Audit · 6 min read · Published October 31, 2026
The busywork calculator: how many hours a week your operations really cost
Repeat work is cheap per minute and expensive per month. This page puts a number on one task in thirty seconds. The audit does the same thing for a whole week.
An estimate of current cost, not a promise of savings. Times × minutes × people × 52 ÷ 12.
Enter the numbers above to see the monthly cost.
The short answer
Times a week, multiplied by minutes each, multiplied by the people who do it, gives minutes a week. Multiply by 52 and divide by 12 for a month, then by 60 for hours. Multiply the hours by a loaded hourly cost and you have the monthly cost of one task.
A task done 35 times a week, 12 minutes each, by three people, at USD 45 an hour, costs about 91 hours and USD 4,095 a month. That is the calculator's default, and it is a small task.
Why the calculator asks for four numbers
Times a week. Count occurrences, not days. An invoice run that happens every day is five; an enquiry that arrives seven times a day is 35.
Minutes each. The full handling time, including the lookups, the typing into the second system and the follow-up message, not just the visible step. People underestimate this by half, so when in doubt, time three occurrences.
People doing it. Everyone who touches the task. If one person starts it and another checks it, that is two.
Hourly cost. The loaded cost of the people, not the salary alone. For a US operations role, somewhere between USD 35 and 60 an hour is a reasonable range (estimate). For a fee earner in a law firm, use the billing rate, because that is what the hour would otherwise have earned.
What the number does and does not say
The output is the current cost of the task. It is not a promise of savings. A system rarely removes a task entirely; it removes the handling and leaves the exceptions. In our experience the exceptions are 10 to 20 percent of occurrences (estimate), which is why the audit agrees a number for hours returned rather than hours eliminated.
The number also says nothing about the errors a task produces, the days a quote waits, or the client who heard back late. Those are measured separately at the audit, and they are usually the figures the leadership team cares about more.
The method we use at the audit
The audit is thirty minutes on a call with the owner or operating lead and the person who runs the work. We go through one typical week, in order, and ask the same question at each step: does this have a number attached?
| Step | What we ask | What we write down |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The week | What arrives, what goes out, what gets compiled | A list of 8 to 15 repeated tasks |
| 2. The count | Times, minutes, people for each | Hours a month per task |
| 3. The cost | Loaded hourly cost by role | Dollars a month per task |
| 4. The pain | Errors, delays, things that fall through | A second number where one exists: days to invoice, no-show rate, error rate |
| 5. The pick | Which task has the clearest number and the fewest exceptions | The first workflow, and its target |
Within 24 hours you have a one-page summary: the tasks, the hours, the dollars, the first workflow we would move and the number we would agree to be measured on.
Where the hours usually hide
Eight places we look in almost every company, whatever the sector:
- The same information typed twice. An order in the email, then in the confirmation, then in the invoice, then in the accounting system.
- Chasing. Documents, signatures, payments and answers, chased when someone remembers.
- Status questions. Where is my order, where is my case, when is my appointment, answered one at a time.
- Compiling. The Friday report, the month-end pack, the stock count reconciled to the accounting system.
- Lookups. Three systems checked before a quote or an answer can go out.
- Confirmations and reminders. Sent by hand or not sent at all.
- Approvals. Waiting on one person for routine decisions that follow a rule.
- The owner's inbox. Everything that still comes back to you because nobody else has the context.
What to do with your number
If the task is under 20 hours a month, it is probably not worth a system on its own; group it with the others at the audit. Between 20 and 60 hours, it is a good first workflow: one trigger, one outcome, built in two weeks. Above 60, it is usually several tasks wearing one name, and the audit will split it.
Book the audit with your number attached and we start from there.
Questions, answered.
Is the calculator's result a saving?
No. It is the current cost of the task. A system returns most of those hours and leaves the exceptions with a person; the figure we agree to be measured on is hours returned, set at the audit.
What hourly cost should I use?
The loaded cost of the people doing the work, salary plus overheads, or the billing rate if the person would otherwise be billing. If you are unsure, use USD 45 and adjust at the audit.
How accurate is it?
As accurate as the four inputs. People usually underestimate minutes per occurrence by about half, so time three real occurrences before you trust the number.
Does the audit cost anything?
No. Thirty minutes, free, and you leave with a written number within 24 hours.
Get your number.
Thirty minutes. Free. You leave with a number. Or write to hello@outwerk.ai.