# Short videos on automating everyday office work

Four short lessons for owners and managers who are not technical. Each one says who it is for and what you will know at the end, uses a made up example, and ends on one free thing you can use.

Updated 13 October 2026 . 7 min read . Alexey Shurov

## What these videos are

Each video takes one everyday job, such as typing customer orders into a system or paying supplier invoices, and passes on what I have learned to check before any of it is automated.

They are made for the person who runs the work, not the person who builds the system. There are no technical words. Every example is made up and says so. The words of each video are written out below it, so you can read instead of listen.

Two of them run for under three minutes and two for under a minute.

## Before AI enters your customer orders, check these 3 things

In about three minutes you will know the three checks to make before software enters a customer order, the mistake behind each one, and what to do when a detail is missing.

Every example in the video is made up to show the method.The words of the video

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 paid a supplier twice? Four signs worth checking

In under three minutes you will know four signs that a supplier invoice may have been paid twice, how to check each pair, and why a match is a question and not proof.

Every example in the video is made up to show the method.The words of the video

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.

## Ten boxes or ten screws? Check this before an order goes in

One mistake that sends a customer the wrong amount even when the order was typed in perfectly, and the check that catches it.

Every example in the video is made up to show the method.The words of the video

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.

## Before you automate anything, measure it for one week

A one week test that shows where the time really goes, so you fix the right problem before you spend anything.

Every example in the video is made up to show the method.The words of the video

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.

## Common questions

### Who are these videos for?

Owners, operations managers and finance managers in firms that take orders by email or pay suppliers every week. No technical knowledge is needed.

### Are the examples real?

No. Every worked example is made up to show the method, and each video says so. The lessons come from my own work, stated in general terms, with no client named.

### Do I need to buy anything to use what they teach?

No. Each lesson can be done by hand, with a spreadsheet or a sheet of paper. Each video ends by pointing to one free tool or sheet on this site that makes the same check quicker.

## Useful next[Free toolWhat to automate first, a scoring toolPick a task your team repeats every week and answer five quick questions. You get a plain answer on whether it is worth automating, what helps and what to watch. Score up to four tasks and it tells you where to start, and you can keep the result as a private plan page.](https://shurco.ai/tools/what-to-automate-first/)[WorksheetThe one week order entry workload trackerBefore anyone prices automation, measure one normal week. This sheet shows how many orders arrive, how often each one is handled, and why they wait.](https://shurco.ai/guides/order-entry-workload-tracker/)[Free toolDuplicate payment finderPaste your supplier payments and see which ones may have been paid twice. The check runs in this page, so your figures never leave your computer.](https://shurco.ai/tools/duplicate-payment-finder/)

## More guides[GuideAI agent pricing in 2026, what vendors actually chargeVendors now charge for agents by the conversation, the outcome, the action or the credit. Here are the published prices, what each unit really means, and how to compare them on your own workload.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-agent-pricing/)[ServiceA monthly test for your customer facing AI assistantOnce a month, I ask your website or phone assistant ordinary customer questions. You get what it got wrong, its exact words and what to change. The first test is free.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-assistant-monthly-test/)[PlaybookHow to automate daily site reports across many sitesThe report takes days because the data lives in many places and someone has to chase it. Here is how to gather it in parallel, catch the numbers that disagree and produce a report a manager can check.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-daily-site-reports/)[PlaybookHow to automate quoting for a manufacturer or distributorSlow quotes lose work. There are three quite different kinds of quoting automation, and most buying mistakes come from picking the wrong kind. Here is how to tell which one your quotes need.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-quoting-for-manufacturers/)[PlaybookHow to automate sales order entry in Business CentralCustomers email orders as PDFs, spreadsheets and free text, and someone keys each line into Business Central. Here are the three ways to take that work away, with what Microsoft's own agent does and where it stops.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-sales-order-entry-business-central/)[PlaybookHow to automate timesheet processing for payrollTimesheets arrive as spreadsheets, PDFs, photos and scans, and payroll has a deadline that does not move. This is the order to automate it in, and the checks that stop a wrong payslip.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-timesheet-processing-for-payroll/)

## Want this in your operation

I build and run production AI agents that take repetitive work off operational teams. [Tell me what your team spends too long on.](https://shurco.ai/#contact)

Web version https://shurco.ai/guides/videos/