// tools · automation savings calculator

What does manual work cost you per year?

Put in one repetitive task. See the yearly hours and cost, and what automating part of it could free up.

Start from an example (or set your own below)

Hours per week on this task (per person)

People doing it

Hourly cost per person

Salary plus overheads. Unsure? Gross hourly pay plus about a third.

Share you could automate

Time freed is worth-

Hours on the task per year: -
Yearly cost of doing it by hand: -
Hours freed per year: -
Time freed over 3 years: -

Assumes 46 working weeks a year (after holidays) on a 40-hour week.

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// how it works

How it's calculated

Time on the task
Hours per week per person, times the number of people, times 46 working weeks (a year minus holidays).
Cost of doing it by hand
Those hours times the hourly cost of the people doing them, including overheads, not just salary.
What automation frees up
The share of the task you expect to automate. Most automations take over the repetitive part and leave the judgement calls to people.

// reference

How small daily tasks add up

Time one person spends on a task each working day, over a year of 46 working weeks.

Time per day	Hours per year	Working weeks per year
5 min	19	0.5
10 min	38	1.0
15 min	58	1.4
30 min	115	2.9
1 h	230	5.8
2 h	460	11.5

Common questions

What should I use as the hourly cost?

Gross salary plus employer contributions, equipment and office costs, divided by hours actually worked. If you're unsure, use gross salary per hour plus about a third as a rough stand-in and adjust from there.

How much of a task can be automated?

It depends on the task. Copying data between systems, sorting emails or generating standard documents can often be automated almost entirely. Tasks that need judgement usually end up partly automated, with a person reviewing. Start with a conservative share.

Which business tasks are worth automating?

Tasks that happen often, follow the same steps and move data between tools: copying orders into accounting, sending standard emails, updating spreadsheets, sorting incoming requests and building recurring reports. Start with one that is easy to measure, so you know quickly whether it paid off.

How do you calculate the ROI of automation?

Compare the yearly value of the time freed with what the automation costs to build and run. If it costs less than one year of freed time, it pays for itself within the year. Include upkeep: connected tools change and automations need occasional fixes.

Does automating a task mean replacing people?

In small teams it rarely does. The freed hours go to work that needs a person, like customers, sales or quality checks. The calculator shows time freed, not jobs cut.

What tools are used to automate business tasks?

Integration platforms like Make, n8n and Zapier connect common apps without much code. Custom integrations and AI models cover what they cannot, like reading documents or sorting emails by what they say.

// more tools

What does manual work cost you per year?

How it's calculated

Time on the task

Cost of doing it by hand

What automation frees up

How small daily tasks add up

Common questions

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