The fastest way to waste money on automation is to automate the wrong thing first.
What a good audit looks like
For each repetitive process, capture:
- Trigger — what starts it?
- Systems — which tools are touched?
- Volume — how often per week?
- Pain — time, errors, or delays?
- Judgment — can a junior hire follow a checklist?
- Risk — what happens if it fails silently?
Score candidates by volume × pain ÷ risk. High volume, high pain, low risk = first build.
Red flags
- The process changes every week (document first, automate later)
- It depends on tribal knowledge in someone’s head
- It requires legal or financial authority without review
- The “source of truth” is a spreadsheet nobody trusts
Platform hint from the audit
- Few SaaS apps, low volume → Zapier
- Many branches and transforms → Make
- Needs self-host, code, or strict data control → n8n
Output of the audit
You should leave with a one-page map: top 3 workflows, recommended platform, and a definition of done (e.g. “lead to CRM in under 2 minutes with Slack alert”).
That map is what TecSynth uses before we build — so you own flows that match reality, not a demo.