Small Steps Big ImpactLimburg · BE
001Screening the tools
002Mapping handovers
003Drawing the blueprint
004Connecting Attio · Notion · n8n
005Running the first workflow
006Ready
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CLIENT CASE / Guides & Use CasesSSBI-CS-2403 · November 2024 · sales, routes, post-calculation and product data

From request to post-calculation in one continuous process

Execution
November 2024, four months
Team
Two people (strategy and implementation)
Discipline
Process automation, data structure and system integrations

A company in interior planting worked in systems that were not made for the services, products and contracts it delivers. In four months three chains were straightened out and automated.

Contracts differ per customer. As long as that difference is not in the registration, you do not know afterwards what a visit cost.

Summary

The question was structure: using time more efficiently in planning and routes, reliable registration in the field, correct post-calculation and a request and sales process that is not reinvented every time. In four months we automated three chains from front to back: from request to a ready-to-send quote, from customer visit to post-calculation per contract, and from supplier price to up-to-date product data.

Starting point

Anyone combining services, products and maintenance contracts rarely works in one system that can handle all of it. That was the case here: the process was heavily fragmented and the systems were not equipped for what the company actually delivers. That costs time at the office, where the same information moves from one place to another, and in the field, where what happens and gets consumed is not recorded in a structured way.

On top of that comes the particularity of the contracts. One customer has plant replacement in their contract, another does not. As long as that distinction is not in the registration itself, the post-calculation is wrong and plants, hydro granules and small materials remain a cost item that adds up quickly without anyone seeing where. Warehouse management and further digitisation were also part of the original question.

Solution. Three chains, tackled in order.

First the intake, then the execution on location, then the data both rest on.

01 From request to ready-to-send quoteRequests come in through forms and are filed correctly right away. The quote is drawn up and prepared from that same data, so only checking and sending remain instead of entering everything again.
02 Field registration, driven by the contractOne form handles the full data intake at every customer visit. The system automatically indicates which contract the customer falls under, so the intake and the calculation differ per contract type. Consumption of plants, hydro granules and small materials is recorded per visit.
03 Post-calculation, purchasing and cash flowThose registrations make follow-up per customer and per contract possible. Purchasing can therefore be more targeted and cash flow management stays healthier, because orders match what is actually consumed.
04 Up-to-date product and price dataAn automatic connection with the regular suppliers keeps product information and prices current, through lists or directly. Products that have not sold for more than six months are periodically re-checked on price, which reduces the margin of error in quotes.

Building blocks

The platforms used are not named in this document. We explain the technical choices and connections in a conversation.

Request formsDigital intake that files the request in the right place immediately and forms the basis for the quote.
Contract-driven registrationOne visit form that adapts to the customer's contract type, including the corresponding calculation.
Post-calculation per customer and contractInsight into work and consumption per visit, as a basis for invoicing, purchasing and planning.
Supplier connectionsAutomatic product enrichment and price updates with the regular suppliers, with a periodic re-check on quiet products.

Result

The company is not left with a new system landscape, but with a process that runs in one direction. A request does not have to be entered three times before a quote goes out, a visit produces the data the contract needs, and a quote starts from prices that are current, including for products that have not been over the counter for a while.

Applicability. Services, products and contracts mixed together.

This pattern shows up as soon as a company does not sell one thing but three at once: recurring maintenance, materials that get consumed and bespoke projects. Standard software usually covers one of them well and the other two halfway.

IntakeA request that comes in usable straight away, instead of being retyped three times.
Contract differenceRegistration that knows which contract a customer falls under and asks and calculates accordingly.
Price dataProduct and price information that stays current, including for what is quiet for a while.

Way of working

We do not start with software. Every trajectory starts with a screening: interviews with the people who do the work, a mapping of the process as it really runs today, and a prioritisation of what should be tackled first. Here that produced a clear order: first the requests and sales follow-up, then routes and field registration, and only then the data and the supplier connections underneath. Every step makes the next one cheaper, because there is less manual work left to automate each time.

More cases
CRM implementation with a multi-company setupSSBI-CS-2201 · 2022 – 2024 · IT and technologyField service tool with post-calculation and purchasing controlSSBI-CS-2501 · February 2025 · less than a month
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Senne Wellens of Small Steps Big Impact in a video call at his desk
PreviousCRM implementation with a multi-company setup Next · 3/3Field service tool with post-calculation and purchasing control
FAQ

Questions we get a lot.

Not answered here?
01What we do

Small Steps Big Impact automates internal business processes with AI, connections between systems and custom software. We always start with an on-site screening. That way we only automate what saves time or earns money, and not what happens to be possible.

Mainly for SMEs with 5 to 30 employees where the same data is entered in several systems. Think of installation companies, technical maintenance, machine service and facility services. The more work happens on site or at the customer, the bigger the gain.

Usually quote follow-up, planning, registration of work orders, post-calculation per project or contract, invoicing based on actual work and product data from suppliers. Which process comes first we decide after the screening, based on impact.

Yes. Besides automation we give AI workshops and guide teams in using AI day to day. That way you get a return from AI without starting a full trajectory right away.

02Approach and trajectory

A screening is a two-hour session at your location. We map your processes, speak with the people who do the work and prioritise what pays off most. You get a report with findings and a 30-minute follow-up call. You are not committed to anything.

In the blueprint we set out exactly what the process, the data and the connections look like before we build. Blueprint and build always go together. That way what we build is really what you need.

Workflow automation connects existing tools and takes over recurring steps. Custom software is an application of your own, for example a field service tool, in which those automations are already built in. The screening shows which of the two fits.

One clearly defined process is often live in less than a month. A trajectory across several chains, such as sales, planning and stock, takes more like three to four months.

With a Care subscription we monitor your automations monthly, solve problems and adjust when a tool changes. Without maintenance a connection does not keep working forever either.

03Tools, team and cost

Not necessarily. We work independently of tools and prefer to connect the software you already use through APIs. We only build custom software when existing platforms do not carry your process well.

No. We build around the way your team already works today and speak with the people on the floor during the screening. That is why the solution feels to them like less work and not like an extra system.

That depends on the number of processes and on whether existing tools are enough or custom software is needed. After the screening you know exactly what we propose and what it brings in, so you decide based on your own figures and not on a standard package.

Yes. Your data stays yours and stays in your own systems: we work as much as possible within the tools you already use and follow the GDPR. Licences and access stay in your company's name where possible, we never share data with third parties, and access we no longer need is removed after the project.

Yes. We work for companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and beyond, from Limburg. Up to 90 minutes' drive we come on site, further away we work digitally or on site by request.

Not answered here?