Automation for SMBs: The Most Underrated Growth Lever in 2025
Take a few minutes to unlock practical, real-world insights—your future self will thank you.
Estimated reading time: 6–8 minutes
In the tech world, when we talk about automation or AI, we often focus on two extremes: flashy B2C tools like ChatGPT, or massive enterprise platforms that require a fleet of consultants to implement.
But there’s a third space—often overlooked and massively underserved—small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). And this is exactly where the biggest opportunity lies in 2025.
In my latest conversation with Mo, CEO of wrk.com, we tackled a topic that doesn’t get enough airtime: How AI and automation can help SMBs grow faster, work smarter, and stay competitive—without breaking the bank or needing a full tech team.
Why SMBs? Why Now?
Most SMBs are operating with lean teams, tight budgets, and zero time to waste. They don’t have the luxury of experimenting endlessly. Every hour saved matters. Every customer interaction counts. Every dollar has to return something.
And yet, most of them are still stuck in manual mode.
Why? Because automation has long been positioned as either too technical or too expensive. Mo and I agreed: it’s time to change that narrative.
“Automation shouldn’t be a scary word. It’s not a six-month deployment. It’s not $50k in sunk costs. With the right partner and the right mindset, you can be up and running in a week, for a few thousand dollars—and save hundreds of hours a year.”
What Is Business Process Automation (BPA)?
Forget the jargon. At its core, business process automation (BPA) is this:
🧠 Identify the repetitive tasks your team does every day. 🛠 Hand them off to software. 🎯 Free up your humans to do more valuable, creative, or strategic work.
This could be something as simple as:
Copy-pasting info between systems
Sending follow-up emails
Manually approving invoices
Logging into three tools just to answer one customer's question
Automation isn’t about replacing people—it’s about amplifying people.
Start Small. Think Big. Automate Strategically.
You don’t need to automate everything at once. You shouldn’t.
One of the most important takeaways Mo shared: Don’t boil the ocean. Start with something small. Automate just 20–30% of a process. That alone can deliver meaningful ROI.
Here’s how:
“Even 1% automation compounds over time. It’s like interest. Week after week, task after task, your business becomes more efficient, more agile, more scalable.”
Tangible Use Cases Every SMB Can Relate To
Let’s move from theory to practice. Mo walked us through real examples from wrk.com clients—companies just like yours, with real-world pain points.
1. Invoice Processing
📍 Problem: Hundreds of invoices coming in via email. Staff manually open emails, check vendor info, log into accounting software, ask for approvals, and then process each one. ✅ Automation: A bot reads incoming emails, extracts data, checks the vendor in your system, applies business rules (e.g., auto-approve under $500), and routes for approval. 💡 Outcome: Saves 100–250 hours/year. Immediate ROI.
2. Document Automation & RFP Handling
📍 Problem: Nonprofits and professional services firms are drowning in PDF forms, tax receipts, and RFPs. ✅ Automation: Extracts data from inbound documents, organizes it, summarizes key requirements using AI, and routes it to the right person. 💡 Outcome: Faster response times, less admin burden, and smarter prioritization for teams.
3. Tool Integration for Non-Talking Systems
📍 Problem: Platforms like Paylocity and ServiceTitan don’t talk natively. Manual effort is needed to sync data. ✅ Automation: Creates a custom bridge to synchronize workflows and remove manual rekeying. 💡 Outcome: Real-time data visibility. One source of truth.
4. Recruitment Optimization
📍 Problem: Growing businesses struggle with high-volume hiring but lack internal HR automation. ✅ Automation: AI matches job descriptions with resumes, syncs into ATS, and follows up with candidates. 💡 Outcome: Less recruiter burnout, faster time to hire, better candidate experience.
“But We’re Not Technical…” – Good. You Don’t Need to Be.
This is a myth we have to kill.
You don’t need an in-house dev team to start automating.
Vendors like wrk.com do the heavy lifting—from understanding your process, building bots, maintaining workflows, and even guiding you to become self-sufficient over time.
“We’ve had SMB clients go live in under a week. Most workflows cost less than $3,000 to set up and run. The savings? Often 5–10x that annually.”
So, no—it doesn’t take 6 months and a CIO to do this. It takes willingness, clarity on what you want, and a bit of support from the right partner.
https://www.wrk.com/
The Future: Fewer Tools, More Automation
Another trend Mo emphasized: consolidation.
Gone are the days when SMBs need 15 disconnected SaaS products. AI and automation let you do more with fewer tools. You should be asking:
What’s the minimum software stack I need?
Can I build lightweight automations around that stack to extend it?
Less friction. More speed. Better UX for your team and your clients.
Cost Models Are Changing: Pay for Outcomes, Not Empty Seats
SaaS pricing is broken.
Many SMBs pay for licenses they don’t use. Mo’s approach? Consumption-based pricing—you pay per action, per task, per outcome.
If nothing gets done, you don’t pay. It’s that simple. And it’s where software is headed.
“Why pay for shelfware? If your shop’s closed over the holidays, your automation should be too. That’s how pricing should work.”
Before You Start: 3 Automation Mistakes to Avoid
Jumping in without clarity – Don’t start building bots until you know what problem you’re solving. If needed, start with a discovery phase.
Not involving frontline teams – The people doing the work know the edge cases, exceptions, and pain points. Get them involved.
Unclear definition of success – Know what “done” looks like. Don’t expect 100% automation right away. Focus on incremental gains.
Automation = Transformation, not a Project
This isn’t a one-and-done project. This is an evolution of your operating model.
When you bring automation into your business, you’re not just installing software. You’re redefining how work gets done—and your people need to be part of that story.
Train them. Involve them. Empower them.
You’re building a hybrid workforce: human + digital. And the companies that get this right will grow faster, hire smarter, and compete with players 10x their size.
Closing Thought: AI Won’t Replace Your Employees—But…
“AI won’t replace your employees. But someone who knows how to use AI will.”
SMBs that embrace automation today won’t just save time. They’ll unlock capacity, creativity, and confidence to grow.
This is your invitation to stop doing repetitive tasks manually and start scaling with smarter systems.
🧠 Want help figuring out where to start? DM us.
📊 Ready to see ROI in under a week? Let’s talk.
📺 Watch here all the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwi85l6lHMiwCw-K5ks77ESu1baAZrhqV