Quotes, billing, approvals and document filing can be automated in three parts: AI reads the material, the system applies your rules, and people approve only the key steps. AI reads emails, PDFs and LINE chats and pulls out fields such as customer name, item, quantity and date. The system saves the data to Google Sheets, a CRM or an ERP, generates documents from templates and notifies whoever needs to approve. Actions like sending to a customer, changing an order or editing official records can be set to wait for a person's approval; items the AI is unsure about go to a pending list for someone to handle.
1. Where back-office work gets stuck
Many Taiwanese SMEs run back-office work like this: a customer sends a screenshot of an inquiry on LINE, a sales assistant copies the items into Excel, builds a quote from a template and emails it. Once the customer signs, the accountant copies the same details into a billing statement and the ERP. The same data is copied three or four times, and every copy is another chance for a mistake. Forms waiting for a manager's signature are scattered across email, LINE and desks, and nobody can say who is waiting on whom.
2. How to split four common processes
Each back-office process can be split into what AI or the system does and what people do. Here is how four common processes split; the exact division depends on your company's rules and habits.
| Process | What AI or the system does | What people do |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes | Pulls items and quantities from inquiries in email or LINE, generates a quote from a fixed template and keeps every version | Checks prices and terms, and approves before it goes to the customer |
| Billing | Pulls billing details from shipping records or contracts, drafts the billing statement and logs the date it was sent | Confirms the amount and recipient and approves before sending; gets a reminder when payment hasn't arrived by the due date |
| Approvals | Collects forms awaiting signature into one list, notifies the manager who needs to sign and records who signed when | Approves or returns each item on the list, giving a reason when returning |
| Document filing | Reads incoming PDFs, contracts and invoices, renames and files them by customer, date and type, and saves key fields to a spreadsheet | Spot-checks the filing and handles documents the AI can't read |
3. AI reads documents and pulls out the fields you need
AI models such as OpenAI, Claude or Gemini can read emails, PDFs and chats and organize the content into the fields you define. For example, if a customer writes 'Another 200 boxes of the white one from last time, needed by the end of the month', the AI tries to pull out the item, quantity and delivery date. Which fields to extract and what format they take are agreed with the process owner before launch.
AI doesn't always read correctly. Handwritten forms, blurry scans and very casual messages can all be misread or missed. So the workflow is designed for the AI to flag what it isn't sure about and put that record on the pending list, rather than guessing and saving it to the system.
4. Which steps need a person's approval
Not every step has to run all the way on its own. Quotes sent to customers, order changes and edits to official ERP records, actions where a mistake affects customers or the books, can be set to wait for someone's approval. AI and the system prepare everything; a person takes a look and approves or returns it. Every action is logged, so you can see later who approved what and when. Steps commonly set to need approval include:
- Anything sent outside: quotes, billing statements, emails to customers
- Actions that change official records: editing orders, changing items or amounts in the ERP
- Data the AI is unsure about: missing fields, numbers that don't match, unreadable scans
- Orders with unusual amounts or terms: for example a special discount or a new customer
5. A pending list keeps the to-dos in one place
The pending list is an important piece of back-office automation. Everything that needs a person sits in one place: forms awaiting approval, fields the AI is unsure about, data that doesn't match, documents that failed to send. The person responsible opens the list each day and works through it, instead of hunting through email, LINE and their desk. Data that hasn't been approved isn't saved to the system. Workflows retry automatically when something fails; if a failure persists, the person responsible is alerted by email, LINE or Slack, and the failed record stays on the list to be rerun once fixed.
6. Which document to start with
Start with a document you handle every week whose format is fairly fixed, such as quotes or billing statements. Settle the template and fields first, let AI and the system handle it for a while, look at what kinds of problems land on the pending list, then adjust the rules. A single workflow usually launches in 1–2 weeks; connecting an ERP, a CRM and email at the same time usually takes 3–6 weeks. Actual timing depends on the number of systems, how tidy the data is and how many approval steps you want.
The short version
Back-office automation means AI reads the material, the system follows your rules, people approve the key steps, and anything uncertain goes to a pending list.
Frequently asked questions
- Our quote format is messy. Can it still be automated?
- Start by tidying up the template. Once quotes follow one template with agreed fields, automation becomes possible, and a consistent format on its own also removes some copying mistakes.
- Will the AI send quotes to customers by itself?
- It can be set not to. Sending to customers, changing orders and editing official records can be set to wait for a person's approval, and every action is logged.
- We already use Digiwin ERP or SAP Business One. Do we need to switch?
- No. If a system can be connected from outside, offers database access or exports a consistent file, it can usually be linked without changing the ERP itself. We confirm the method in the free 30-minute consultation.
- Our documents contain customers' personal data. Will it be sent to AI?
- Personal data the task doesn't need isn't sent to AI. AI providers' training terms differ by provider and plan, so we review them with you before choosing a model.