It hides in small pieces
Ten minutes retyping an order, fifteen checking an invoice, a quick call to see whether a request came in. Nobody sees it as a project, so nobody adds it up. That is exactly why it stays.
COSTSROI CALCULATORWhat does manual work cost your organisation?
Retyping, checking, chasing, fixing mistakes. Work out in one minute what it costs each year, using your own figures.
4.8 from 127 reviews
ISO 9001 & 27001500 projects delivered
Built for clients including Tata Steel, M&G Investments, Digistore24, Toppers in Concert, Bar-le-Duc and Loogman
ROI calculator
The same method we use in the AI Opportunity Audit: hours multiplied by what those hours cost, plus time spent fixing mistakes.
What this work costs now€59,800per year, 1,196 hours. That's €4,983 a month.Based on 46 working weeks a year and only the figures you enter above. Revenue lost to work that is left waiting is not included.
Guide
Manual work goes unnoticed because it is spread over many people and many small moments. Added up over a year, it is often the biggest cost nobody has in view.
Fixing mistakes counts too
Anyone moving data by hand from one system to another makes mistakes. Those mistakes cost time again: working out what happened, correcting it, explaining to the customer what went wrong. That rework belongs in the sum, which is why the calculator asks for it separately.
When does automation pay off?
When the work comes up often, the rules are largely fixed and the current work costs more than building and running a solution. If the rules are fixed and the input is clean, an integration is often enough. Only when language or judgement is involved does an AI model come in.
- Fixed rules, clean input: automation
- Free text or varying documents: AI
- Many exceptions or serious consequences: a person decides
From this figure to a decision
The calculator gives you an order of magnitude. In the AI Opportunity Audit we work it out precisely for each process, with the people who do the work, and set the cost of building and running a solution next to it. If the sum comes out negative, the report says so.
Who you'll talk to
Send us your result and we'll go through it with you: which part automation, AI or an integration can take over, and which part it can't.
- Office on the Duivendrechtsekade in Amsterdam
- ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, certified by Kiwa
- 500 projects delivered
- 4.8 from 127 reviews
Frequently asked questions
How does the calculator work out what manual work costs?
The number of people multiplied by the hours they spend on the work each week, plus the hours spent fixing mistakes. We multiply that by the hourly cost including employer costs and by 46 working weeks a year. It only uses your own figures; there is no assumption about savings.
Why doesn't the calculator show a saving?
Because how much you win back differs per process. Sometimes an integration between two systems takes over almost all of the work; sometimes a lot of exception handling stays with a person. We work that out in the AI Opportunity Audit instead of guessing it with a slider.
What else counts towards the cost of manual work?
Revenue that slips because work isn't picked up, or is picked up too late: a quote that goes out a day later, a customer query left waiting, an invoice sent late. That isn't in the calculator, but it does count in the audit.
Which hourly cost should I enter?
What an hour of work costs the organisation: gross salary plus employer costs such as pension, social security contributions and holiday pay. If you don't know exactly, pick one of the example amounts; the result is meant as an order of magnitude.
When does automation or AI pay off?
When the work comes up often, the rules are largely fixed and the current work costs more than building and running a solution. Work where every situation is different, or where a mistake has serious consequences without anyone checking, is better left with a person.
What is the AI Opportunity Audit?
A five-working-day review of where AI, automation or new software genuinely adds value in your organisation. You provide an intake and three to five interviews; the report shows what things cost now, which three opportunities are worth the most and what we would not do.