Why write a brief before asking for quotes?
A provider can only estimate from what it is told. If one provider hears about the credit notes and foreign currency bills and another does not, their quotes describe different projects. Exceptions that come to light after work starts lead to changes in scope, cost and timing. Writing the brief also tests whether the business understands its own process: if two staff describe the steps differently, settle that first. The free 30-minute automation audit on our booking page walks through one process step by step and checks which systems it touches, which can help you start the brief.
What goes in a one-page process brief?
Keep it to one page so it gets read, and attach detail separately. Write in the words your staff use, and say where the process starts and stops so providers do not assume extra work at either end. If a step depends on someone's judgement, describe how they decide, with an example, because that decision is often the hardest part to automate. Note any deadline the process must meet, such as a payroll cut-off or a supplier's payment terms, and any approval that must stay with a person.
- Trigger: what starts the process, such as an email, a form or a date.
- Steps: each action in order, with the role that performs it.
- Systems: every system touched, and who holds the admin login.
- Volumes: items per week or month, with peak periods.
- Exceptions: unusual cases and roughly how often each occurs.
- Success measure: how you will judge the result after go-live.
How do you measure volumes and time?
Count from your systems where you can. Xero shows how many bills were entered last quarter; a shared inbox folder shows how many order emails arrived. Time a sample of ten items for each step, including the time spent looking for missing information, which is often larger than the typing. Note peaks such as end of financial year, Christmas or month-end. If you cannot count, give an estimate and label it as one. The manual task cost calculator on this site turns those counts into an annual cost you can test quotes against.
Which sample files should you share?
Five to ten samples are usually enough if they cover typical and awkward cases: a clean invoice, a scanned one, a credit note, a multi-page order, an email with the important detail in the body. Remove personal information where you can. The OAIC explains that information which has been appropriately de-identified is no longer personal information, although whether someone remains reasonably identifiable depends on context. Share files through a controlled folder with an expiry date, never by forwarding customer emails, and never include passwords.
- Replace names, addresses and account numbers with consistent dummy values.
- Keep the layout, totals and structure intact so the samples stay realistic.
- Include at least one example of each exception listed in the brief.
Which questions should you settle internally first?
Some questions only the business can answer, and providers cannot quote well until they are settled. Who will own the process after go-live and decide when a rule changes? Which approvals stay with a person, and up to what value? What should happen when the automation fails on a payroll or BAS deadline day? Is any system in the process about to be replaced? Who signs off the budget? Write the answers into the brief. If a system migration is planned, say so, because an automation built against the old system may need to be rebuilt.
Who should be available to the provider?
Name two people: one who does the work every day and one who can make decisions about it. The person who does the work answers detailed questions about exceptions and screens. The decision-maker settles questions such as whether a rule can change or whether a step can be dropped. Tell providers how quickly each person can usually respond, because a quote assumes questions are answered in a reasonable time. Also name whoever administers each system, since access requests often wait on them. A provider that cannot reach these people will fill the gaps with assumptions, and wrong assumptions lead to changes in scope and cost later.
What should providers include in their quotes?
Ask every provider to answer the same list, so the quotes can be laid side by side. Ask how records will be kept: the ATO requires most business records to be kept for 5 years and expects you to be able to reconstruct original data if your record-keeping system changes. Ask, too, what happens to the workflow and its logs if you end the arrangement. Timing should be confirmed in the written quote, not in conversation, and any assumption about your staff's availability for testing should be stated.
- A written list of assumptions and exclusions.
- The access needed to each system, and who owns the accounts.
- How testing will use your sample files before go-live.
- Support after go-live, including who fixes failures and how quickly they respond.
- Ongoing running costs, including third-party subscriptions and API fees.