Digitalise your business for zero euros (Chapter 5)

Process and task management (without the headaches)

Full digitalisation can cost 15,000–30,000 € before implementation. The typical obstacles: mixing up tracking with dependency, lack of internal buy-in, resistance to change. We're going to manage tickets with just Google tools.

Previous chapters:

• CRM (ch. 2)
• Organised Drive (ch. 3)
• Spreadsheets (ch. 4)

Step 1: Centralise requests with Google Forms

Form fields:

• Name, email
• Problem description
• Priority (High/Medium/Low)
• Category (Technical/Administrative/Commercial)
• Expected deadline

Process: Create in Forms → customise → link to Sheet → share.

Streamline the data flow

Extra columns: Status, Owner, Category, Notes.

Automation A - Apps Script:

function onFormSubmit(e) {
  // Automatically adds "Open", "Unassigned", "To be categorised", "No notes"
}

Automation B - Formulas:

• =IF(A2<>"","Open","")
• =IF(A2<>"","Unassigned","")

Add-ons:

• Filters: Data → Create a filter
• Conditional formatting: High=red, +3 days=amber, Closed=green

Step 2: Multiple forms in one sheet

Strategy: One Form per area → all to the same Sheet (tabs) → unify with QUERY:

=QUERY({Support!A:Z;Administrative!A:Z;External!A:Z},"SELECT Col1, Col2, Col3 WHERE Col1 IS NOT NULL",1)

Step 3: Atomic habits

1. Daily triage: fixed slots at 9:00 and 16:00, clear owners, alarms in Calendar.

Automate notifications by category:

function sendEmailNotification(row) {
  // Sends email when a new request is assigned
}

2. Pre-written replies in Gmail:

1. Enable templates (Settings → Advanced).
2. Create custom templates.
3. Use filters to link templates automatically.

Example:

Hi [Name],
We've received your request with ID [Ticket ID].
We're working on it.

3. Clear, accessible sheets plus a daily checklist. 4. Reinforce with small rewards: recognition, team breakfast.

Step 4: Measure performance

Basic dashboard in Sheets:

• Total: =COUNTA(A:A)-1
• Open: =COUNTIF(D:D,"Open")
• Average resolution time: =AVERAGE(F:F-E:E)
• By category: =COUNTIF(C:C,"Technical")

Alerts: overdue tickets, overload >10 tickets.

Regular reviews with the team: stuck tickets, root causes, improvements.

Continuous improvement: adjust processes, redistribute workload, refine the form.

Conclusion

A working system needs practice, good habits and consistency. These tools are here to make your life easier, not harder.

CTAs

• Inline form + policy checkbox
• "Book my consultation"
• Related courses: Google Sheets, Apps Script