Guide: What is Business Process Automation (BPA)?

Updated May 4, 2026

Manual processes don't just slow teams down — they introduce errors, inflate costs, and create gaps that compound over time. As digitization accelerates across every industry, the next step isn't optional. It's automation.

Business process automation (BPA) is the use of software to automate repeatable processes that tend to waste time or incur unwanted costs. Companies can implement business process automation software as part of their digital transformation strategy to improve efficiency.

Key takeaways

• Definition: Business Process Automation (BPA) uses software to handle repeatable, manual tasks, streamlining workflows and reducing costs.
• Core benefits: Organizations often see an internal rate of return of 15% or more through error reduction and increased operational speed.
• Real-world impact: Companies like AGFirst and The Mayo Clinic use BPA to process loans 60% faster and save tens of thousands of manual labor hours.
• Implementation success: Effective BPA requires clear goal definition, a structured project management framework, and significant investment in stakeholder training.

Why is business process automation (BPA) important?

BPA matters because it directly addresses the inefficiencies that drain time, increase risk, and prevent teams from focusing on high-value work.

According to Gartner, business process automation (BPA) is the automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies.

BPA is a valuable investment that can be implemented to replace a variety of repeatable tasks — invoicing, data entry, inventory management, and more. Any organization with a repeatable process that takes a lot of time and labor is a likely candidate for business process automation.

For companies in the midst of digital transformation, BPA can be applied across any part of the organization where there is an interest in streamlining workflows and employing software to improve efficiency. That includes functions like:

• Finance and procurement
• Human resources and onboarding
• Sales and customer management
• Shipping and logistics
• Underwriting and compliance

The BPA market is growing quickly, with many organizations accelerating their investment in automation to improve business efficiencies. BPA is advancing into new categories such as "intelligent automation," which uses AI to increase the autonomy of a particular process with capabilities like natural language processing.

It's worth noting how BPA relates to two other terms you'll encounter:

• Robotic process automation (RPA) falls under the umbrella of BPA but is narrower in scope. RPA uses automated bots to mimic specific human tasks — like data entry, transferring information between applications, or powering chatbots on a website.
• Business process management (BPM) takes a broader approach. BPM is a discipline that involves collaboration between business and IT teams to model, analyze, and optimize end-to-end processes — and it often identifies where BPA or RPA should be applied.

In practice, BPA and RPA are complementary tools within a larger BPM strategy.

What is the difference between BPA, RPA, and BPM?

These three terms are related but operate at different levels. Business process automation (BPA) is a broad strategy for using software to automate repeatable manual tasks. Robotic process automation (RPA) is a specific type of BPA that uses software bots to mimic discrete human actions like data entry or screen scraping. Business process management (BPM) is the overarching discipline — the strategic framework for analyzing, designing, and continuously improving business processes. BPM identifies where BPA and RPA should be applied.

What are the benefits of business process automation?

Streamlining complex or time-consuming processes is just the starting point. The real value of BPA shows up across cost, accuracy, innovation, and insight.

• Cost savings: With efficiency and time savings comes ROI. Gartner noted that for 80% of organizations, BPA delivers an internal rate of return of 15% or more.
• Error reduction: Automation can reduce human error, resulting in improved record keeping and more accurate information and data.
• Increased innovation: With BPA, more people are free to use their time for strategic work, creative design, planning, and innovation. This helps organizations grow and evolve more quickly than the competition.
• New insights: AI-driven BPA can help organizations uncover trends, spot issues, and analyze documents — creating even more efficient processes over time.

What are examples of business process automation?

While the name might be generic, most implementations of BPA are actually highly customized and very relevant to individual organizations.

AGFirst Credit Bank is one example. The organization implemented BPA to improve their loan application and onboarding processes. They wanted to process more loans without increasing headcount or sacrificing quality. The result: a mobile-friendly application process that enables customers to apply more easily and employees to access information, analyze, and approve faster — ultimately closing cases up to 60% faster.

The Mayo Clinic deployed BPA across their HR organization. With a team of 600 people, they were able to save 40,000 hours of manual work in a single year by automating payroll, applications, succession processing, and internal content delivery. Rather than overhauling one facet of HR, The Mayo Clinic succeeded with a range of targeted automations that added up to significant results.

What types of processes are best suited for BPA?

The strongest candidates for automation are processes that are repetitive and rules-based, high-volume, prone to human error, time-sensitive, and well-documented. Common examples include invoice processing, data entry and validation, employee onboarding, loan application review, compliance reporting, and customer notifications. If a process requires consistent execution across many instances and follows predictable steps, it's likely a good fit for BPA.

Best practices for implementing business process automation

Making BPA work for your organization requires planning and collaboration across teams. Implementing new software, changing procedures, and shifting job requirements means teams need to be educated, bought into the process, and trained. High-level champions and representative stakeholders should meet regularly through the project to keep everyone focused and motivated.

Define clear goals and objectives

Before any project starts, define the problem as well as the desired improvement that BPA could provide. For example, a legal team might want to use software to compare versions of legal documents for differences and errors. Their objectives would be to reduce manual labor, decrease error rates, and potentially gain new insights about contracts using intelligent software. Knowing exactly what stakeholders want to achieve helps with scoping, cost assessment, and vendor selection.

Create a project management framework

Work across teams and with vendor partners to clearly understand each step of the implementation process. Assign owners to different elements — software integration, workflow redesign for a specific team. Set a timeline and schedule check-ins to ensure everyone sticks to the plan and to surface any issues early.

Develop a measurement plan

The benefits of BPA are only clear if they're measured. Take time to observe the current baseline: how many loans can be processed manually today? What is the current error rate? Then create a plan to track the same indicators after BPA is implemented. Measurement helps teams spot areas that could be improved further and serves as a motivating case study for expanding automation elsewhere.

Invest in training and buy-in

Don't let a project fail because key stakeholders aren't on board. Often, the people most directly affected by a new BPA implementation aren't given clear direction on what the new process will look like or how their day-to-day will change. Involve them early, paint a clear picture of the opportunity, and provide sufficient and thorough training.

How do you measure the ROI of business process automation?

Start by establishing a clear baseline before implementation: time spent per task, error rates, labor costs, and throughput volume. After implementation, measure the same indicators and compare. Beyond direct cost savings, consider downstream benefits like faster customer response times, reduced compliance risk, and increased capacity without added headcount. Gartner data suggests that for 80% of organizations, BPA delivers an internal rate of return of 15% or more, but the specific returns depend heavily on the process complexity and the scale of adoption.

How Proof can help you implement BPA

Digital transformation is a long and complex process. Implementing BPA within one department is a positive step forward, but don't forget to think about how it ties into the wider goals of your organization.

Some organizations are focused on creating a seamless, digital customer experience. Proof's online notarization platform supports that goal through a network of certified notaries available 24/7 to complete notarizations from anywhere.

Other organizations want to increase backend scale and efficiency. By using Proof, you can make notarizations a small part of your workflow rather than one that involves travel and coordination. Proof supports the overall principle of BPA: giving time back so your teams can shift attention to more value-driven work. To learn more about how Proof can help your business digitize and increase efficiency with online notarizations, schedule a demo.