How to Run an Operations Audit for Your Business

You can't improve what you don't understand. Here's how to audit your operations and find the bottlenecks killing your growth.

The 4 Pillars of Operations

Every business operation falls into one of four categories:

1. Acquisition - How you get customers

2. Delivery - How you serve customers

3. Retention - How you keep customers

4. Admin - How you run the business

The Audit Process

Step 1: Map Your Processes

For each pillar, document:

• What triggers the process?
• What steps are involved?
• Who's responsible for each step?
• What tools are used?
• What are the outputs?

Step 2: Measure Current State

Collect data on:

• Time spent on each process
• Error/rework rates
• Bottleneck locations
• Manual vs. automated steps
• Cost per process

Step 3: Identify Pain Points

Look for:

• Processes that require 3+ tools
• Steps that rely on one person
• Manual data entry between systems
• Inconsistent outcomes
• Frequent errors or complaints

Step 4: Prioritize Fixes

Score each pain point on:

• Impact (revenue/time/customer experience)
• Effort to fix
• Dependencies on other fixes

Quick Wins to Look For

• Notification gaps - Important events with no alerts
• Manual follow-ups - Reminders that could be automated
• Data silos - Info stuck in one system
• Approval bottlenecks - Things waiting on one person

The Output

Your audit should produce:

• Visual process maps
• Current state metrics
• Prioritized improvement list
• Quick win opportunities
• Resource requirements estimate

This becomes your roadmap for systems improvements.