Your Automation Stack Is Leaking Money
Automation is supposed to save money. And it does — when it works. The problem is that most businesses set up automations, celebrate the initial time savings, and then never look at them again.
We have audited automation stacks for businesses spending anywhere from $200 to $15,000 a month. In every single audit, we find money being wasted. Not sometimes. Every time.
Step 1: Inventory Every Active Automation
What to do:
- Log into every automation platform you use
- Export or screenshot a list of every active workflow
- Document: the trigger, the action(s), when it was last modified, and who created it
What you will likely find:
- Automations built by employees who left the company
- Duplicate automations doing the same thing
- Automations with vague names like "New automation"
- Test automations that were never deactivated
In our audits, 15-30% of active automations are either redundant, broken, or orphaned. That is 15-30% of your automation platform bill doing nothing useful.
Step 2: Check Error Rates
Every automation platform has an error log. Very few businesses look at it regularly.
Benchmarks from our audits:
- Under 2% error rate: Healthy
- 2-5% error rate: Needs attention
- Over 5% error rate: Critical
Step 3: Map Data Flow and Find the Leaks
Draw a diagram of how data moves through your automations. Trace it from where data enters through every transformation to its destination.
Common leaks we find:
- Silent failures: An automation succeeds but writes data to the wrong field
- Partial updates: A multi-step automation fails midway through
- Timing conflicts: Two automations race each other
- Filter drift: An automation filters records based on outdated criteria
Step 4: Audit Your Automation Costs
What to look for:
- High-frequency, low-value automations that consume most of your task quota
- Complex multi-step automations that could be simplified
- Premium connector fees for integrations that could use webhooks
Step 5: Evaluate Build vs. Buy vs. Self-Host
Keep on a managed platform when:
- The automation is simple (2-3 steps)
- It uses connectors that are difficult to replicate
- Total cost is under $100/month
Migrate to a self-hosted platform when:
- You are running 20+ automations
- Monthly platform costs exceed $500
- You need custom logic or error handling
Need help auditing your automation stack? Our operations excellence team specializes in identifying automation waste. Check out our automation ROI calculator to estimate your potential savings, or book a free consultation to get started.