“Kelly has been excellent at understanding the problems and quirks of the organisation and identifying solutions or workarounds to achieve the aim,”—Hugo Cox, Operations Manager at IQ Glass Group.
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Find information about how our expert automation coaching saves IQ Glass 45 hours a week, quickly.
- Executive summary of case study
- How Solvaa helped IQ Glass use automation effectively
- Coaching, consultancy and a collaborative approach
- Multiple benefits: Time, costs and productivity
- Specific automation actions Solvaa helped IQ Glass implement
- Making the most out of automation
- Find automation that works for you
- Free coaching resources to help scale your business
- Level up your process improvement and Zap building
- Reduce your overwhelm with our automation training programme
Finding the right industry-leading fit
IQ Glass Group, the UK’s leading architectural and structural specialist glazing company, had put all the right systems in place, but they weren’t talking to each other. Therefore, the team remained largely reliant on disconnected and ineffective manual processes. Duplicating data entries was common, unnecessary, and time-consuming, which resulted in inevitable human error, process gaps, and a lack of visibility across departments.
The team knew they were on to something with automation, but they needed to take a holistic approach to tackling digital tool introduction, making process improvements and tying everything together with comprehensive workflow automations . One that would increase productivity in all functions of the business, from project management and lead nurturing, workflow management and organisation, email communication and admin to capture reports, events, and timesheets. Improvements across all these functions were critical to ensure no process fell through the cracks and disrupted its operations and customer satisfaction.
The growing SME realised they would need to team up with an expert business process automation partner to achieve its goals. They wanted a collaborative partner working alongside their teams to provide comprehensive strategy, implementation, and coaching. It was then that IQ Glass contacted Solvaa.
We systemised IQ Glass’s business with comprehensive strategic-led process recommendations, implementation and coaching. We also introduced valuable and practical tools specifically chosen for IQ Glass’s needs and ensured they talked to each other with the no-code automation platform, Zapier, as the connector to optimise the business’s day-to-day operations and scalability efforts.
After working with Solvaa, the leader in its field saw first-hand how spending a little time on process improvement and automation can deliver massive results. “Kelly is very knowledgeable, helpful, and a great asset to have contributing to your business,” Hugo highlights.
Today, the team saves, on average, 45 hours per week, the equivalent of a full-time staff member. Solvaa’s workflow automations provide up-to-date information for total transparency, accurate data capture and ensures deadlines are met on time, every time. IQ Glass now has a scalable, repeatable, and low-maintenance automation process that helps achieve their business goals.
Swapping manual for mindful automation
As the UK’s leading architectural and structural specialist glazing company, IQ Glass works with some of the world’s leading companies. They supply pioneering glass technology and offer a complete range of bespoke services. The SME keeps up with the latest trends to reflect evolving consumer demands. IQ Glass is at the forefront of glazing innovation. To continue to be there, they needed business processes that were fit for innovation purposes, too.
IQ Glass’s team consists of employed and self-employed glass fitters, overseen by a team of project managers and supported by warehouse staff. Sales and management teams are based at the head office, alongside others performing administrative and finance support functions.
The sales and management teams use Salesforce to manage sales leads, opportunities and projects, ScheduleIt to manage the workforce and organise each installation, FastField Forms for fitters and other staff to capture site reports, event logs, and timesheets, and the Microsoft Office 365 suite for email communication and admin.
IQ Glass had configured some simple automations using the no-code automation platform Zapier. However, with only minimal automations in place, their teams were unable to solve their bigger problems: business process inefficiencies and productivity leaks. With only a few Zaps (automated workflows) in place, IQ Glass’s processes remained inefficient as they did not have a complete and holistic understanding of how everything in the business was working (or not working) together.
Yet, the team hoped they were on to something with automation. IQ Glass wanted to improve their business processes, retain their industry-leading reputation, and scale it further. The teams needed an easy-to-manage business process that would enable them to repeat processes over and over, retain current happy customers, and scale the business.
IQ Glass weren’t wrong to invest in business process automation—far from it. But their experience so far was littered with stumbling blocks, making what they planned on being relevant, business-changing automation largely redundant.
Relevant tools quickly become redundant when we don’t know how they can positively impact our business, our teams, and our customers. IQ Glass were missing those vital pieces of the puzzle all SMEs need: Access to expertise, coaching and comprehensive support. With these, we can transform our businesses and turn redundant tools into relevant business process automations .
After teaming up with Solvaa, it was clear that IQ Glass could use automation to streamline its business processes by fully integrating the applications, saving time, reducing costs, and eliminating human error. To achieve this, they required more complex workflow automation to optimise and integrate the applications fully.
Consultancy and coaching: A collaborative approach
Hugo Cox, Group Operations Manager at IQ Glass, defined the project goals and overall business requirements. The team then partnered with Kelly Goss, business process automation specialist and founder of Solvaa, to improve each individual process by strategising and building workflows. “Kelly is also open and honest about what is not achievable rather than saying ‘yes, no problem’ to everything,” adds Hugo.
Rather than Solvaa building the whole business process automations, Kelly worked with Hugo using a blended implementation and coaching approach to bring its expert, tailored automationsto IQ Glass in a way that met their specific business needs. Embarking on its collaborative approach with IQ Glass, Solvaa engaged in process audits and provided recommendations on business process automations and architecture. Hugo hoped to use Zapier—if Solvaa identified it as a relevant tool for its needs—to automate its extensive workflows across its business functions.
Firstly, IQ Glass and Solvaa conducted an extensive business process audit, documenting its current systems, requirements, processes of concern, and what they wanted to achieve by working with Solvaa.
“Kelly has a knack for understanding the key/actual requirements from a garbled verbal description from me of what I think I want! She balances right between doing what is asked and offering alternative routes to solving the problem,” Hugo shares.
Solvaa then reviewed IQ Glass’s tech stack and existing workflows with the critical process owners during a process assessment workshop. Solvaa then drew up a systems, processes and automation blueprint detailing the most optimal way for IQ Glass to work. “Kelly doesn’t try to sell you solutions to problems that don’t exist to gain extra revenue,” Hugo emphasises.
With Solvaa’s strategy and coaching support, IQ Glass were able to meet all of its business needs with one simple yet dynamic and comprehensive solution: Zapier. IQ Glass use the no-code automation tool to optimise its key business workflows, saving time and costs to achieve its business goals faster. Zapier’s pre-built integrations with a range of relevant apps and the functionality of Zapier’s built-in apps enable this.
Based on our recommendations, we coached IQ Glass’s team on optimising their current systems. We set up and trialled additional apps, built and tested integrations and automation, and trained users. Now, IQ Glass have a deeper understanding of how business process automation works and how it can scale its business.
Fantastic service
Kelly has been helping me integrate 4 platforms (Salesforce, ScheduleIt, Fast Field Forms & AirTable) for around 4 months now using Zapier. She has been excellent at understanding the problems and qwerks of the organisation, and identifying solutions or workarounds to achieve the aim. She also has a knack for understanding the key / actual requirements from a garbled verbal description from me of what I think I want! She gets the balance right between doing what is asked, and offering alternative routes to solving the problem. She is also open and honest about what is not achievable rather than saying ‘yes, no problem’ to everything.
Similarly she doesn’t try to sell you solutions to problems that don’t exist to gain extra revenue. When there have been issues she has willingly engaged with the software developers of the platforms being used, negating the need for me to be a go between. She is extremely contactable and responsive, understanding that some issues need a far more immediate response than others. In summary Kelly is a very knowledgeable, helpful and a great asset to have contributing to your business.
An additional benefit is the coaching I have received from Kelly – I now use her for a very small amount of time compared to the beginning as I now create almost all of my own Zaps and am virtually self-sufficient. Instead of keeping the skill as a ‘hidden art’ to maintain revenue she has helped me learn it so I now use her just as an ad-hoc problem solver, or someone to bounce ideas off.
Hugo Cox
Group Operations Manager, IQ Glass UK – Buckinghamshire, England
Scaling an industry-leading business to new heights
Our ongoing consultancy for IQ Glass has delivered measurable benefits in time and cost savings, along with non-quantifiable gains that have delighted IQ Glass Group Operations Manager Hugo Cox and his teams.
Hugo reports time savings of 45 hours per week for previously onerous, unnecessary and frustrating tasks. “[Automation] is doing the work of a full-time employee who we don’t have to pay tax or NI for, doesn’t go sick, need a holiday or occupy a desk”—freeing up their valuable team’s time and energy for more strategic, creative and customer service-focused work.
Enlisting Solvaa’s consultancy and coaching expertise, IQ Glass have also seen significant system and process improvements and increased visibility in all its applications. Data is accurate, and there are no human entry errors, which results in better accuracy, the timely approval of timesheet payments, and reduces the likelihood of missed deadlines.
Importantly, from one industry-leading SME to another, IQ Glass have found a scalable, repeatable and low-maintenance process to achieve business success. “Kelly is very knowledgeable, helpful, and a great asset to have contributing to your business,” Hugo highlights.
Contact us today to discuss how Solvaa can help your SME simplify, improve, and automate all aspects of your business, saving you time, reducing costs, and keeping you agile as you grow.
Transforming IQ Glass, one automated process at a time
When IQ Glass first contacted Solvaa for expert consultancy and coaching, their priority was to bring effective and connected automation to its business. With Solvaa’s strategic approach and support, IQ Glass now have a no-code automation solution, Zapier, working in the business for the SME, enabling all its various functions to talk to one another.
As specialists in Zapier, a business process automation solution, we work to unlock its potential for your business. The extensive and dynamic tool can bring in various valuable resources, which Solvaa selects for your specific needs, to boost systems and enhance automation further.
Here, we look at the specific actions we recommended, implemented and coached IQ Glass on to make its connected automation vision a reality:
1. Automating Salesforce sales and operations workflows
Before partnering with Solvaa, when web forms were submitted, new sales lead information had to be entered into Salesforce manually. When sales opportunities were converted into new projects in Salesforce, the workflows to create records in other systems weren’t automated, so tasks were often forgotten.
There was no overall visibility of information. Data had to be manually updated in ScheduleIt, Microsoft Excel sheets, and FastField Forms, causing delays and human errors.
Solvaa replaced Microsoft Excel sheets with Google Sheets where possible to utilise the vast array of Zapier + Google Sheets trigger and action events, which allows for better automation opportunities than with Microsoft Excel.
Coaching IQ Glass throughout, we worked with them to implement the following workflow automations:
- When new web forms were submitted, we used Zapier to automate the creation of leads for Salesforce. We used lookup tables to map differences in field entries between web form dropdown options and Salesforce field API names, which identify a specific data field.
- When a new project is created in Salesforce, a new resource is created in ScheduleIt, a new Google Sheets row is created, and a lookup to a list (using a .csv upload) is created in FastField Forms so that it can be used immediately. The process also automatically updates the project status in Salesforce.
- When a project status is changed in Salesforce, Zapier updates the resource in ScheduleIt.
- When a field is updated in Salesforce, the relevant updates are initiated in ScheduleIt, Google Sheets, and Fastfield Forms to keep the data in line across all applications.
Keeping all data in line across the applications was crucial and ensured better visibility of up-to-date information in all IQ Glass’s systems.
2. Automating purchase order workflows
When projects involved glass manufacturing, previously IQ Glass had to create a purchase order in Salesforce and send it to the supplier.
The purchase order processes often duplicated data entry in different systems, resulting in human error. The manual task of keying data, investigating discrepancies, and responding to customer service queries was time-consuming.
To overcome these productivity leaks and frustrations, we implemented and coached IQ Glass on the following workflow automations:
- When an email receives a new order, it automatically analyses a sentence by naming its parts and their relationship to each other. The relevant data is extracted and a purchase order is created in Salesforce.
- When a FastField Form is submitted (capturing purchasing information), it is automatically used to create a purchase order in Salesforce.
- When purchase order documentation is received as an attachment in an email, it is automatically added to the Salesforce purchase order record.
3. Automating ScheduleIt event workflows
One of IQ Glass’s most frequent tasks is updating ScheduleIt with events, such as fitting a product, making a site visit, or updating a job. Before the processes were automated, the data needed to be manually rekeyed in Salesforce to ensure the project record was kept up to date, which was time-consuming and unnecessary.
Every time a record is deleted in one system, it must be updated manually. Another issue was that the project identifiers in the different systems were mismatched, and the timestamps were in various formats, making automatic data transfer complex.
We worked with IQ Glass to implement the following Zapier workflow automations:
- When a site visit event in ScheduleIt is created, Zapier creates a record in Salesforce and then loops back and updates the ScheduleIt event.
- When an event in ScheduleIt is deleted, the site visit is automatically updated in Salesforce.
4. Automating FastField Forms lookup list workflows
Before teaming up with Solvaa, a range of dropdown lists in FastField Forms, for example, containing clients and projects, were required when filling in a form.
If these weren’t up to date, it was impossible for fitters and project managers to pick the right one. It, therefore, wasted time as the team member had to wait for it to be updated manually. It also meant team members were duplicating efforts, and the process was prone to human error as the data had to be entered in two places.
Solvaa coached IQ Glass to implement the following workflow automations:
- When a new supplier is added to Salesforce, Zapier adds the details to a Google Sheet and updates the FastField Forms list (using a .csv upload).
- When a new project is added in Salesforce, Zapier adds the details to a Google Sheet and updates the FastField Forms list (using a .csv upload).
5. Automating site event reporting workflows
Glass fitters routinely advise the admin team about issues such as damaged materials. The process includes submitting photos taken on-site. Previously, when the team entered this data into FastField Forms, it was not automatically fed into Salesforce, where the customer and project records are stored. It needed to be keyed in manually, which carried the risk of user error and time lags.
The management team had no visibility of progress, and events were not actioned as swiftly as possible. If fitters needed to include an image related to an issue, attaching the photo file to the relevant project in Salesforce was laborious.
New entries in dropdown lists, such as project references, had to be added manually. If this process was delayed, the fitters could not choose the right customer when working on a job, leading to various time, cost and customer service issues.
Together, Solvaa and IQ Glass implemented the following business process workflow automations:
- Zapier updates the Salesforce record when a FastField Form for an event is submitted.
- When various events are triggered in Salesforce, such as adding or updating a project, an email is sent to the relevant project lead or staff member.
- When new projects are created in Salesforce or an existing one is amended, the FastField Form lookup lists are updated automatically.
- The image attachment is automatically saved in Salesforce when an inbound email is received.
6. Automating timesheet workflows
Before IQ Glass implemented connected business process automations, they engaged in significant manual effort, capturing the hours worked and calculating overtime and expenses for fitters. This led to inevitable human error from rekeying data into different systems.
Data was submitted by email in a non-standard format. The approval process was disjointed and often delayed. Payments were at risk of being inaccurate and time-consuming to correct. It desperately needed to be organised and input into the timesheet systems automatically.
Coaching IQ Glass throughout the process, we implemented the following business process workflow automations to make their approval process cohesive and responsive:
- A Fastfield Form captures hours, overtime, and expenses. This data is automatically fed into a Google Sheet.
- Calculations run automatically using Formatter by Zapier number formatting functions to give the correct overtime figures.
- Automatic reminder emails are sent to approve timesheets before deadlines are reached.
- Spreadsheet data is automatically updated when timesheets are approved.
Maximising automation’s capabilities
Based on IQ Glass’s business needs, we implemented several complex Zapier automations to keep the data in line between Fastfield Forms, Salesforce, ScheduleIt, and Google Sheets. We also used Google Drive to store file records and Microsoft Outlook to send emails.
We also implemented Zaps using several Zapier built-in apps to maximise efficiency and continuity across IQ Glass’s business functions, saving even more time and cost. We chose
Delay by Zapier to delay workflows to account for other automation running independently in a series of co-dependent workflows.
Email Parser by Zapier gives IQ Glass the ability to extract data from emails before creating or updating records. Email by Zapier enables the team to collect email attachments before adding them to records. In addition, Formatter by Zapier allows IQ Glass to manipulate numbers, text, date, time, line-item formats, lookup tables, and spreadsheet-type formulas.
Filter by Zapier provides basic conditional logic to ensure certain workflows run based on specific conditions. The team now uses Paths by Zapier for more complex conditional logic, allowing the workflow to run specific pathways with action-based set conditions, for example, when calculating timesheet combinations, ensuring the correct type of work was recorded.
Free resources to help save you save time, reduce costs and stay agile with automation
We also have plenty of free resources:
- Our free e-book is the perfect introduction to business automation.
- A free checklist to help you justify an automation budget.
- Our Zapier functions cheat sheet delves into the powerful inbuilt helper apps which can supercharge your automations in your Zaps.
- Read more about how our team of certified experts can help you use workflow automations with Zapier to simplify processes and increase efficiency.
Level up your process improvement and Zap building with Kelly’s book
Our founder, Chief Problem Solver and Chief Automator Kelly Goss’ books Automate It with Zapier (first edition) and Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI (second edition), are available on Amazon, and are the most comprehensive Zapier guides on the market. They will get you up and running to the stage where you can build and debug advanced automations.
Solvaa: Strategy, Solutions, Support, Education
UK-based Solvaa® is a systems, process and automation consultancy specialising in improving business workflows. Solvaa® works with SMEs worldwide to implement digital tools, better processes, use business process automation and generative AI to boost productivity, enhance lead management, and remove unnecessary time, costs and hassles from stretched business owners’ days.
We help you simplify and streamline existing processes, integrate your business tools to make data transfer more efficient, and automate manual tasks. Our business process automation specialists have extensive experience using multiple cloud-based business tools, including Zapier, Pipedrive CRM, SmartSuite, Xero, Google Suite, ClickUp, Asana, Airtable, Hubspot, Active Campaign, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Quickbooks and many more. We are Zapier Certified Experts, SmartSuite Certified Partners, Pipedrive Certified Partners and Xero Certified Advisors. We also educate teams about using AI in their daily roles, mindset, governance and strategy in our Solvaa AI Academy.
Solvaa® was founded in 2016 by Kelly Goss, a no-code solutions architect, business process automation specialist and author of Automate It with Zapier (first edition) and Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI (second edition).
A thought leader on business process automation and digital adoption, Kelly attended an invite-only Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the UK government at No.10 Downing Street, providing insights and recommendations on how SMEs can benefit from productivity gains by using digital technologies, automation and AI. She has also been invited to speak at the House of Lords and at many other events.
Contact us today to find out how Solvaa can help your business make big savings on operational costs and time, and significantly increase productivity.
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