The 32 questions to ask before you quote an automation project

The process as it runs today

Send the document as it is, or read the questions aloud on a call and type the answers. Either way, do not write a quote until the tools and the sign-off questions are answered.

1. 01Describe the process you want automated, step by step, as it runs today. Who does each step?
2. 02How often does it run, and at what time of day?
3. 03How long does one pass through the process take, and how many people touch it?

Tools, access and data

1. 04Which tools and accounts does this workflow touch? Name each one, and who owns the login.
2. 05Who can grant admin access to each tool, and by what date?
3. 06Does this workflow read or write personal data about your customers or staff?
4. 07Who signs off that the automation is working correctly?
5. 08What happens today when this task is missed, and who notices?
6. 09Which of these accounts are paid, and on whose card?
7. 10How will credentials be shared with me, and which password tool do you use?
8. 11Are there tools your team is not allowed to add or connect, and who decides that?

The access question is the one that decides whether your first week is spent waiting. Get a name and a date, not a promise.

What the automation must do

1. 12When the automation runs, what should exist at the end that does not exist now?
2. 13Which decisions inside the process need judgment, and which follow a fixed rule?
3. 14What are the edge cases you already know about, and how are they handled today?
4. 15Are there records that must never be created twice, and how do you spot a duplicate?
5. 16What must the automation never do without a person approving it first?
6. 17Which existing records need cleaning before go-live, and who owns that work?

Volume, timing and failure

1. 18How many items pass through this process in a normal week, and in your busiest week?
2. 19How quickly must an item be handled after it arrives?
3. 20If the automation fails silently for two days, what is the effect on the business?
4. 21Who should be notified when a run fails, and by which channel?
5. 22Who is the second person to notify if the first is away?
6. 23Are there dates when the process must not be touched, such as a busy period?

Ask the silent-failure question out loud. The answer tells you whether they need monitored support or none, which is the difference between a retainer and a clean exit.

Ownership, sign-off, budget and success

1. 24Who signs the quote, and who releases payment? Are they the same person?
2. 25Which named person tests the automation, and how many working days do they have?
3. 26What does the automation have to do for you to call this project a success?
4. 27Who owns the workflow and the prompts after handover, in your understanding?
5. 28Who inside your business will maintain this after I hand it over?
6. 29If a tool changes its pricing or its API and the workflow stops, who decides on repair work?
7. 30What is your budget range for this project, and is it approved already?
8. 31What is your deadline, and what happens on your side if it slips by two weeks?
9. 32Have you tried to automate this before? What happened?

Ask the ownership question even when you already know the answer. Ownership belongs in writing in the quote, and asking now avoids a conversation after handover.