Skip to contentTalk to us
العربيةLog inStart free

What should I digitize first in my business?

Updated October 12, 2026

The short answer

Digitize first the process that has four traits: it repeats every day, more than one person takes part in it, its mistakes cost money or a customer, and its steps are clear and stable. In most small companies that is order or sales tracking, then stock, then internal approvals such as leave and purchases. Leave rare and complicated processes for later.

People also ask this as
  • what to digitize first
  • digital transformation priorities
  • which department to digitize first
  • what should a small business automate first

Four criteria for choosing

CriterionThe question to ask
FrequencyHow many times does it happen in a day or a week?
People involvedDoes it move between more than one person or department?
Cost of a mistakeWhat do we lose if an order is lost or a number is entered wrong?
ClarityCan we write its steps on one page?

A common order in small companies

  1. Orders and sales: they are the income, and a lost order is a direct loss.
  2. Customers: one record instead of numbers scattered across phones.
  3. Stock or appointments, depending on your kind of business.
  4. Invoices and collection: who paid and who has not.
  5. Internal approvals: leave, purchases and expenses.

A weak start and a strong start

Weak start
  • A process that happens once a year
  • A process that is different every time
  • Something only management cares about and the team never touches
Strong start
  • A daily process everyone complains about
  • Stable steps that can be written down
  • A result the team sees in the first week

People also ask

Where do I start with digital transformation?

Start digital transformation with one problem that repeats every day, not by buying a big system. Write down how work flows today, step by step, pick the process that wastes the most time or causes the most errors, and turn it into a simple system the team really uses. Once it works within weeks, move to the next process. Transformation is a chain of small wins, not one huge project.

Read the full answer
How do I turn paper forms into digital forms?

Turn a paper form digital by moving its fields into an electronic form filled on a phone or computer, deciding who approves it and in what order, and saving every request in a searchable list. Start with the most repeated form, such as a leave request or a purchase order, remove fields nobody reads, and make the signature a recorded approval with a name and a time.

Read the full answer
How do I replace WhatsApp orders with a system?

Do not drop WhatsApp; move the order out of it into a place where it can be tracked. Give every order one record in a system with the customer, the items, the status and the owner, and keep WhatsApp for conversation only. Start with a short order form, an order list with clear statuses such as new, preparing and delivered, and a daily report of what is late.

Read the full answer
How do I measure digital transformation success?

Measure digital transformation with two or three simple indicators tied to the problem you started with: how long the process takes from start to finish, how many errors or lost orders occur, and what share of the team uses the system every day. Record the numbers before you begin so you have a baseline, then review them monthly. The number of screens or features is not a measure of success.

Read the full answer

Terms used in this answer

Digital transformationWorkflowKey performance indicatorKPI

Read the full guide

XLSXDigital transformation & Excel to system

How to digitize your business: from paper and WhatsApp to a system

Digitizing is not scanning paper. It is stopping information from traveling between notebooks, chats and files. A practical guide that starts by tracing one order.

October 12, 202610 min readXLSXDigital transformation & Excel to system

Digital transformation for small companies: where to actually start

For a 15-person company, digital transformation is not a million-dollar project or an 80-page strategy. It is one painful process fixed, then the next.

October 12, 202610 min readXLSXDigital transformation & Excel to system

How to digitize paper forms and approvals in your company

A leave request wanders between offices for three days looking for a signature. This guide turns the paper form and its chain of signatures into a request approved from a phone.

October 12, 202610 min read