What does busywork cost your business?

How to read the result

The starting numbers are only examples, so replace them with your own. The calculation is simple: people × hours per week × working weeks gives you the annual hours, and that multiplied by the hourly cost gives you the annual cost. The automated share is your own estimate.

Treat the result as a way to compare options, not a promise of savings. Time saved only turns into money if it goes toward something valuable, such as more customers, faster billing or fewer late evenings. Remember to subtract the cost of the tools, the setup and the time spent checking results.

Getting a realistic number

• Track one normal week. Ask people to note repetitive tasks as they do them. Guesses tend to run low.
• Include all the costs of an hour. Payroll taxes and benefits belong in the hourly figure.
• Be conservative on the share. Exceptions and review take time, so few tasks can be automated completely.

What about the costs you can’t see here?

This calculator doesn’t count work lost because nobody got to it, such as the lead who never heard back or the invoice that went out three weeks late. For some businesses, that’s the larger number.