SBL Toolbox · Free calculator
Automation savings calculator: what is your manual work costing?
Enter how many people do a task, how long it takes and what their time costs. See the yearly cost, how much automating it with AI or a simpler tool could save, and how quickly it would pay for itself.
This task costs about
£10,615
a year, in staff time.
- Hours spent per year
- 552
- Cost per month
- £885
- Could be saved per year (60%)
- £6,369
- Time freed per year
- 331 hrs · 44 days
- Saving over 3 years
- £19,107
- Pays for itself in
- –
Is this worth fixing? We help organisations turn a process like this into a working prototype, tested with the people who do the task, so you can decide with evidence. Discuss a problem
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01 · How to use it
Four steps to a figure you can share
- Describe the task. Pick one repetitive job, such as re-typing forms, chasing approvals or building a weekly report.
- Count the time. Enter how many people do it and roughly how many hours each spends on it in a typical week.
- Add the cost of their time. Use an hourly cost that includes employer costs, or work it out from a salary.
- Be realistic about savings. Set the share of the task that could go, and add a quote to see the payback time. Then copy or print the results.
02 · How it is worked out
The sums behind the result
Yearly cost = people × hours each per week × cost per hour × working weeks per year.
Possible saving = yearly cost × the share of the task a better process could remove.
Payback time = one-off cost of the solution ÷ monthly saving.
The default hourly cost is a £30,000 salary plus 25% for employer National Insurance and pension, spread over 1,950 working hours (£19.23 an hour). Replace it with your own figures for a more accurate result.
03 · Questions
Frequently asked questions
What should I include in the hourly cost?
Use the full cost to your organisation, not just the salary. That usually means salary plus employer National Insurance, pension contributions and any other on-costs. Many organisations add 20% to 30% to the salary. If you are a sole trader, use the hourly rate you would otherwise charge clients.
Why 46 working weeks?
52 weeks minus holiday, bank holidays and a little sickness leaves around 46 working weeks for most UK full-time staff. Change it if your team works differently.
How much of a task can really be removed?
It depends on the task. Copying data between systems, re-typing forms and building the same report every week can often be cut by 70% or more. Tasks that need judgement, conversations or checks usually cannot be removed, but they can often be made faster. If you are unsure, start at 30% to 50%.
Does a saving mean cutting jobs?
Not necessarily. Most organisations use the time freed up for work that needs people: supporting clients, following up, or clearing a backlog. The calculator shows time as well as money for that reason.
Does the solution have to use AI?
No. The calculator works the same for any kind of automation. Sometimes AI is the right answer, for example to read documents or sort enquiries. Often a simple form, a connection between two systems or a better spreadsheet saves just as much. Work out the saving first, then choose the cheapest way to get it.
Is this a quote?
No. It is a planning figure to help you decide whether a problem is worth looking into. A real project would test the idea with the people who do the task before anyone commits to a full build.
04 · More free tools
Other tools you might need
App Development Cost Calculator
A rough UK cost and timeline for a tested prototype and a full build, with every assumption shown.
Project Brief Generator
Answer guided questions and download a clear brief to share with your team or a developer.
Is this process worth fixing?
We help organisations turn a slow, manual process into a working prototype, tested with the people who do the task, so you can decide with evidence.