Short videos on automating everyday office work

Does your team still type customer orders into your system by hand? If you're thinking of handing that job to software, give me three minutes. I'll share the three checks I've learned to make first, and the mistake behind each one.

First, what are we talking about? A customer emails you an order. Someone on your team reads it, and types it into the system you run the business on. Automating it means software reads that email, and enters the order for you.

Here's what I've learned. Reading the order is the easy part. The risk is what happens next. An order can be copied perfectly, and still be wrong.

Here's a made up example. A customer orders ten boxes of screws. But your system counts single screws, not boxes.

So the number ten goes in, and ten screws go out. The customer wanted two thousand. Nobody typed anything wrong, so the mistake is easy to miss. That can mean a second delivery, a credit note, and an awkward phone call.

So here are the three checks. First, who is the order for? I've seen this one go wrong with forwarded emails. The person who sends the email is often not the company that's buying. So the customer has to be read from the order itself, not from the email address.

Second, which product do they mean? Customers write their own codes and their own words, not yours. I've seen a single dash or a missing space hide a match that a person would spot at once. So keep the customer's wording next to the product you chose, where someone can check it.

Third, how many do they really want? This is the ten boxes problem again. The number in a box has to be written down for every product. Then the sum can be done, and shown next to the order.

And here's the rule behind all three. When a detail is missing, it must stay missing. I've seen a blank quietly turned into a zero. Everything after it treated that zero as a fact. So an unsure line waits for a person, with a note of what's missing.

Two more things I've learned to check. The same order sent twice can become two orders, so look for the customer's own order number first. And count what came in against what went in. If forty arrived and thirty nine were entered, find the missing one.

So that's the list. Who the order is for, which product they mean, and how many they want. Plus what happens when a detail is missing. You can ask those questions of any system, before it touches a real order.

If you'd like to go further, there's a free five question check on shurco.ai. It helps you decide which job is worth automating first.

Have you ever paid the same supplier invoice twice? If you pay suppliers every week, it's worth a few minutes to learn the signs. I'll share the four signs I look for first, and why a match is only a question.

First, what is it? A double payment is one invoice, paid two times. Here's a made up example. The same invoice reference appears on two rows, three weeks apart. It looks like a double payment. But a list can be wrong, so it's a question until the bank agrees.

Why does it matter? Because if both payments left your account, that's your money sitting in someone else's. The supplier may not notice, and your own books can still add up. So it stays there until somebody looks.

So here are the four signs. First, the same invoice reference appearing twice. Second, the same reference written two ways, with a dash in one and not in the other. Third, one supplier set up under two names. And fourth, the same amount paid to the same supplier a few days apart.

Now, how to check a pair. I've learned to start with the exact reference on the bank line. Compare it with the invoice, letter by letter. Names and amounts alone can point you at the wrong invoice.

Watch the names too. I've seen the same business appear under its full legal name in one list and its trading name in another. To a computer those are two suppliers, and to you they're one.

One caution, and it matters. I've learned that two equal amounts are not proof of a double payment. Deposits, staged payments and regular charges can look exactly the same. So without a shared reference, treat the pair as a question for the supplier, not a mistake.

One last lesson, from testing checks like this. Start with a double payment you already know about, and see whether your check finds it. If it misses the one you know, don't trust it with the ones you don't.

What you end up with is a short list of pairs, each with a reason. Some will be fine. And some will be worth a call to the supplier.

You can do all of this by eye in a spreadsheet. If you'd rather not, there's a free finder on shurco.ai. It runs in your browser, so your figures never leave your computer.

If your business takes orders by email, check this one thing today. An order can be typed in perfectly, and still be wrong.

Here's a made up example. A customer orders ten boxes of screws. But your system counts single screws.

So ten goes in, and ten screws go out. They wanted two thousand. And nobody typed anything wrong.

The fix is to write down how many are in a box, for every product. I've learned to check that first, before anything is automated. Then the sum can be shown next to the order.

And if the box size isn't known, nobody guesses. That line waits for a person.

There's a free five question check on shurco.ai, if you're deciding what to automate first.

Thinking of automating a job in your business? Don't buy anything yet. Measure one ordinary week first. It shows you what to fix.

It's tempting to count only the typing. The time often goes on chasing what's missing. That's the first thing I'd measure.

Here's how, with a made up example. For one week, write down every order when it arrives. And note each time it had to wait, with the reason.

On Friday, count how many orders had to wait, and what they were waiting for. Then put the reasons in order, most common first.

The top reasons tell you what to fix first, with software or without.

The one week sheet, with a worked example, is free on shurco.ai.