How the math works
For each task, take the minutes it takes each time, multiply by how often it happens in a week, then by the number of people doing it. That's hours per week. Multiply by your working weeks for hours per year, then by your hourly cost for the dollar figure.
An example: 30 minutes of data entry every workday is 2.5 hours a week. Over 48 working weeks, that's 120 hours, or three full 40-hour weeks. At $25 an hour, one person's share of one task costs $3,000 a year.
What the number does and doesn't tell you
It tells you what the time costs today. It can't tell you how much of that time a system could take over, because that depends on the task. Some repetitive work shrinks to a quick review. Some of it needs a person no matter what.
It also leaves out costs that are harder to count: the typo that turns into a wrong invoice, the follow-up that went out a week late, the evening someone spent catching up instead of going home.
Which tasks are usually worth handing off
- The same steps every time, with the same kind of information
- Moving information from one place to another, like a text message into a spreadsheet
- Happening daily or weekly, not once a quarter
- Easy to check once it's done, so a person can review the result quickly
Tasks built on judgment, relationships, or one-off decisions usually stay with people. That's where your team's time is best spent anyway.
What to do with your number
Start with the biggest line, not the whole list. Watch that one task for a week: how often it happens, who does it, and where the information comes from. That's enough to know whether it's worth handing to a system, and it's exactly what the free consultation is for. To see what this looks like in your line of work, browse the industry examples or the guides.