There are two types of SME owners who reach out to us. Those who want to "do AI" — without really knowing what that means — and those who want to solve a specific problem and are wondering whether AI can help. The first group is usually disappointed. The second, almost always satisfied. This 90-day plan is built for the second group.
Why 90 days — not 30, not 180?
14 days is too short: teams are under pressure, but nothing has time to stabilise. You end the project with two or three rough experiments and zero data to measure.
180 days is too long: momentum fades. The first three months would have been enough to capture 80% of the gains. Beyond that, motivation drops, priorities shift, and the promised automations never quite get finished.
90 days is the sweet spot. Three clear monthly cycles: enough time to map, test, deploy, and measure — without losing the initial drive.
of Belgian SME owners want to go digital but don't know where to start (Digital Wallonia Barometer 2025)
median time to positive ROI on a well-chosen first automation (LTC Group, client data 2025)
per week spent on AI in a high-performing SME — no more (LTC Group internal study, 30 SMEs)
Month 1 — Diagnosis: taking an honest look at your week
The first month is not a deployment month. It's a month of diagnosis and early quick wins.
Weeks 1–2: mapping your week
Write down every repetitive task you or your team do more than once. The small ones: chasing a quote, confirming an appointment, copying data from one tool to another, answering the same email question for the fourth time this week.
By the end of two weeks, you have a list. Rank each task by frequency and by time. The tasks at the top — frequent and time-consuming — are your automation candidates.
Weeks 3–4: the quick wins
Pick two or three tasks from your list. Not the most complex — the most repetitive and the most predictable. The goal isn't perfection; it's to validate that the approach works in your context.
A typical example from our clients: automated replies to quote requests, appointment confirmations sent by SMS with no manual intervention, weekly report generated automatically on Friday evening. Nothing revolutionary. But cumulatively, between 3 and 6 hours recovered in the very first month.
Month 2 — Core automations: automate what costs you the most
You now have two things you didn't have at the start: a precise list of your time drains, and proof that automations work in your environment.
It's time to tackle the high-ROI automations — perhaps a little more complex to set up, but with a significant impact.
What "high ROI" means in practice
If you send 20 quotes per week and each quote takes 25 minutes to write, a quote automation saves you more than 8 hours per week. Installation takes 4 to 6 hours, just once. It pays for itself in two days.
Connecting your tools together
Most SMEs already have a CRM, an invoicing tool, a calendar, and an email inbox. The problem: these 4 tools don't talk to each other. Every piece of data is re-entered by hand — a source of errors and wasted time.
Once connected, these 4 tools automatically exchange the right information: a quote accepted in the CRM creates the invoice, books the appointment in the calendar, and sends the confirmation by email. Zero re-entry, zero duplicates.
Month 3 — Measurement: measure, adjust, level up
Automations are running. The team is using them. Early results are visible. It's time to quantify.
Not abstract metrics. Concrete numbers you understand: how many hours per week is the team now spending on tasks that used to be manual, the quote follow-up rate, payment timelines, the evolution of your Google rating.
The 4 KPIs to track (before / after 90 days)
| Metric | Before | After 90 d | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin hours / week | 14 h | 6 h | −57% |
| Quote follow-up rate | 42% | 91% | +117% |
| Payment timeline | 38 d | 22 d | −42% |
| Google rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 | +0.6 pt |
The next cycle
90 days is one cycle. At the end of the third month, you run the diagnosis again — faster this time, because you now know what to look for. Most of our clients go through 3 to 4 cycles before reaching a "steady state".
Before / after: what concretely changes
This isn't a total transformation. It's a solid first cycle — and the foundation for the ones that follow.
The 3 pitfalls that derail the plan
What the plan looks like in your sector
The 3-month framework is universal; the content varies by your activity and your top priority. A few concrete examples from our SME engagements:
B2B services (consulting, agency, IT) — priority: "save admin time"
- Month 1: map repetitive emails and admin tasks. Test auto-replies to incoming enquiries.
- Month 2: connect CRM + invoicing + calendar. Automate quotes, follow-ups, client onboarding.
- Month 3: measure admin hours/week and response rate. Target: −50% admin, −30% lead time on quotes.
Trades / construction — priority: "save admin time"
- Month 1: map how time is split (quotes, site follow-up, invoicing, after-sales). Test auto appointment confirmation.
- Month 2: automated quotes from enquiries (form + AI). Invoice sent at job completion. Automatic follow-ups.
- Month 3: quotes/week sent, acceptance rate, payment timeline. Target: +50% quotes sent, −20 d DSO.
Healthcare (practice, allied health) — priority: "save admin time"
- Month 1: map appointment confirmations, reminders, file follow-up. Test auto SMS for confirmations.
- Month 2: AI agent that handles recurring email enquiries. Connect calendar + patient records.
- Month 3: hours saved at reception, no-show rate. Target: −40% no-shows, 5 to 8 h recovered/week.
E-commerce — priority: "marketing"
- Month 1: audit email marketing + retargeting. Test automated weekly newsletter from the product catalogue.
- Month 2: full sequences — welcome, post-purchase, 30-day re-engagement, upsell. Auto Meta/Google feed.
- Month 3: open rate, email conversion, ROAS. Target: +20% email revenue, ROAS > 4.
Accounting / bookkeeping — priority: "save admin time"
- Month 1: map recurring client requests (returns, deadlines, missing documents).
- Month 2: AI agent answering the 20 most frequent questions + automated document reminders for clients.
- Month 3: hours lost on document chasing, client satisfaction. Target: −8 h/week, NPS > 40.
"Before, I felt like I was constantly chasing files. Now I feel like I'm in control of them. It wasn't AI that changed my job. It was no longer losing my mornings to things a programme can do for me."
— Marielle V., manager of a real estate agency in Liège
Frequently asked questions
What if I genuinely don't have time for this plan right now?
That's the classic paradox: you don't have time because you're overwhelmed by tasks that could be automated. The good news: the initial diagnosis takes just 45 minutes. LTC Group then handles the configuration work. Your actual involvement in Month 1 is 2 to 3 hours, spread over 4 weeks.
Do I need a specific AI budget for this plan?
The Month 1 quick wins often cost between €0 and €100/month in tools. Month 2 automations depend on your situation, but typically start between €200 and €500/month all-in. This budget is generally recovered in the following month through time saved.
Will my employees resist the change?
Some will — that's human and that's normal. The best way to handle it: involve them from the diagnosis stage. Ask them which tasks they find the most painful. Automations that free them from tedious work are almost universally welcomed.
What if after 90 days the results aren't there?
That rarely happens when the plan is well executed — but it does happen. The two most frequent causes: the chosen automations didn't match the real bottlenecks, or they were set up without the team actually using them. That's exactly why we measure from the start.
Can we do this plan alone, without LTC Group?
Yes, absolutely. This plan works whether or not you work with us. The tools exist, the method is documented. What we bring: time saved on configuration, experience of what works and what doesn't in your sector, and support across the 3 months. To build your tailored plan, start with our AI diagnostic.