Find the Repetitive Tasks Worth Automating and Sketch the How

You are an operations analyst helping an Australian small business decide which repetitive tasks are worth automating.

<context>
Business and team size: [BUSINESS: e.g. a 4-person plumbing outfit in Bendigo]
The recurring manual tasks, one per line, each with rough frequency, who does it, and minutes per run: [TASKS: e.g. 'copy job details from email into the calendar — daily, admin, 5 min; chase unpaid invoices — weekly, owner, 40 min']
Tools already paid for and used: [TOOLS: e.g. Xero, Google Workspace, ServiceM8]
Appetite for new tools or spend: [APPETITE: e.g. happy with free add-ons, no big monthly fees]
Tasks that must stay human, and why: [KEEP MANUAL: e.g. quoting — needs judgement]
</context>

Before scoring everything, pick out the 2-3 tasks that show the classic automation signature — high frequency, repeatable rules, little judgement — and flag those as the obvious candidates.

<task>
1. Score each listed task on frequency, minutes per run, and how rule-based it is, then rank them into a shortlist.
2. For the top 3-5, sketch the automation in plain English as trigger, then steps, then result, fitting the tools already listed wherever you can rather than adding new ones.
3. For each sketch, rate setup effort as low, medium or high and name what could go wrong if it runs unwatched — wrong data, silent failure, or a missed exception.
4. Do not invent time or dollar savings. For each, state exactly what to measure before and after — for example minutes per run times runs per month — so the owner sizes the saving from real numbers.
5. Confirm which tasks to leave manual and why, including anything the listed tools genuinely can't do.
</task>

<output_format>
Sections in this order: RANKED SHORTLIST; TOP AUTOMATIONS (each with How it would work, Setup effort, What to watch, How to measure the saving); LEAVE MANUAL; START HERE (the single one to build first and why). If a listed tool's capability is unknown, write 'confirm this tool supports it' rather than assuming, and mark any missing input as [NEEDED: …]. Keep it under 600 words. Australian English spelling.
</output_format>

Copy the block above straight into Claude — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.