Workflow time-savings calculator

Is this task worth automating? Start with the work you do today, keep the human review you will still need, and account for upkeep. Get a clear estimate and a practical one-workflow brief.

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01One repeated task

The starting numbers are examples. Replace them with one ordinary week or month of your work. Count total staff time, including checking and exceptions.

How many times is the task done?

Use your typical volume, not your busiest week.

How often?

Weekly volume × 52 ÷ 12 gives an average month.

Minutes spent now, per run

Include every person who works on this task.

Minutes still needed, per run

Keep the human review, exceptions and corrections you expect to need.

02Upkeep and costs

Hours are useful on their own. Add dollar estimates if you want a labor-value comparison; use 0 for a cost you know is zero.

Maintenance hours per month

Checking failures, updating the workflow and keeping connections working.

Loaded hourly labor value ($) (optional)

Your estimate including pay and employer costs. This is not a promise of lower payroll.

Monthly software / service fees ($) (optional)

Include the added recurring cost. Blank assumes $0 for the comparison, but prevents a payback estimate.

One-time setup cost ($) (optional)

Include implementation and staff setup/training time valued in dollars.

03Make it a usable brief optional

Name the workflow before choosing software. Missing details stay marked “to confirm.”

Task

What starts it?

Existing tools

Who owns the workflow?

Human approval and exceptions

What does a successful result look like?

This may free up capacity for other work. Check the assumptions with a small pilot before paying for a full implementation.

Work today: 11.56 hours / month
Retained review and exceptions: 4.33 hours / month
Monthly maintenance: 1 hours / month
Net monthly labor-value equivalent: Add hourly value to estimate
Conditional setup payback: Enter hourly value, fees and setup cost

20 weekly runs × 52 ÷ 12 = 86.67 runs in an average month. Hours released = runs × (minutes now − minutes retained) ÷ 60 − maintenance hours. Dollar value = hours released × hourly value − monthly fees.

Monthly fees are not entered. The dollar comparison assumes $0; enter fees, even if zero, before estimating payback.

Released time is capacity, not guaranteed cash savings or recovered revenue. Payback assumes steady volume, costs and usable released time. This arithmetic cannot confirm that a connection exists or that a process is safe to automate.

View or select the full brief

ONE-WORKFLOW AUTOMATION BRIEF
Task: to confirm
Trigger: to confirm
Existing tools: to confirm
Owner: to confirm
Human approval / exceptions: to confirm
Successful result: to confirm

ASSUMPTIONS
20 runs per week. Monthly average uses 52 weeks divided by 12 months.
8 minutes now; 3 minutes retained for review and exceptions per run.
1 hours per month for maintenance.
Hourly value: not entered; dollar value not estimated.
Fees: not entered; assumes $0 monthly fees if calculating dollar value.
Setup cost: not entered.

ESTIMATE
6.22 hours released per month
Net monthly labor-value equivalent: not estimated.
Payback: not estimated (requires setup cost, monthly fees and positive net monthly value).
Released time is capacity, not guaranteed cash savings or recovered revenue. These are estimates, not measured results.

NEXT CHECKS
Time one ordinary week and test a small pilot before investing; confirm that the retained review and upkeep estimates hold.
Check whether existing software already handles the task, whether the needed connections and permissions are available, and who approves exceptions.
Compare the pilot with the current process: total staff time, errors, completed work and the full ongoing cost.

First check whether your existing software already handles this task. If you need help joining the pieces, see automation and integrations. You can use the brief with anyone.