Business process automation is the practice of mapping an end-to-end process and then removing the manual steps inside it. It differs from ordinary task automation in that it starts with the whole process rather than with a single annoying job, which is why it succeeds more often and costs more up front.
For a field service company the processes worth mapping are acquisition, delivery and support. Everything else is a subprocess of one of those.
What is business process automation?
Business process automation is automating a complete sequence from trigger to outcome, rather than automating individual tasks inside it. The unit of work is "a customer calls and eventually pays an invoice", not "send a reminder."
The distinction is practical rather than academic. Task automation makes one step faster. Process automation removes the handoffs between steps, and handoffs are where field service businesses actually lose time.
How is it different from workflow automation?
Workflow automation usually refers to the tooling, and business process automation to the discipline of deciding what the tooling should do. In practice vendors use the terms interchangeably, so read what a product does rather than what it calls itself.
If a vendor cannot show you the process map their software assumes, they are selling workflow automation and calling it process automation. That is fine, as long as you know which one you are buying.
Which processes should a field service company map first?
The one where work enters, and the one where money leaves. For most field service businesses that means inbound enquiry to booked job, and completed job to paid invoice.
Those two bracket the whole operation. Everything between them is delivery, and delivery problems are usually visible already. Money leaks at the ends, where nobody is watching.
| Process | Starts at | Ends at | Usual failure point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | Inbound call or form | Booked job | Missed call, unfollowed quote |
| Delivery | Booked job | Work complete | Wrong part, repeat visit |
| Support | Work complete | Paid and reviewed | Invoice sent late, never chased |
Why do business process automation projects fail?
Because the process was never agreed before it was automated. If two people in the office run intake differently and both think theirs is correct, automation forces a decision that the business has been avoiding, and the project stalls on a disagreement that has nothing to do with software.
The second most common cause is buying the platform first. Once a licence is paid for, the process gets bent to fit the tool rather than the other way round.
How long does process automation take in a small company?
Mapping takes days, not months, for a business under fifty people. Building the first automated process usually takes weeks. The long pole is almost never technical.
Our own diagnostic runs fourteen days and includes the process map, which is the part most businesses cannot produce for themselves. See what the audit includes.
Do I need to replace my field service software?
Usually not, and we would rather you did not. Most shops we audit already own a system that does more than they use, because the setup was never finished and nobody owns it internally.
Replacing the system of record is expensive and disruptive, and it rarely returns what it costs. Connecting what you own beats replacing it in the large majority of cases. See HVAC and plumbing for how this plays out with ServiceTitan and Jobber.
What does process automation actually save?
For construction and mechanical contractors, BDC puts the reduction in time creating plans, assignments and schedules at 30% to 40%. The same guidance puts the saving from automating repetitive tasks at 10% to 25% of office payroll.
Treat those as the ceiling rather than the forecast. They assume the process was mapped properly first, which is the step most businesses skip.
Part of our guide to business automation for Canadian trades.