Insights
Plain notes on automating back-office work — what automates cleanly, what shouldn't, and when it is worth building.
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When is a process worth automating
A simple, honest test for whether a manual process is worth automating — the four things that decide it, and the cases where the answer is no.
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How to speed up your month-end close
Why the close drags on, and the practical changes — most of them automatable — that turn a three-day close into an afternoon of review.
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How to automate invoice data entry in QuickBooks
What it takes to stop keying supplier bills into QuickBooks by hand — the built-in tools, the apps, and when a custom build earns its place.
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Xero vs QuickBooks: which is easier to automate?
An honest comparison for teams choosing where to put their automation effort — what each does well, and why the tool matters less than you think.
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How to automate the reports your team rebuilds every week
The weekly report treadmill — export, clean, paste, format, send — is a pipeline, not a task. Here is how to hand it to one, and where a person still belongs.
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Where AI actually helps in back-office automation — and where it doesn't
AI is useful for exactly one part of back-office work: reading the messy stuff rules can't. Here is where it earns its place, and where it should be kept well away.
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Zapier, RPA, or a custom build: how to choose
Three ways to automate a process, and when each one fits. An honest look at where no-code and RPA save you money — and where they quietly cost more.
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What can and can't be automated in bank reconciliation
Bank reconciliation automation works — for most lines. Here is where it reconciles cleanly on its own, where it shouldn't, and how to target the split.
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How to automate invoice data entry in Xero
What it actually takes to stop typing supplier invoices into Xero by hand — the options, where each one stops, and when a custom build is worth it.