Implementation
Business automation: what it is, how to implement it, and how much it costs
Ukrainian business operates in conditions where growth often happens not because of team expansion, but due to more efficient organization of work. Staff shortages, unstable demand, limited resources, and the constant need to make quick decisions force entrepreneurs to look for ways to do more without a proportional increase in costs.
According to a study on the state of business in Ukraine in September 2025, the average staffing level was 75.1%, and over 70% of entrepreneurs felt a shortage of workers. In 2026, Diia.Business continues to develop the direction of digital maturity of SMEs: a separate program provides digital maturity diagnostics, expert support, and practical digitalization tools. Its strategic goal is to involve 80% of Ukrainian SMEs in the digital economy by 2028.
In such conditions, business automation becomes not just a way to save time. It is an opportunity to organize work so that information is not lost between Excel, messengers, and separate programs, and the manager can see what is happening with orders, money, tasks, and clients.
In this guide, we will break down what should be automated first, how to understand the company's readiness, how much implementation can cost in Ukraine, and how to evaluate its return on investment.
What is business automation in simple terms
In simple terms, automation is the transfer of repetitive operations to a program so that people do not waste time manually transferring information, constantly clarifying, and controlling obvious things.
For example, a manager creates an order once, and its data is then used for a task, a document, a stock reserve, and a financial transaction.
The main value of business automation is not that the employee presses fewer buttons. The value is that information stops living in separate pieces. The owner sees the sales status, the responsible person sees the team's work, the manager sees the order status, and the financial result is formed based on the data already entered during work.
For example, a client left a request for equipment installation. In an unstructured approach, a manager might write it down in Viber, the technician will receive a message in Telegram, the estimate will be in Excel, and the accountant will see the payment in the bank account receipts. If the client asks two days later what stage the work is at, information will have to be gathered from several people.
In a single workspace, the process can look different:
Each subsequent stage uses the data already entered, and its status is available to those who need it.
It is important to understand: business automation does not mean that the system will manage the company by itself. It will not make price decisions instead of the owner, it will not fix bad workflow logic, and it will not make a chaotic process efficient. First, you need to organize the process, and only then automate it.
Business automation, optimization, and digitalization: what is the difference
These concepts are often used as synonyms, although they describe different changes.
Approach | What happens | Simple example |
Optimization | The process is made simpler and more efficient | Removing unnecessary approvals in an order |
Digitalization | Paper or analog information is converted into digital format | Using electronic requests instead of paper ones |
Automation | The system performs repetitive actions according to set rules | After creating an order, a related task is automatically formed |
Therefore, purchasing a CRM system by itself does not yet mean business automation. If managers simply transfer the chaos from spreadsheets to a new program, the problem will remain.
The correct sequence is usually as follows:
When business automation is not yet needed
Automation is not a mandatory step for every company. If a business has up to three employees, few clients, a simple sales and order execution process, a full-fledged ERP system may be premature. The same applies to companies that work primarily with one-off projects and do not have repetitive operations.
You should not automate a process just because "everyone does it". If a problem occurs once a month and is solved in a few minutes, complex setup can cost more than manual work.
Automation makes sense when a repetitive process already creates noticeable losses of time, money, or information.
Therefore, before making a choice, you should compare not only the implementation price but the total cost of ownership of the system over several years.
What business automation gives in practice: a simple example
Let's imagine a service company with 16 employees. Before implementing automation, requests arrive via Viber and phone calls, managers keep track of clients in their own spreadsheets, and the head of the company gathers information on completed works and expenses at the end of the month.
The problem is not that employees do their job poorly. The problem is that information is distributed among people and different tools.
After organizing the process, the request is recorded in a single database, receives a status and a responsible person. After the order is confirmed, a task is created for the employee, implementation info is linked to the order, and financial operations are reflected in the corresponding accounting.
The manager no longer gathers data manually at the end of the month. He can see how many requests are in progress, which orders are delayed, what work is completed, and what financial result the company generates.
This is the practical result of automation: not just fewer spreadsheets, but a clear link between the team's work and the financial result.
5 signs that your business needs business process automation
If you recognize your company in at least three of the five situations below, you should not just buy a new tool, but conduct an audit of your workflows.
1. You cannot name last month's profit in 5 minutes
An owner may know the turnover, bank account balance, and approximate expenses, but this does not mean they know the profit. It is especially difficult when part of the funds are prepayments, some clients have not paid yet, and the company has its own obligations to suppliers. In such a situation, the account balance does not show the real financial result.
You need data on receipts, expenses, accounts receivable and payable, as well as a profit and loss statement (P&L).
2. Only one person knows the order status
If the answer to the question "what is happening with order №125 right now?" can only be obtained from a specific manager, the business depends on the memory of one person. The problem becomes critical during vacation, sick leave, or employee resignation. Instead of a transparent process, a search for information through chats, files, and phone calls begins.
In a systemic process, each order has a responsible person, status, related tasks, documents, and action history.
3. The same data is entered twice
A manager recorded client details in Excel, then an accountant transfers them to their spreadsheet, and a warehouse employee to a third file. Each repeated entry increases the risk of error. If a phone number or price changes, different versions of information will remain in different places.
A single database removes a significant portion of such duplication: information is entered once and used in the next stages of the process.
4. Clients call to find out what is happening with their order
If a manager regularly answers questions like "when is the delivery?", "has the product arrived yet?", or "has the technician left?", part of their working time is spent not on sales, but on searching for information.
Transparent order and task statuses help answer the client faster and help the whole team understand what is happening.
5. You are afraid that part of the database will leave with a resigning employee
If client history, prices, agreements, and current tasks are stored on an employee's personal phone, email, or files, the company does not actually own full information about its own work.
An automated service should become the single source of work data, and access to information should depend on the employee's role.
These five signs have a common cause: the business has already outgrown manual management, but processes still remain manual.
What to automate first: prioritization for small and medium-sized businesses
Do not try to automate everything at once. For small and medium-sized businesses, it is better to start with processes that are repeated daily, involve several employees, and directly affect money.
A simple rule: first automate the area where errors or delays cost the company the most.
Sales and requests
The first point is often sales, because this is where future revenue is generated.
A request should go into a single database, and the manager should see its status, the responsible person, the next step, and the entire history of interaction with the client. For this, a CRM system is used - a program for managing customer relationships and sales.
Useful features include sales funnel, order status, customer base, communication history, and control of next actions.
For a service company, the process may start with a repair request, for wholesale trade - with a customer order, and for an installation company - with a pricing request. It is important not just to store requests. The system should help guide them further through the process - from the first contact to payment.
Tasks and projects
If work depends on several people, it is better not to leave tasks in chats. Each task should have a responsible person, deadline, status, and context in which it is executed. For more complex works, tasks can be combined into a project to see the big picture.
For example, after equipment is sold, preparation for installation is launched automatically or according to a defined scenario: order materials, assign a technician, agree on a date, perform work, prepare documents. Task and project management is especially important for installation, repair, construction, maintenance, and other companies where the result depends on the sequence of actions of several employees.
Finance
Finance should be automated not after all other processes, but in parallel with them. Otherwise, the company will get transparent sales, but still won't know how much it actually earned. The service should allow seeing cash flow, receipts, expenses, settlements, and financial result. The next level is the profit and loss statement (P&L), which helps separate turnover from the actual business result.
For example, a company received €500,000 from clients in a month. This does not mean its profit is €500,000. You need to consider cost of goods sold, salaries, rent, purchases, other expenses, and obligations.
That is why the financial part should be linked to operational activities, rather than existing as a separate spreadsheet.
Warehouse and procurement
For trade, installation, and service businesses, the next critical area becomes the warehouse. If a manager does not know the actual balance, they cannot confidently confirm an order to a client. If a buyer does not see reserves, the company either freezes money in excess stock or faces a shortage.
Automation of inventory accounting allows linking orders, balances, reserves, purchases, and shipments. As a result, the manager sees not just the product name, but its availability and can quickly make a decision regarding the order.
For small and medium-sized businesses, the optimal sequence often looks like this:
But if the main headache of the company is the warehouse, you should start with it. Automation should solve a specific business problem, rather than match a trendy list of tools.
Business process automation in an enterprise: implementation stages
Business process automation in an enterprise starts not with setting up a program, but with describing how the company works now. This allows not transferring old chaos into a new system.
The optimal approach can be divided into several stages.
Conduct a process audit
Write down how an order goes from the first contact to payment. Separately record sales, tasks, finance, warehouse, and documents. Identify places where information is entered repeatedly or transferred manually.Identify one main problem
No need to start with ten tasks. Choose the process with the most manual work, errors, or losses.Describe the desired process
Define what should happen after each action: who gets the task, how the status changes, what data is needed for the next employee.Choose a system
Check not the number of functions, but how well the tool fits your real processes. For a company that needs to work simultaneously with sales, finance, warehouse, tasks, and projects, separate narrow programs can create even more gaps.Transfer and verify data
You should not transfer all the old chaos into a new service. First, clean up duplicates, check directories, clients, products, and balances.Train the team on real scenarios
It is better to show a manager how to process a specific order from request to payment, rather than conduct a general lecture about all the functions of the service.Launch the process and measure the result
After a few weeks, check what has changed: how much time processing a request takes, how many errors occur, how quickly a financial result can be obtained, how many manual operations are left.
How long implementation takes and who participates in it
According to the practice of Keruj specialists, implementing a service for small and medium-sized businesses usually takes from 2 to 6 weeks. The exact timeframe depends on the number of processes to be configured, the volume of data to be transferred, the required integrations, and the team's readiness to switch to a new workflow.
Importantly, implementation is not a task just for an IT specialist. From the company's side, it is worth involving the owner or manager responsible for operational processes and key employees who will work in the service daily.
The manager determines what problems need to be solved and what result the service should yield. The person responsible for processes helps set up workflows, while employees show how requests, orders, work execution, documents, and payments actually happen.
Usually, implementation takes place in phases: first, main processes are set up, then the team starts working in the system, and based on the results of the first weeks, necessary adjustments are made.
A noteworthy approach is also used by FRACTAL. Artem Borodatiuk, founder and CEO of the group, talked about the automation of the company's internal processes. In particular, the Liti tool created by FRACTAL was initially used to automate the recruiting process, and later was presented to a wider audience. According to Borodatiuk, in 2025, using the tool reduced the time for this process by 4 times. Forbes Ukraine reported on this case in an article about Liti and recruiting automation.
This approach well illustrates an important principle: first test automation on a real process, evaluate the result, and only then scale the solution.
The most important thing is not to try to hand over implementation to one person. The system will work only when the team understands the new order of work and follows it daily.
How much business automation costs in Ukraine
There is no single price: the cost depends on the number of users, complexity of processes, integrations, data migration, and the need for custom development and support.
Conventionally, expenses can be divided into four parts:
Expense item | What is included |
License or subscription | Access to the system and its features |
Implementation | Setting up processes, roles, directories, and scenarios |
Data migration | Transferring clients, products, balances, and other information |
Integrations and development | Connection with banks, websites, services, or creating specific solutions |
For a small company, a cloud system on subscription can be significantly more affordable than custom development. For example, the current cost of the "Business" plan in Keruj is €5,000 per month for 10 users, and a trial is available for free for 14 days for three users.
At the same time, proprietary software development can be justified for companies with specific processes that cannot be covered by ready-made solutions. But here it is important to calculate not only the budget for creating the product, but also subsequent expenses for a team of developers, support, updates, and system development. We talked in more detail about when proprietary software can be more profitable than a ready-made ERP system in a separate article "Ready-made ERP or proprietary development: what to choose?".
For SMEs, it is important to evaluate automation not only by the number of hours saved. According to the results of a study on the state of business in Ukraine in September 2025, 50.3% of surveyed entrepreneurs named limited access to capital as one of the key problems, and 46.3% - a shortage of qualified staff.
Therefore, the decision about automation should be made through economics: how much does manual work cost? Where do losses occur? How much time does the team spend on repetitive operations? And what result will automation yield?
If a service costs €5,000 per month, but helps reduce manual work by 40 hours, reduce errors, and avoid losing several orders a month, its real value is much higher than the subscription fee itself.
Automation should pay off not through the number of functions, but by solving a specific problem.
Before making a choice, you should also calculate the total cost of ownership of the system over several years: licenses, implementation, integrations, support, updates, and potential customization.
Conclusion: where to start this week
Business automation does not start with choosing a program. It starts with the question: where exactly is the company losing time, money, or information?
This week, it is enough to do four things:
Choose one process - for example, sales from request to payment.
Draw its current path and find manual operations.
Define 3 metrics you want to improve.
Test 2–3 services on a real workflow scenario, rather than a list of features on a website.
A good system should not just store information. It should help the team go from request to result, and help the owner see what is happening with sales, money, tasks, warehouse, and profit.
Keruj combines sales, warehouse, finance, tasks, projects, communication, and other operational processes in a single workspace. If you are not sure where to start in your company, you can first take advantage of a free consultation or a 14-day trial to test the system on your own process, rather than making a decision based solely on feature descriptions.
