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A 2-minute calculation

How much does manual data entry cost you a year?

You can work out how many hours a week your company spends retyping data in two minutes: enter the hours a week in five areas (quotes, orders, reports, dispatch and invoices) and, optionally, the hourly cost. The calculator shows hours and euros a year. The area with the most hours is the candidate for the first job you hand to software.

What you fill in and tick stays in this browser window only. Nothing is sent unless you ask for your result by email. It is gone when you close the page, so print your result.

For owners and managing directors of companies where people retype data from emails, spreadsheets and paper into another system every day. It takes two minutes. An estimate is enough, you do not need exact numbers.

Since 2023 we have delivered 15+ production projects. Before every project we do exactly this: first we find out what the work costs today, and only then decide whether it is worth handing to software.

1. Fill in the hours

Write how many hours a week all people together spend on manual work in each area. The hourly cost is optional: the monthly total employer cost of one person divided by 168. Without it you see hours only.

AreaHours a week, everyone togetherHourly cost (€)€ a week
Quotes: a request from an email retyped into a quote0
Orders: from email or phone into the system0
Reports: hours, mileage, reports for management0
Dispatch: who goes where and when, calls and retyping the plan0
Invoices: issuing, matching payments, checking0
Total a year (48 working weeks)00

2. How to read the result

  • The area with the most hours is the candidate for the first job to take off your plate. Not the one that annoys you most.
  • Hours matter more than euros. The time people get back goes to sales and customers, not to more retyping.
  • The estimate comes from your numbers, not our promise. How much of it software really takes over depends on how similar the inputs are and how many exceptions there are.
  • If the number came out small, that is a result too. Sometimes cleaning up one spreadsheet is enough and nothing needs to be built.
  • The other half of the calculation is what software would return and when it pays for itself. For that, use the automation ROI calculator.

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Checklist and calculator: what manual work in Excel costs you

Five signs a spreadsheet is no longer enough, and how to keep it tidy until then.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the hourly cost of the work?
Divide the monthly total employer cost of the person doing the work by 168, roughly the number of working hours in a month. If you do not know it, leave the field empty and you see hours only.
Why does the calculator use 48 weeks?
A year has 52 weeks, but nobody retypes data during holidays. 48 working weeks is a cautious estimate.
How many of these hours will software save?
That depends on how similar the inputs are and how many exceptions there are. The calculator shows what the work costs today, not how much you save. It is an estimate from your numbers, not our promise.
Do you store the numbers I enter?
No. Everything stays in this browser window only and is gone when you close the page. You can print the result or save it as a PDF.

Which job is it?

Tell us one job people do by hand. Within two business days we reply whether it is worth automating. No call needed. The next step is taking that first job off your plate.

Tell us which work you want off your plateOr a 15-minute intro call