When we first started automating our convenience store, we were really, really overwhelmed. A lot of people tried to sell us a lot of things. So I’m going to start with the biggest mistake I’ve seen in automating operations… and we made it, too. Understanding the desired processes. We had to start with knowing what those processes are and then questioning whether they were right.

Know the Manual Process

I started my technology career automating insurance operations. Trust me, even the big guys don’t always know how things are really done. When we first bought our convenience store, we didn’t know anything about running retail. But we DID know that all the other guys had scanning systems. So we bought ourselves one of those. It was a mess. In fairness, there wouldn’t have been as much of a problem if we really knew the first thing about the right way to operate a retail establishment. It would have helped more if we had figured out the right processes for operating OUR store. Fast forward almost 5 years, and I can tell you we would have saved a lot of time and headache had we known our processes first. When you do it every day, it seems silly to write it down. But trust me, writing it down will help you with the next steps.

Question the Process

There is nothing worse than doing something and not really knowing why you do it. Why, exactly, do we pay every supplier when they arrive with a check? Isn’t there a better way to pay? Sometimes there isn’t… But sometimes there can be faster and better ways of doing things. More importantly, asking tough questions kept us from paying for automation we really didn’t need. This is unique to you. For example, we don’t have pay at the pump fuel. However, neither do our nearest competitors. Additionally, we don’t have a lot of thru traffic in our town. We barely break even on our gas prices, therefore we cannot justify the $100k investment in pay at the pump. Would we like it? Yes. But this automation does not have a high rate of return right now.

Calculate the Value of Automating It

This sounds very much like high dollar consultancy talk, but it really doesn’t have to be complicated or hard to do this. Most small business owners I have met have three goals in their business they care the most about… time, money and good customers. You’ll want to prioritize in your own way. Does automating anything on your list put hard, cold cash right back in your pocket? Does automating anything on your list give you REAL hours you can have back in your life? Does anything in your list help you acquire or keep more of those GOOD customers you want? Only you can decide which one of those needs comes first.

Don’t Look Past the Value of Human Touch

As a small business owner, we have the privilege of doing things ‘our own way’. However, many software applications are either built for a segment to use in a standardized way or built generically to meet every need and difficult to set-up. Don’t underestimate the value of paying someone $12.50 to process it manually every month vs. spending 3 hours on a computer using a process that doesn’t work for you. Pay attention to what you can configure.

Things you do (or don’t quite have time to do) that can be automated today

I’m just going to scratch the surface of these things for now, but you get the idea. You don’t have to do all these things. There are tons of features on these new systems. Choose a system for what you want eventually, but remember it is an ongoing commitment to automate. Make sure the system you select takes care of current automation needs.

1. Selling – online sales, self-service, ringing up a tickets with the right prices, accepting payments, reconciling drawer counts, applying discounts, upselling
2. Customer Service – appointment reminders, service scheduling, follow-up emails, customer information gathering, house account management, loyalty programs
3. Pricing – tracking costs, pricing and re-pricing goods, labeling shelf tags
4. Inventory – keeping track of what came in, what was lost/damaged and what you sold
5. HR – time card reporting, scheduling, employee on-boarding, operations task management and training
6. Accounting – payroll, record keeping, cash flow, balance sheet and P&L