BUSINESS PROCESS AUTOMATION: Definition and Top Software Tools

Business process automation is the use of advanced technology to get business tasks done with as little human help as possible. Of course every busiess owner knows the importance of BPA. It speeds up work by routing information to the right person at the right time using user-defined rules and actions. As part of a digital transformation strategy, organizations often use BPA to streamline workflows and make their operations run more smoothly. Check out this article for more details on business process automation, and top software tools with examples.

Why Is Business Process Automation Important?

The goal of business process automation is not just to replace paper with PDFs; it also aims to make processes more cost-effective, streamlined, error-proof, and clear. By automating processes to improve overall operational efficiency, organizations save time and make sure that best practices are used.

What Business Processes Should You Automate?

Almost any business process can be improved in some way by automation. When evaluating candidates for process automation, consider the following key characteristics:

• The procedure necessitates consistency throughout the organization.
• There is little room for error in this process.
• The procedure can be repeated.

What Are Business Process Automation Software Tools?

Organizations can use business process automation software tools to partially or completely automate their business processes. RPA software and BPA software are similar. In fact, they have similar objectives. The only difference is that the latter software works more like humans: it manipulates software using machine vision and screen scraping. BPA software, on the other hand, automates an organization’s business processes before integrating them into the software being automated.

It Is in Charge of the Entire Employee Onboarding Process

If you’ve ever worked in an organization, you know that onboarding is a highly structured process. (Email person A, complete documents B, C, and D, and so on.) Instead of starting from scratch, you can let the business process automation software guide you through the entire process. As long as a business process involves a series of predictable steps and repetition, chances are it can be automated.

 Business Process Automation Tools

Business process automation is transforming organizational operations, enabling organizations to do more with less while scaling in tandem with business growth. Here are the top ten business process automation tools for increasing resiliency and propelling your company to new heights.

#1. Asana

Asana is a project management tool with features for both managers and workers. Its straightforward user interface simplifies project management while encouraging usage and interaction. As far as security is concerned, Asana provides SSO, 2FA, and advanced granular permissions. Asana lets you manage and plan by using pre-made templates, a shared team calendar, a task scheduler, task prioritization, and automation of repetitive tasks. It also has report dashboards for project insights, file sharing through drag-and-drop or manually, and comment sections under each task.

#2. ProcessMaker

ProcessMaker is an intelligent low-code BPM and business process automation platform for organizations that require scalability. You can quickly create customizable charts and reports using its filtered search feature. You can also assign specific end-users to your charts and reports. ProcessMaker includes a scripting engine that supports JavaScript, Java, C#, and other languages. It provides BPMN syntax checking and process error validation to check syntax. As a result, you can improve the overall visibility and orchestration of end-to-end automated processes. End users can also design and re-design as many automated processes as they want.

#3. ActiveBatch

ActiveBatch is a no-code platform for orchestrating automated workflows. Its event-driven architecture allows it to support message queues, tweets, FTP file events, email, and other features. Task scheduling can also be adjusted based on the business day and time. To manage automated tickets, it provides bidirectional integrations with System Center Service Manager and ServiceNow. APIs can also be used to connect to any service, application, or server. It also includes features like modeling and in-depth monitoring.

#4. KissFlow

Kissflow provides a simple approach to business process automation. It’s a group of more than 50 apps for managing things like payments to vendors, purchase orders, onboarding new employees, and even mileage reimbursements. These apps can also be customized by end users. Kissflow also provides data capture forms, activity reports, and system sequences. It offers Zapier-supported SaaS integration as a collaboration suite. You can also attach files from Dropbox and Google Docs that are multilingual. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on how many applications a user can create.

#5. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a well-known social media management automation tool on the market today. With over 150 apps in the Hootsuite App Discovery store, it has the most comprehensive list of social network integrations. It also has an easy-to-use interface for quick onboarding. You can quickly connect multiple accounts, including YouTube. Hootsuite is an effective social media management tool for businesses that communicate across multiple social networks. You can also use the Hootsuite API to tailor your integrations and improve interoperability.

#6. Basecamp

Basecamp is an online collaboration tool used by businesses. It is adaptable because it allows for a wide range of integrations. The prominent features of Basecamp include deadline, file, task, announcement, and discussion tracking. Consider creating a virtual hub for company teams, which can be useful in a remote working environment. Basecamp is the most adaptable and robust workplace hub. While it can emphasize project management, it was not intended to make projects easier. It does, however, excel at discussion management, which can help speed up projects.

#7. Tracker Comindware

Comindware Tracker is a SaaS platform that automates issue tracking, communications, project management, workflow management, HR management, resource utilization, and other processes. Every feature can also be customized. Comindware Tracker, for example, includes a Graphical Workflow Builder that allows you to design and customize workflows using a drag-and-drop interface. You can follow up on critical alerts about customers, vendors, and partners for issue tracking. Comindware Tracker also includes a Human Resources Management (HRM) system for managing hiring, vacations, employee transfers, warnings, and termination.

#8. Laserfiche

LaserFiche is a platform for automated content management that works to sort through digital clutter. It gives you a simple, easy-to-use interface for routing and tracking digital documents every day. AI-driven workflows and analytics let end users scan and organize documents digitally across the organization. It also includes tools like forms, reports, and task management.

#9. Quu

Quu is a tool for automating content research and marketing. However, it is not a HootSuite clone. Researching relevant content for targeted audiences is invariably time-consuming. Quu automates the tedious process by sending daily alerts of high-quality content in your preferred niche. The notifications contain links to podcasts, articles, videos, and blog posts, among other things. For content, there are three options: hand-curated, discovery, and Pods by Quu. Once you’ve received your daily content, you can schedule it using a tool like HootSuite.

#10. TrackVia

TrackVia is a well-designed, low-code development platform for workflow management. It provides end-users with UI-based drag-and-drop functionality for building applications and automating processes. Mobile workflows with Zapier integration and responsive dashboards are the primary focus. However, customization is limited due to default layouts. TrackVia could also benefit from more third-party app integrations.

What Is The Difference Between Business Process Automation (BPA) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

BPA automated an entire business process from start to finish, while RPA delegated individual tasks to software robots to streamline.

Business Process Automation Software Tools Uses and Examples

Here are some compelling examples of how Business process automation software tools have been put to use in the business world.

#1. Employee Onboarding

Employee recruitment is a slow and laborious process. This is because there is a great deal of paperwork involved in the hiring process, including legal documentation, opening bank accounts, organizing training and orientation, and completing various forms. This hiring process becomes inconsistent, informal, and disjointed without BPA software, which can even lead to: 

This hiring process becomes inconsistent, informal, and disjointed without Business process automation software examples, which can even lead to: 

• Low levels of satisfaction among workers.
• Failing to complete some necessary steps.
• Countless forms to fill out when hiring new employees.

By automating the employee onboarding process, you can ensure a smooth transition from one task to the next. It is possible to keep your prospective employees up to date on the hiring process thanks to BPA software.

#2. Purchase Orders

Purchase orders are a recurring, day-to-day task in most organizations that necessitates a significant amount of paperwork. Employees complete a form and submit it to the purchasing team. A purchase order is created and a copy is sent to the supplier as well as the inventory team after it has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate authority. If the request is denied, for example, due to budgetary constraints or insufficient information, the purchase order is returned to the requesting team. Several issues could arise if this business process is not automated, including (but not limited to):

• Errors occurred during the delivery of supplies.
• Purchase order mistakes.
• Records that are incomplete.
• Productivity was impacted.
• Purchase order approval was delayed.

Business process automation software examples facilitate and accelerate workflow execution and also improve data accuracy, transparency, and accountability in an organization.

What Are the Objectives of Business Process Automation?

Process automation’s primary objective is to improve a company’s workflow. it can reduce costs, time, and waste while increasing productivity, reducing errors, and controlling all business processes in real time with automation.

What Are the Benefits of Business Process Automation?

There are many positive outcomes that can result from automating processes, including enhanced customer satisfaction and competitive advantage.

#1. It Saves Money

Every year, organizations lose at least 30% of their revenue due to inefficient business processes. In other words, manual business processes frequently result in significant resource waste. The transition from manual to automated business processes allows for the reduction of errors. Organizations can significantly increase profit margins and lower operational costs through the business automation process examples. Because waste is eliminated and resources are optimally utilized, you have more room to renegotiate favorable terms and manage contracts efficiently.

#2. Accelerates Document Review and Approval

Maintaining data and documents manually can be a nightmare time consuming, it’s and the chances of making mistakes are increased. When you automate document management processes, you reduce the time it takes to review and approve documents, making it more convenient.

#3. Enhances Transparency

With BPA software, you can track and monitor multiple processes while they are running and establish key performance indicators (KPIs). This level of transparency provides insights into areas of your organization that require critical improvement.

#4. Aids in Document Progress Monitoring

Consider having to call and follow up with an employee. Then, via email, engage in a back-and-forth to clarify certain details. Manually, such a process can take up to a week or more to route information to the right person at the right time. BPA software reduces document and information processing time to a few hours. Automation also allows you to track document progress and status, with full traceability of documents sent, opened, and signed.

#5. Upholds Company Policies

Noncompliance with relevant industry and legal regulations is an expensive move for businesses everywhere. The good news is that business process automation software tools assist businesses in remaining compliant. This data is useful because it is traceable and under control, resulting in better compliance with relevant regulations.

#6. Facilitates Communication

To find out what’s going on with your business processes, contact a supervisor or team leader. Even then, miscommunication is likely, which can lead to costly errors. Business process automation software aids in the streamlining of such internal communications. It can even aid in the simplification of customer-facing processes such as sales and customer service. Process automation also keeps all process-related communication within the workflow, making process execution easier and faster.

#7. Reduces Reliance on Manual Processes

According to a recent study, office workers spend nearly two and a half hours per day on destructive tasks such as document processing, paperwork approval, and information search. Business process automation software can quickly complete repetitive tasks. Automation saves money because it requires fewer manual interventions. It also saves time, which is the primary benefit of all BPA software.

#8. Cuts Down on Meetings

Because BPA software can effectively handle all mundane recurring tasks in an organization, you can reduce meetings in order to improve workforce allocation. This also allows you to redirect your employees’ attention to tasks that engage their brains more in developing strategies and performing more important functions.

#9. Enhances Workflows

Process automation improves the consistency of workflow, especially in large organizations with many employees and stakeholders. And this is where things can get a little tangled: everyone has multiple tasks to complete, different filing methods, different habits, and so on. A BPA software with steps that follow each other systematically is a clever shortcut for improving workflow and making the business process more effective.

#10. Lessen Human Error

Error is human, no matter how capable your employees are. Mistakes will always occur. They are, in fact, unavoidable. However, automating business processes allows you to detect and correct common workplace errors such as constant delays, inefficiency points, manual errors, and many more. By eliminating the risk of these errors (by automating processes), your business processes will run more smoothly. It assists you in avoiding redundant business operations. BPA software can also assist you in preventing recurring errors in your business.

Types of Process Automation

Here are four different types of business automation, their functions, and when they should be used.

#1. Automation Marketing

Marketing is an important part of running a business, but it can be time-consuming and expensive, which makes it a good candidate for automation. Companies can generate highly qualified leads ready for sales engagement using marketing automation tools. These tools also provide a framework for teams to target, build, execute, and measure the success of marketing campaigns, simplifying lead qualification and conversion.

#2. Accounting and Bookkeeping Automation

Companies can save significant time on accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP), billing, collections, credit card applications, data backup, and other financial processes that must be managed on a daily or weekly basis by automating their accounting and bookkeeping functions. They can also automate core processes such as bookkeeping, general ledger (GL) management, and bank account management. Automation simplifies a complex process by removing manual elements from the accounting team‘s work and handling the number-crunching and transactional work.

#3. Process Automation

Business process automation (BPA) extends beyond basic automation by incorporating application integration to help businesses improve value and efficiency. Robotic process automation (RPA), a subset of BPA, focuses on automating routine tasks, whereas BPA helps businesses get more out of their automation investments. BPA accomplishes this by aggregating data from multiple sources to create analyses that would be difficult to achieve manually.

Companies use BPA for a variety of purposes, including:

• Automated order entry
• Email automation
• Automated batch processing
• Automated file transfers
• Automated report generation and distribution

#4. Human Resources Automation

Hiring new employees is a multi-step process that starts with an online job posting or recruitment effort and ends with the employee being officially onboarded. Many of the steps in this process are automatable. A human resources management system (HRMS) is a useful tool in this regard. These systems automate the candidate management process as part of a larger set of features. This specifically refers to automated job offers sent directly to candidates, which helps get the word out about open positions to both the outside world and current employees who may want to apply for internal positions or make referrals.

What Are The Two Types of Process Automation?

Generally, there are two main types of process automation when it comes to power automation. These are cloud flows, API-based digital process automation, and UI-based robotic process automation (RPA).

Which Country is Best For RPA?

There are several countries that are known for their advanced RPA.  Experts in robotics often look for employment in countries that allow them to conduct research and development without restrictions and South Korea is one of the best places to go.

Which is better SAP or RPA?

There is no technology or tool which is inferior or superior. Both SAP & RPA has equal importance in the market. Both are different. In fact, using RPA tools, SAP is being Automated that doesn’t mean SAP is inferior.

Is RPA in High Demand?

Within every business setting, SAP and RPA are both vital and useful. However, both of them play distinct roles irrespective of their usefulness.

FAQs

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References

• netsuite.com
• processmaker.com
• sweetprocess.com
• laserfiche.com