RPA use cases for your business applications

Purchase invoices arrive by email, through supplier portals or via a scanning service. The digital worker retrieves them, reads the invoice data and compares it with the purchase order and goods receipt in the inventory or purchasing system. It checks amounts, quantities, item codes and order numbers. If everything matches, it books the purchase invoice in the accounting software and sets it ready for approval. The original document is stored in the document management system and linked to the booking. If something differs, an employee gets a notification that includes the discrepancy.

Payroll is often processed in a separate payroll package or by a payroll bureau. After each run, the digital worker retrieves the payslips or payroll journal entries and compares them with the data in the HR system, such as contract hours, leave, absence and job changes. Differences are recorded in an overview in a spreadsheet or a dashboard in the reporting tool. HR and finance can then see at a glance which employees need extra attention.

A customer moves, gets a new VAT number or changes contact person. A product gets a new price or is taken out of the range. Changes like these have to be made in several systems, including applications without an integration. The digital worker picks up the change from the CRM system or inventory management and applies it according to fixed rules in the accounting software, the webshop and the other applications. The integration platform makes sure the change reaches the digital worker straight away.

When a customer gets in touch, a service employee often has to gather information from different systems: the CRM, the accounts, a supplier portal or a management system. The digital worker does this as soon as a ticket comes into the service desk or a chat starts. It retrieves the relevant data, such as contract status, outstanding invoices, delivery status and previous faults. It adds that information to the ticket straight away, so the employee has the full picture immediately.

Appointment requests come in by email, through a web form or via an external portal. The digital worker checks the details of the requester, looks up availability in the appointment scheduler or calendar and records the appointment. For field engineers and advisers, it schedules the appointment in the planning software. The appointment is linked to the right contact or sales opportunity in the CRM system and the customer receives a confirmation.

Many documents are waiting in external portals: policies at insurers, decisions at government bodies, reports at inspection bodies or invoices at suppliers. The digital worker periodically logs in to those portals, checks whether there are new documents and downloads them. It saves them in the right folder in the document management system and links them to the matching record in the CRM system or a custom application on the low-code platform. The responsible team gets a notification through the team chat.

For a credit application, a quotation process, an onboarding or a claims settlement, an employee gathers data from different applications and sources. The digital worker takes over that work. It retrieves the required data and documents, bundles them into a file in the document management system or an application on the low-code platform and, where needed, creates a summary or report based on a template. The complete file is then ready for an employee to review.

Even well-managed systems pick up errors: missing email addresses, duplicate customers, invalid VAT numbers or orders without an invoice. The digital worker periodically checks your applications according to fixed rules. It compares data between the CRM system, the accounting software and other systems and uses a data preparation tool to clean up data. It fixes simple errors automatically. It reports more complex differences through a dashboard in the reporting tool or as a task in the service desk.

SSL certificates expire, domain registrations have to be renewed and security settings sometimes change unnoticed. The digital worker periodically checks the domains, certificates and systems recorded in the IT asset register. When an expiry date is approaching or something differs, it creates a ticket in the service desk and sends a notification to the IT channel in the team chat. The results of all checks are visible in the reporting tool.

Many portals and applications require extensive authentication, including two-factor authentication by email, text message or an authenticator app. That stops many organisations from automating those processes. The digital worker can go through these login procedures too, provided the required access is available. Login details are managed securely in a password manager and the rights of the digital worker are recorded in the identity and access management system, just like those of an employee.

Not every application has an API. Sometimes there is one, but an integration is too expensive or too complex for the volume. Think of older ERP packages, industry-specific software or portals of government bodies and chain partners. The digital worker then carries out the actions through the existing user interface. The integration platform or low-code platform sends the instructions and processes the results in the right application. This way, older or closed systems also become part of your automated processes.