Processing
The problem: Receipts photographed on phones, emailed to finance, manually entered into spreadsheets, approved via email chain, eventually reimbursed. The process takes longer than anyone admits.
The automation: Photo of receipt, automatic data extraction, categorisation suggested by AI, routed to appropriate approver, integrated with payroll for reimbursement. Complete audit trail maintained.
Time saved: 10-15 minutes per expense claim for the submitter and approver combined.
8. Contract Renewal Reminders
The problem: Your business has dozens of contracts with renewal dates scattered across the year. Software subscriptions, equipment leases, service agreements. Things auto-renew without review.
The automation: Contract database tracks renewal dates. 90 days before renewal: stakeholder notified for review. 60 days: reminder if no action taken. 30 days: escalation. Never be surprised by an auto-renewal again.
Time saved: Minimal, but the cost avoidance from reviewing renewals before they happen can be substantial.
9. Support Ticket Routing
The problem: Customer emails arrive in a shared inbox. Someone reads each one to figure out who should handle it. Tickets get lost, duplicated, or assigned to the wrong person.
The automation: Incoming emails are categorised by AI (billing query, technical support, complaint, general enquiry), assigned to the appropriate team or person, and tracked for response time.
Time saved: 5-10 minutes per ticket, plus faster response times and better customer experience.
10. Meeting Scheduling
The problem: "What times work for you?" followed by six emails of back-and-forth before a meeting is booked. Multiply by every external meeting.
The automation: Booking links connected to your calendar. Clients pick available times directly. Confirmations and reminders send automatically.
Time saved: 10-15 minutes per meeting scheduled.
Getting Started
You don't need to automate everything at once. Pick the process that causes the most pain or wastes the most time. Build that automation first. Prove the value. Then move to the next.
Most of these automations can be built with Microsoft Power Automate, which is included in many Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Working with an automation agency in London or a Power Automate consultancy helps you get it right first time—and often reveals automation opportunities you hadn't considered.
Your team has more important work to do than copying data and chasing approvals. Let them do it.