In this post, we will explore all the benefits of using an RPA for small businesses and give you a complete guide to how to choose the right one for your needs.
RPA is an acronym that stands for “Robotic Process Automation.” As humans, there are certain repetitive tasks that we find mind-numbing and tedious. With RPA software, these tasks can be done automatically by a machine. A robot! That is what makes it so appealing – RPA enables robots to do their job with little or no human intervention at all.
In other words, with an RPA in place your staff can focus less on reports or data entry and more on important projects while still getting their work done on time.
What Is RPA For Small Business
Gone are the days when you had to hire an army of administrative assistants and office staff in order to keep your business running smoothly. With RPA, you can easily automate repetitive and mundane tasks, like collecting rent and sign checks, without adding another person on payroll or spending a ton of money in a small business.
The global RPA market was valued $271 million in 2016, and it is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2020, a massive surge by any measure.
Automated tasks that would typically require a human touch, such as collecting rent and signing checks, are done using computer software. This frees up your staff to concentrate on higher-level tasks.
Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation (RPA) can be a great solution for small businesses looking to automate repetitive tasks and business processes. RPA can help improve efficiency and accuracy, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic tasks. There are a number of RPA solutions available, so it’s important to select one that best fits the needs of your small business.
AI And Machine Learning
When it comes to office tasks, many businesses are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize their processes. AI can help with things like scheduling appointments, managing email, and even basic data entry.
Meanwhile, machine learning can be used to more complex tasks like analyzing data and identifying patterns. And, there are even some AI-powered software programs that can handle more advanced tasks like customer service and accounting.
How Does An RPA For Small Business Work
These estimates are continuously changing, with RPA’s rapid acceptance among SMBs exceeding most predictions—the market wasn’t anticipated to reach $2.5 billion until 2021.
RPA for small businesses is a program that you can use to automate the things that your employees do. Many companies have found it to be a cost-effective method of reducing their overhead by avoiding having to hire new workers.
1. Choosing The Right RPA For Your Small Business
There are several different types of RPA software such as robotic applications and AI, so you will have to decide which one will work best for your needs and budget before purchasing it. This will save time later on and help you get started right away.
2. Installing The Software
After purchasing a package of your choice, you will need to install it at first so that your staff members know where to find it and how to use it. However, if you are not a computer expert, there are also companies that can help you with this.
Just be sure they have experience with installing RPA software because there is nothing more frustrating than getting an RPA that does not work properly because the installation was done incorrectly or poorly.
3. Training Your Staff On It
Depending on the amount of staff you have, you may need to invest in a few days of training or perhaps a single-day seminar. However, if there are many tasks that have to be automated, it is best to hire an outside company that specializes in training small business owners with this type of software. This will make sure that everything is done properly and avoid mistakes later on.
Benefits Of RPA For Small Business
According to a Deloitte poll, 78% of firms have already implemented RPA by 2020, with 16% planning to do so within the next three years.
Small businesses can benefit from process automation and digital transformation to improve business operations. By automating repetitive tasks and processes, businesses can improve efficiency and productivity. Digital transformation can help businesses to improve customer experience, create new business opportunities, and optimize costs.
1. RPA Makes It Easy To Find What You Need
Finding a lost or stolen check, someone’s phone number, or someone’s account balance can be frustrating when you have a large staff to deal with each task. With RPA, you can automate these time-consuming tasks with computer software. This will save you time and money by removing the guesswork and headaches of human error.
2. RPA Saves You Time
With RPA, employees can focus on more important occupational tasks such as customer service, sales, and marketing. Time-strapped business owners can afford to hire a RPA because it will ultimately save them time and money.
3. RPA Frees Up Money For Your Business
The cost of implementing an RPA is dependent on the size of your business and whether you are opting for monthly or annual contract. An annual contract generally costs less than a monthly one but it is possible to find great deals on individual month contracts depending upon the developer’s strength, reputation, and current promotions.
4. RPA Cuts Costs
RPA costs less than hiring someone to do a task, and it also frees you from paying benefits and the cost of maintaining an office space for an employee. The only ongoing costs are maintenance and sometimes making additional updates to your system.
5. RPA Is Easily Scalable – You Can Use It Without Adding Staff
As your business grows, you can add more staff as needed without spending money on training or retaining them in your payroll. Whenever you have a need for more administrative help, simply hire another person – but if that person goes on vacation or is unavailable for whatever reason, RPA will continue to run seamlessly behind the scenes outside of their control.
6. RPA Provides A Permanent Solution To Your Problem
RPA is an automated system that is easy to implement, completely reliable and very cost-effective. Once you have an RPA in place, you have a permanent solution to all of your administrative needs.
7. RPA Frees Up Employees For Higher Priorities And Improves Morale
With an RPA in place, you won’t need as many administrative staff and will free up employees from doing paperwork that doesn’t directly affect their everyday work. You will be able to redirect those resources towards more productive tasks supporting your business’s overall goals.
8. RPA Will Improve Your Business’s Bottom Line
If you are a small business owner and you know of a service provider in the area, your first thought may be: “I can save money by using an RPA.” The problem is that an RPA is only as good as the quality of the application and its effectiveness.
You want to make sure that you choose an RPA that has been thoroughly tested and proven to work for your type of business, not just marketed as effective to draw business in.
9. RPA Provides Flexibility
The key to success with an RPA is the level of training that is provided to your team. It is up to you, the business owner, to find a software solution that will work best for your small business by getting the right training in place. Once you have this in place, the system will run itself and provide you with all of the benefits mentioned above.
Risks Of RPA For Small Business
RPA solutions provide a competitive advantage by automating the entire process. RPA can be used to automate any process, including those that are currently manual or paper-based. RPA solutions are scalable and can be deployed quickly and easily.
90% of employees are burdened with mundane duties that can be readily automated, resulting in a significant amount of lost time and money.
1. RPA Can Be Difficult To Implement And Maintain
If you wish to use an RPA, you will need to install the software on your computers and have it fully configured beforehand. This may require time and expense. Once you have this in place, the RPA will continue running on its own someday when it is not occupied by a human. This can create an issue if something is forgotten or forgotten as to what should be done with a file or document when someone else is actively using the RPA during that time.
2. RPA Requires A Good Understanding Of The Software
There are some RPA programs that can be very complex and confusing to understand. The good news is, the best RPA systems have been designed with simplicity in mind. The more features and functions a system has, the less it will be used and the more likely it will become obsolete as your business grows.
3. RPA May Slow Your Company Down
As with any automation tool, they can cause slowdowns if you do not know how to use them well. For example, robots need to follow their programmed instructions with accuracy the whole time because that is what enables them to execute tasks faster than humans.
If this does not happen, then you could experience a slowdown in your business. To avoid this, you should set up a schedule for when the RPA will be used.
4. RPA May Not Be As Effective As You Think
There are many variables that affect an automated system’s effectiveness and this is something that can only be determined with time and experience. If the RPA does not work as advertised, you could find that it is ineffective and your staff managers may need to spend more time troubleshooting problems while they wait for their tasks to run again.
5. RPA Can Be Expensive
There is a difference between the cost of hiring an employee and the cost of using an RPA. An RPA is usually more expensive per hour than a human worker but it is important to take into consideration how many times they will have to be used each month as well as how frequently they will need to be updated or fixed. For this reason, it is better to consider the total number of hours you will use in a year rather than just one month’s worth.
How To Implement RPA For Small Business
As organizations look to automate more of their manual tasks, they are turning to Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA can help to automate existing systems and processes, reducing the need for human effort.
This can be particularly useful for tasks such as payroll processing, which can be time-consuming and repetitive. By implementing RPA, organizations can free up their employees to focus on more value-added tasks, improving efficiency and productivity.
While larger corporations have been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in RPA and automation techniques for several years, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have had to wait patiently for the technology to become an affordable and realistic choice.
If you have decided that using an RPA is the best choice for your small business, there are a few things you will need to consider, such as:
1. What Tasks Do You Want To Automate
Depending on the size of your business and what services you offer to your clients, an RPA can be used for anything from handling incoming and outgoing email to filling in forms and processing payments.
If the tasks that should be automated are too complex or numerous, it may not be worth purchasing an RPA to handle them. This is something that should be determined before purchasing software by testing it at no risk and seeing how well your staff will respond to the new way of doing things.
2. How Will Your Staff Members Respond To The New Technology
If you have never used an RPA before, your staff may be skeptical or reluctant to adopt it. In this case, you will have to be willing to provide them with training and make sure that they are fully informed on what they should do when using and maintaining it while they get used to it.
3. How Much Time Should You Spend On Training
If your staff will need a lot of training, then you need to carefully consider if the cost is worth it. You will also have to take into consideration how often the RPA needs updating or fixing whenever it breaks down or fails at some task for no apparent reason. This can become time-consuming and expensive if it is not done properly.
4. What Type Of RPA Will Work Best For Your Small Business
There are several types of automation tools to consider such as robotic applications and AI, but there are also others that are more suitable for specific business types such as a customer service RPA or a data management RPA.
These may depend on your budget or the size of your company but it is still important to know what you need before purchasing an RPA. This will save you time in the long run.
5. How Will Your Staff Members Be Trained In Using RPA
Once you have decided on the right RPA for your business and what tasks can be automated, the next thing to do is to decide on the type of training that should be implemented.
If you need some help with this, there are courses available online that can teach you how to use an RPA quicker than a regular computer user so that you don’t waste time training people who are unfamiliar with computers anyway.
Many experts say that a small business should only provide an introductory class so that they know how it works and what to do if something goes wrong but leave any advanced training up to outside sources for a better end result.
Final Note
According to a Deloitte poll, 86% of respondents felt that RPA increased productivity in their organisations.
The future of RPA for small business is something that a lot of experts are working on at the moment. There have been many improvements made to software over the past few years which has helped make them more efficient than before. There are also a number of new products available for interested parties to buy so that they can learn how to integrate them into their existing systems.
However, if you find software that can do this, the amount of tasks you will be able to automate will expand dramatically because you don’t have to spend your time correcting errors and entering data all day long.
Last Updated on October 11, 2023 by Priyanshi Sharma