Guide
8 min read
The five tasks every small team should automate first
MK
Maya Kerr
Founder, Relay

Over the last two years we've run more than sixty automation audits. Different industries, different tools — and almost always the same five chores at the top of the list. If you're not sure where to start, start here.
1. Copying orders and leads between tools
A new order lands in Shopify, someone types it into a spreadsheet, then into the accounting tool. This is the single most common task we automate, and usually the fastest win.
2. Answering the same five questions
Opening hours, prices, delivery times, "where's my order?". An assistant trained on your own FAQ can answer these instantly — and hand everything else to a person.
3. Chasing invoices
Polite reminders at day 7, 14 and 30, stopped automatically the moment payment arrives.
The best automation is the one nobody notices — the work just stops arriving.
4. The weekly report
Pull the numbers from five tools into one message every Monday at 9:00.
5. New-client onboarding
Create the folder and the project
Send the welcome email and the contract
Book the kickoff call
Three tools, ten clicks, every time. One trigger can do all of it.