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Solution · 04

Process automation between your systems

Process automation means software carries out the fixed, recurring steps between your systems: reading the mail, filling the record, filing the document, sending the confirmation. The decisions stay with people. Goudbeek in Almere first maps the process as it actually runs and then automates the mechanical steps, for businesses across the Netherlands.

Most of the day's clicking is not a decision. It is moving something from one system to another, in a fixed order, because nothing connects the two.

Who is this for?

  • Businesses where a new order means touching three systems by hand
  • Teams keeping a spreadsheet alive purely to move data between tools
  • Anyone whose process is written down but still run by memory

How do we automate a business process?

  1. 01

    We map what actually happens

    Not the process as documented — the one people run, including the exceptions everyone knows about and nobody wrote down. That map is usually worth having on its own.

  2. 02

    The mechanical parts get handed over

    Reading the mail, filling the record, filing the document, sending the confirmation, chasing the one that never came back. The steps where the answer is always the same.

  3. 03

    The judgement calls stay where they are

    A workflow that guesses at a decision it was never given is worse than one that stops. Anything ambiguous lands in front of a person, with the work up to that point done.

  4. 04

    You can see it run

    One screen with what came in, what went through, and what stopped and why. When something breaks at 2am, the answer is in there in the morning.

Examples of process automation

Six typical kinds of work that lend themselves to automation. For each you see what the software takes over, and what stays with a person.

The workWhat the software doesWhat stays with a person
A new order or jobPasses the details once to your webshop, CRM, scheduling tool and bookkeeping, instead of someone typing them into each system again.Custom work, and agreements that differ from the standard.
A request via your site or mailLogs it, assigns it to the right colleague and sends a reminder if it sits untouched.The conversation with the customer, and the quote.
Confirmations and remindersSends the confirmation as soon as something comes in, and chases missing documents or details itself.The personal contact with anyone who does not respond.
Invoices and formsReads the fields with document processing with AI and checks them against your records.Whatever the software is not sure of: that goes to review.
Recurring customer questionsAnswers the questions whose answer is in your own material, with an AI agent for customer service.Complaints and doubtful cases, with a draft attached.
The week's numbersPulls them from the systems you already keep them in and puts them on one dashboard, instead of pasting them into a spreadsheet.What you decide based on those numbers.

In more depth, with the signs of a process worth automating: which business processes you can automate, and which to leave alone.

Form, integration or AI: what fits your process?

Automation does not have to be heavy. For every step we start at the bottom of the same ladder and climb only as far as we need to: we stop at the first rung that solves the problem. The lower that rung, the less there is to build and to watch.

  1. First: can the step go?

    Fits when a step adds nothing, or happens twice.

    Sometimes the best automation is a step that disappears. We work that out under improving business processes.

  2. A form or template

    Fits when information comes in incomplete or messy.

    Ask for everything you need in one go, with the right required fields, so nobody has to chase it by mail later.

  3. An integration or fixed rule

    Fits when the data already exists and only has to move from system to system.

    Two systems passing data to each other, in a fixed order. No language model needed, and predictable: the same input gives the same outcome every time.

  4. AI

    Fits when the input is text in someone's own words, or documents that look different every time.

    Sorting a mail, understanding a question, reading an invoice. Even then, the rest stays ordinary software: what the system may do, and when it stops and asks a person.

What does process automation cost, and how long does it take?

There is no price list, because no two processes are the same. What is fixed up front is how the bill is built.

One-off The build
One fixed price, agreed after a short intake. No open-ended bill, and work starts only once you have said yes.
Per month Managed hosting
From €39 a month if it runs with us, with updates, backups and uptime; see managed hosting. Self-hosting is possible too.
Per use AI usage
Only when AI is involved: the AI model is billed separately by usage. The quote shows what to expect.

What price and planning depend on

  • How many steps and systems the flow touches
  • Whether your systems can exchange data with each other
  • How many exceptions the process has
  • How much human review you want around it
  • Whether AI is involved

How long it takes

We don't quote a fixed number of weeks: it depends on the same points. What is fixed is the order. First one flow end to end, as a working prototype on your own data; only once that holds up do we start on the next. We discuss your timeline in the intake.

What stays in your hands?

  • Which steps run unattended and which always wait for you
  • Which systems it may write to, and what it may never delete
  • What happens when a step fails: retry, stop, or ask
  • The whole thing turned off, without anything else breaking

What happens after the first flow?

We build one flow end to end before touching a second, because the first one teaches us more about your business than a month of meetings. After that they come quickly.

Read on in the knowledge base

Frequently asked questions

What is process automation?

Process automation means software carries out the fixed, recurring steps in a business process, usually between systems that do not talk to each other: reading the mail, filling the record, filing the document, sending the confirmation. The steps where the answer is always the same are taken out; the decisions stay with people. Goudbeek does this from Almere, for businesses across the Netherlands.

Which business processes can you automate?

You can automate business processes that go the same way every time and have nothing to decide: entering a new order into three systems, moving data that now runs through a spreadsheet, sending confirmations, chasing missing documents. If you are not sure a process is suitable, we map it first; that is what improving business processes is about. In more depth: which business processes you can automate, and which to leave alone.

What is the difference between improving and automating a process?

Improving a business process is about the process itself: how it really runs, where time leaks away and which steps are unnecessary. Automating comes after and lets software do the mechanical steps. Automating a messy process only makes the mess faster. That is why every job starts with a drawing of how the work goes today; more on that under improving business processes.

Do you need AI to automate a process?

You do not always need AI to automate a process. Many steps can be solved with an ordinary integration, a rule or a template, and then that is the better choice: cheaper and more predictable. AI comes in where text has to be read or understood, such as sorting a mail or reading an invoice. We always pick the simplest thing that works.

Which tasks stay with a person?

When you automate a process, judgement, exceptions and personal contact stay with people: a price for custom work, whether a complaint is justified, the conversation with an unhappy customer. The software does the work around it and prepares a draft where that helps. Which steps run unattended and which always wait for someone is written down up front, and you can change it later without a rebuild.

What happens when a step in the automation fails?

What happens when a step in the automation fails is decided up front: retry, stop or ask someone. Anything ambiguous lands in front of a person, with the work up to that point done. One screen shows what came in, what went through and what stopped and why; such a dashboard shows in the morning what went wrong in the night.

Does it work with the systems we already have?

Goudbeek automates the work between the systems you already use, such as your mailbox, CRM, webshop and bookkeeping, instead of moving you to new software. You decide which systems the automation may write to and what it may never delete. Which connections fit your systems becomes clear during the intake.

What does it cost to automate a process?

What it costs to automate a process depends on how many steps and systems the flow touches and how much control you want around it. After a short intake you get one fixed price up front. We build one flow end to end before starting a second, so you do not pay for a big plan that still has to prove itself. It can run on managed hosting from €39 a month. If AI is involved, the AI model is billed separately by usage.

How long does it take to automate a business process?

How long automating a business process takes depends on how many steps and systems the flow touches, whether those systems can exchange data and how much human review you want around it, so we don't quote a fixed number of weeks. What is fixed: we start with one flow end to end, on your own data, and only once that holds up do we start on a second. We discuss your timeline in the intake.

How do you get started with automation?

Automation starts with the job that eats the most hours, not with a tool. Tell us which one that is; after a short intake you get one fixed price, and then we build one working prototype on one real piece of work. You get a reply to your first message within one business day. Want to map the process yourself first? Read mapping a business process step by step.

Does this fit how you work?

Tell us where the work gets stuck. You hear from us within one working day, from the person who builds it.

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