RPA examples: 15 processes you can automate right away
By now you know what a software robot is. But what do you actually have it do? That is usually the question where organisations get stuck. The idea of automation sounds appealing, but it is hard to translate it to your own day-to-day work. That is why this page gives you 15 RPA examples from practice, grouped by the departments where you come across them most often.
What the robot does and what it gives you
For each example, you will read what the robot does exactly and what it gives you. That way you quickly recognise which tasks in your organisation qualify. Not yet familiar with the basics? Then first read our page on robotic process automation, in which we explain how the technology works.
When is a process suitable for RPA?
Before you look at the examples, it helps to know why these processes in particular lend themselves to automation. They share a number of characteristics. The more of these characteristics a task has, the faster a robot pays for itself.
Do you recognise these characteristics in a task your colleagues currently do by hand? Then you have probably found a good candidate. The 15 RPA examples below all fit this profile.
RPA examples in finance and administration
The finance department is often the first place where organisations start with RPA. A lot of documents come in, the rules are clear and a mistake in the accounts costs money straight away. That is also why it is the department with the most well-known RPA applications.
Want to go deeper into automation in the back office? In RPA in the back office: automating invoice processing, order entry and HR we work through these processes step by step.
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Processing purchase invoices
Suppliers send their invoices as PDFs to a general email address. The robot opens each email, takes out the attachment and reads the invoice number, the amount, the VAT and the supplier. It then checks whether there is a matching purchase order and whether the amounts are correct. If everything checks out, it gets the invoice ready in your accounting package. If something is off, an employee receives a notification.
- What you gain
Invoices are processed the same day, you no longer miss payment deadlines and your team only needs to look at the exceptions.
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Matching bank statements with outstanding items
Every morning, the robot downloads the bank transactions and compares them with the outstanding invoices. Payments with a recognisable invoice number or amount are reconciled automatically. Only what cannot be matched ends up on a list for the accounts team.
- What you gain
An up-to-date accounts receivable overview without anyone having to tick off lines every day.
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Sending payment reminders
The robot checks which invoices are past their due date and automatically sends a reminder, with the right tone for the first, second or final reminder. It records every reminder sent in the customer file.
- What you gain
Faster payment and better cash flow, without anyone having to write awkward emails.
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Compiling monthly reports
At the end of the month, the robot retrieves figures from your accounts, CRM and time tracking. It puts them into a fixed report format in Excel and emails the result to the management team.
- What you gain
Reports that are always ready on time and in the same format. Your financial controller can focus on the analysis instead of the cutting and pasting.
RPA applications in sales, order processing and customer service
In commercial processes, speed is everything. An order that sits untouched for a day or a customer who has to call three times for a status update costs you revenue and trust. Software robots help you pick up the pace here without increasing the workload.
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Transferring orders from web portals
Many wholesalers and manufacturers receive orders through their customers' portals. Those portals rarely have an integration with your own system. The robot logs in, retrieves new orders and enters them, with all order lines and delivery addresses, into your ERP or CRM.
- What you gain
Orders are processed within minutes instead of at the end of the day, and typos no longer creep into item numbers or quantities.
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Retrieving supplier prices and stock levels
For a quote, you need current purchase prices and delivery times. The robot visits the websites of your regular suppliers, looks up the requested items and puts the details side by side in a clear overview. Your salesperson then chooses the best option.
- What you gain
Quotes that go out faster and are always based on current prices.
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Combining customer data for customer service
When a customer calls with a question, your agent often searches three or four systems for order history, invoices and previous contacts. An attended robot, which the agent starts themselves, retrieves that information with one click and shows everything in a single overview.
- What you gain
Shorter calls, less waiting time and a customer who feels helped straight away.
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Sending status updates to customers
The robot periodically checks the status of orders with your carrier and in your own system. If a shipment is on its way or delayed, it automatically sends the customer a message with the latest information.
- What you gain
Fewer calls and emails asking where an order is, and a better customer experience.
RPA examples in HR and IT
HR and IT are closely linked, especially when someone joins or leaves the company. Those handover moments in particular consist of dozens of small actions in different systems. Ideal work for a software robot.
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Onboarding new employees
As soon as an employment contract has been signed, the robot starts the onboarding process. It creates the employee in the HR system, the payroll system, the CRM and the planning software. It also requests an email address and laptop from IT and sends the manager a checklist for the first working day.
- What you gain
A new colleague who has access to everything on day one, and an HR department that no longer has to chase loose ends.
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Blocking accounts when employees leave
It works the same way in reverse. When someone leaves, the robot blocks all accounts on their last working day, revokes licences and records which equipment needs to be returned.
- What you gain
No more forgotten access rights, which is good for your information security and your GDPR obligations. You also save on licences that would otherwise keep running.
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Processing leave and hours
The robot collects approved leave requests and timesheets, checks them for completeness and passes them on to payroll. If something is missing, the employee automatically receives a reminder.
- What you gain
A smooth payroll run without last-minute corrections.
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Daily system checks
Every morning, the robot checks whether last night's backups were successful, whether any disks are filling up and whether important services are running. It puts the results in an overview and sends a warning if anything is out of the ordinary.
- What you gain
Your IT administrator starts the day with a clear picture instead of a round of all the dashboards.
Automating processes with old systems and portals without an API
This is perhaps where RPA shows most clearly how it differs from other forms of automation. An API integration only works if both systems have one. A software robot works via the screen, just like a person. That means you can also automate processes in software that has been around for twenty years, or on websites you have no control over.
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Entering data in industry and government portals
Many organisations regularly have to submit data through the portals of industry bodies, certification schemes or government agencies. Those portals rarely offer an integration. The robot takes the data from your own systems, logs in to the portal and fills in the forms. It stores login credentials encrypted, so they are not floating around in a spreadsheet.
- What you gain
Submissions that are always on time and complete, without an employee having to set aside an afternoon for them.
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Transferring data from an old system to a new one
When you switch to a new CRM or ERP, your historical data has to come with you. If the old system has no export option, that quickly turns into manual work. A robot opens each record in the old system, reads the data and transfers it to the new one. Even when it involves tens of thousands of records.
- What you gain
A migration that is done in days instead of months, without having to hire temporary staff.
Which RPA software suits these applications?
If you work with Zoho One, Zoho RPA is a logical choice. Zoho RPA robots can work outside the Zoho ecosystem, including in desktop software and web portals without an API. For more complex processes in which robots and employees work closely together, Collabotics is a strong option. You can find more background on how software robots work with the user interface in a knowledge article from UiPath.
RPA use cases combined with AI
Classic software robots work with fixed rules and structured data. But a lot of information comes in a less tidy form: an email in free text, a scanned packing slip or a handwritten form. By combining RPA with AI, the robot can handle that too.
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Processing the general inbox
Dozens of messages arrive at your info address every day: quote requests, complaints, address changes, invoices and questions about orders. An AI model reads each email, understands what it is about and extracts the important details. Then the robot takes over. It records an address change in the CRM, forwards an invoice to the accounts team and creates a ticket for customer service when there is a complaint.
- What you gain
An inbox that sorts and handles itself, so your employees only see the messages that genuinely need a personal reply.
Recognising documents with intelligent document processing
AI often plays a role in the earlier examples too. In invoice processing, for example, the software recognises the fields on a PDF, even when every supplier uses a different layout. Modern RPA software can even extract data from scans and handwritten documents. This considerably increases the number of processes you can automate.
Want to know how far you can take this? Then also read our page on AI agents, in which we show how an AI agent makes decisions independently and the robot takes care of the execution.
More use cases for your business applications
A digital worker operates applications through the screen, just like an employee, and carries out rule-based processes the same way every day. Combined with your existing business applications, this creates a chain in which data automatically ends up in the right place.
Checking payroll and personnel data
HR system, payroll software, BI and reporting tool, spreadsheet
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.
What it delivers
- HR no longer has to go through every payslip and focuses only on the flagged differences.
- Errors in hours, allowances or leave are found before payment rather than afterwards.
- Personnel data in the HR system and the payroll package stays consistent.
- Every check is recorded, so you can show that payroll has been checked carefully.
Scheduling appointment requests automatically
Online appointment scheduler, calendar, CRM system, field service planning software
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.
What it delivers
- Your planners no longer have to copy requests by hand or go through calendars.
- Double bookings and appointments with incomplete details are prevented.
- Every appointment is immediately linked to the right customer in the CRM system, so the customer history stays complete.
- Requests are also processed outside office hours, so customers get a confirmation sooner.
Detecting errors and inconsistencies in your data
Data preparation tool, BI and reporting tool, CRM system, accounting software, service desk
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.
What it delivers
- Data errors are found before they lead to wrong invoices, mailings or reports.
- Your administrators no longer have to run manual checks and exports.
- Reports are more reliable because they are based on cleaned-up data.
- The dashboard shows whether data quality is improving, so you can tackle structural causes.
Periodic security checks
Low-code platform or IT asset register, service desk, team chat, BI and reporting tool
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.
What it delivers
- IT no longer has to keep track of certificates and domains by hand in spreadsheets.
- Expired certificates and domains are prevented, along with the outages and loss of reputation that come with them.
- The asset register stays up to date, because every check updates the data.
- You have a demonstrable overview of the checks carried out, useful for audits and certifications such as ISO 27001.
From RPA examples to your own first robot
With 15 examples lined up, it is tempting to tackle everything at once. Don't. The organisations that get the most out of RPA start with one process and build from there. That way you can show results quickly and learn along the way what works in your situation.
Our purchase invoices are now read in and checked automatically. We only look at the exceptions.
Which process will you automate first?
Chances are that while reading these RPA examples, you recognised one or two processes that cost your organisation time again every week. That is exactly the right starting point.
Mobile XL helps you go from idea to working robot. Together we look at your processes, calculate what automation will deliver and build your first software robot with the RPA software that fits your systems. Secure, GDPR-compliant and without your existing software having to change.
Frequently asked questions about RPA examples
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The best-known RPA examples are processing purchase invoices, transferring orders from web portals, setting up new employees in all systems and compiling periodic reports. These are tasks that occur frequently and follow fixed rules.
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Choose a process that takes a lot of time, occurs frequently and has few exceptions. Invoice processing and order entry are popular starting points, because the gains there become visible quickly.
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A suitable process occurs regularly, follows fixed rules, works with digital data and does not change often. If you can explain the steps without constantly saying "it depends", a robot can probably do it too.
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Yes, that is in fact one of its biggest advantages. A software robot works via the screen, just like an employee. That means it can also operate older desktop software and web portals without integration options.
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Finance and administration are often the first departments to benefit, because that is where a lot of documents and fixed rules come together. But HR, IT, customer service and order processing also have many processes that lend themselves to automation.
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Yes. With intelligent document processing, a combination of RPA and AI, the robot extracts data from PDFs, scans and even handwritten documents. Even when every supplier uses a different layout.
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That depends on the process. A ten-minute task that occurs two hundred times a month already saves well over 33 hours a month. For high-volume processes, the savings can add up to several working days a week.
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Definitely. A robot can read data from and enter data into almost any system with a user interface. If you work with Zoho, Zoho RPA connects directly to Zoho CRM, Zoho Books and the other apps in Zoho One.
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Think of a robot that handles the general inbox, where AI understands the content of each email and the robot carries out the follow-up action. Reading invoices with varying layouts is another well-known example.
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Processes that change constantly, consist mainly of exceptions or require a lot of human judgement are less suitable. Also, do not automate a process that is actually unnecessary: first see whether you can simplify it.
From idea to working robot
Discover which processes you could already automate tomorrow.