Map first, build second
We sit with whoever does the work and list every repeated step: retyping the same details into two systems, chasing an approval, building the same report each Monday, copying invoices into a spreadsheet.
What pays back fastest
The boring, high-frequency, low-judgment tasks. In that order.
- Moving data between two systems that don't talk
- Sending the same follow-up on a schedule
- Turning form submissions into records, jobs or invoices
- Weekly and monthly reporting that is assembled by hand
Keep a human in the loop where it matters
Anything that sends money, deletes records or emails a customer for the first time gets an approval step until you trust it. That is a setting, not a rewrite.