Free checklist
The 12 tasks a small business should hand to AI first
All twelve are on this page, in full, before I ask you for anything. The PDF is the printable version with a scoring column, so you can put a number against each one and see which three matter most.
The twelve
Tick the ones you do every week
Be honest about the hours. Include the time spent finding the last version, checking it, and chasing it. The three with the highest hours are the three to automate first.
- Answering new enquiriesReading, deciding who it is for, writing the first reply, adding the lead somewhere.
- Writing quotes and estimatesCopying the last one, changing the numbers, formatting, sending, following up.
- Chasing unpaid invoicesChecking who has not paid, writing the polite reminder, then the firmer one.
- Asking for and answering reviewsRemembering to ask after a job, replying to the ones that arrive.
- Social media postsDeciding what to post, writing it, resizing the image, posting on each platform.
- Meeting and call notesWriting up what was agreed and who is doing what, then actually doing it.
- Booking and rescheduling appointmentsBack-and-forth messages to find a time, confirmations, reminders, no-shows.
- Supplier orders and emailsReordering the same things, checking stock, confirming deliveries.
- Welcoming new customersThe first email, the forms, the instructions you send every single time.
- Answering the same questionsOpening hours, prices, parking, cancellation policy, by email, phone and message.
- Copying data between toolsSpreadsheet to accounts, form to CRM, email to calendar, PDF to anything.
- Working out how last week wentPulling numbers from three places to know sales, bookings and cash.
Add up the hours, then multiply by 48 for the yearly figure. That number is the whole argument, and you did not need me to work it out.
The printable version
One field, and the box is optional
The PDF has the scoring column and the totals box, so you can fill it in on paper or on a phone. It is the same twelve tasks you have just read.
It is about your hours, not the tools
There are no software names on the checklist and no jargon. It is a list of the work you repeat every week and what it costs you, because that is the only number that decides whether automating anything is worth doing.
If your top three turn out to be worth building, I build them for a fixed price and the AI Setup page says exactly what that costs and how long it takes. If they are not, the checklist has still told you something useful and it has cost you nothing.