5 automations every company should have

I’m not talking about AI agents or complex systems. Just basic things that remove friction.

1. Lead capture automation

• Every inquiry should land in one place automatically.
• Forms, emails, DMs -> database or CRM.
• No copy-paste. No 'did we reply to this?'

2. Email → task automation

• Important emails should become tasks by default.
• Client mails, invoices, deadlines.
• If it needs action, it needs a task.

3. Invoice and payment reminders

• Invoices should go out when work is done.
• Reminders should go out before payment is due.
• Not because someone remembered, but because the system did.

4. Support inbox sorting

• Support emails should route themselves.
• Refunds, bugs, general questions — different buckets.
• One inbox for everything doesn’t scale for long.

5. Action logging

• Every important action should be logged automatically.
• Email sent. Invoice created. Follow-up done.
• Memory is unreliable. Logs aren’t.
• None of these are exciting to build.

All of them are useful once they exist. If a company doesn’t have these, people usually fill the gaps with reminders, spreadsheets, and stress.

Doesn’t need to be smart. It just needed there.