5 Best Automation Software Tools: Experts Choice

Managing workflow and client interactions are essential components of running any successful business. Unfortunately, these processes can also be time consuming and tedious tasks that take on a life of their own and end up compromising productivity. Here is how smart companies are using the best automation software to get ahead of the productivity curve.

Coming Up

What is IT Automation?

Why Use Automation Software?

How to Choose the Right Automation Software

What is the Best Automation Software?

Final Thoughts

What is IT Automation?

In the business world, automation software that leverages the power of technology to automate client interactions and company processes can be considered as a “force multiplier.”

The reason is because automation software lets businesses automate functions that normally require human supervision or intervention. Once these automated business solutions are set up and put into place, staff can concentrate their energies on tasks of vital strategic importance to the overall operation.

As modern businesses increasingly lean on technology based services like the cloud and virtual networks, task automation tools allow the business’ staff to perform effectively.

Automating the more mundane and tedious aspects of operations will allow companies to scale upwards and put more focus on growth strategies. This is why companies who use quality automation platforms often enjoy an advantage over competitors who lack this technology when it comes to serving their clients.

Why Use Automation Software?

There is a saying in military parlance that goes “amateurs talk tactics, while geniuses talk logistics.” What this means in a nutshell is that regardless of how good your battle plan is, without the tools to help you achieve your goals, it is unlikely that you will win the day.

Automation software allows companies to expand their logistical capabilities, which in turn allows their staff the necessary freedom to focus on strategies for maximizing output and efficiency.

Imagine trying to run a cloud server for a large customer base without robotic process automation software. Your staff would be responsible for manually uploading and saving all the information your clients store in the cloud.

They would also need to process sales and forward information to the required departments (e.g. orders and payments). They would be so consumed by these processes that they would have precious little time for anything else.

Then, think about handling all your finance functions without the aid of automation software. You’ll have to wrangle data from disparate sources, manually enter figures with the risk of costly compliance and accounting errors, and be bogged down by completing data-heavy tasks that require utmost accuracy.

Instead, you can leverage finance automation like SolveXia to streamline and automate your most crucial finance processes, such as account reconciliation, expense management, rebate management, regulatory reporting, and more.

Most importantly, automation software like SolveXia enables staff to setup automation processes without needing any IT support.  It simplifies the process for finance as there’s no need to wait on IT or invest in IT resources whenever anyone wants to setup, add processes or make changes.

Additionally, as your business scales upwards in size, you’d have to continue adding these expensive professionals to the payroll to keep up with the manual data management.

The reality is that you can never hire enough staff to replicate what the best automation software can do for your company; at least not without cannibalizing all your profits. However, business automation software will enable your team to maximize their output and effectiveness.

How to Choose the Right Automation Software

On the plus side, there is no shortage of high quality automation platforms for you to choose from for your business. However, all that choice can be a bit intimidating; kind of like choosing cereal at the grocery store.

When there is an entire aisle of it stacked from floor to ceiling, how do you know which one is right for you?

The reality is the same mindset you use when shopping for other consumer products will help you choose the right automation software for your business.

There are some basic questions you must consider, and in most cases the answers to these questions will point you to the best options. A brief list of the questions you should ask yourself (and overall staff) includes:

• What do  you need the software to do/what kind of functions will it be performing?
• What capabilities and features does the software need to have?
• What is your budget for the software?
• How many users will you have (some software has separate desk or license fees for each user)?
• How well does the software work with your current data management system?
• How user friendly is the new software?
• Can your existing team use the software without IT?
• Can your staff make use of the software easily?
• How robust is the client support? (e.g. Is it 24/7/365? Where are their call centers based? Do they have local support techs they can dispatch to troubleshoot?)

Once you compare all of your options using this criteria (and any others unique to your particular business), you will have a better idea of the solution that works best for you.

What is the Best Automation Software?

The best automation software will depend on a number of different factors that are unique to your business and what functions you need automated. With that in mind, take a look at this list of some of the best automation software.

1. SolveXia - Best Finance Automation

SolveXia is one of the most capable, well-rounded finance automation tools on the market. SolveXia combines, manipulates, calculates and transforms your data into rich insights. Our software is fast to deploy and easy to learn. By using SolveXia, your team will free up time with the ability to run critical processes 100x faster. In turn, your business can work smarter and deliver more customer value. Processes running on SolveXia have 90% fewer errors, giving you maximum control and peace of mind.

SolveXia users can leverage its simple dashboard to easily understand its functions and data analysis, regardless if they know any amount of code or not.

It is also very easy to set up SolveXia to generate automatic reports, such as monthly reconciliations or seasonal audits. You can also use SolveXia for expense analytics, regulatory reporting, APRA reporting, rebate management, and more.

SolveXia users also have the luxury of being able to store the data they create with this automation tool on a highly secured cloud server that is accessible from anywhere in the world.

That allows users to access a full suite of data analytics and reports for everyone from shareholders to government regulators with the click of a button.

2. Zapier - Best For Software Integrations

Zapier is a plug and play out of the box tool that is compatible with an incredible range of apps. Specifically, it works with popular apps like Gmail, Trello and Slack, which means you can use it to create automated processes for almost any existing business software you are currently using.

Zapier’s easy adaptability to perform up to 100 automated functions makes integrations as easy as one, two, three.

They even have a free plan for simple operations that don’t require more than one step. Overall, it’s a very solid tool for business integration because of its versatility and compatibility with over 5,000 of the most popular business apps in use today.

On the minus side, the tool’s most powerful capabilities are only available on the high tier (higher fee) plans.

3. Kissflow - Best for Process Reporting

Kissflow is a versatile tool that allows businesses to generate both basic and in depth reports without having to do a great deal of coding. Kissflow offers the novice user no-code options, while also offering low-code options to users who want to create custom apps or functions.

Those customization capabilities allow it to be used for basic reporting, but also for the application of your own custom reports for deep data dives into specific areas of your business.

However, all that flexibility comes at a cost. Kissflow has a 20 user minimum, and the knowledge base is only available on a fee-basis. Another potential issue is Kissflow’s mobile functionality is not equivalent to the desktop.

So users may have trouble accessing its full potency while using mobile devices. Recently, there have been some reports of “buggy” updates that are hurting functionality. Overall though, still, it’s a very effective automation tool for process reporting.

4. Hubspot - Best Marketing Automation

Hubspot is one of the most well respected and widely used marketing automation tools available. It is incredibly powerful and offers users an impressive range of automated functions which include creating customer specific workflows for emails, orders and even email marketing.

Hubspot can actually be used as a CRM software that can both manage workflow and track client interactions. You can even program Hubspot for advanced functions like evenly distributing leads to your sales team.

This of course also allows you to track their conversion rates, response times and other key information regarding the effectiveness of your sales staff. Using Hubspot effectively will allow you to really increase the productivity of your customer service team.

However, Hubspot’s vast capability and strong performance history also mean it’s not cheap. Entry level plans start at $800/month and the top level service tips the scales at a hefty $3,200/month.

5. Wrike - Best Project Management

Wrike is a very powerful project management tool that will allow users to coordinate large projects across multiple departments simultaneously.

Everything from automated updates to deadline reminders and workflow management can be accomplished through Wrike, and it eliminates the need for continuous emails back and forth between parties.

It allows users to easily add documents, files and other information relevant to a project and keep them in one, single unified space where everyone can find the latest version.

Regardless of the size, or type of project, Wrike is an effective tool for tracking its progress from start to finish. However, users who want to access all its capabilities will need to pay; the top plans are not cheap.

Final Thoughts

In many ways, a company’s success or failure comes down to how effectively it satisfies its customers, which is usually a function of how efficiently the company operates.

For businesses both big and small, the finance department plays a major role in the business’ longevity and ability to thrive.

In order to enable a finance team that can focus on high-level tasks and strategic capabilities, software such as SolveXia is necessary to save time, increase efficiency, and streamline processes.

Plus, with SolveXia, stakeholders and business leaders gain access to valuable insights and analytics that support optimal decision-making and continuous process improvement.

Having the best automation software available can give businesses a competitive edge in winning, servicing clients, and making good decisions –something that is increasingly becoming a game of inches.