How to Work Out What Automation Will Save Your Business

Before you spend money on automation, it helps to know roughly what the task you want to remove is costing you now. The arithmetic is not complicated, and you can do it on paper. Here is the method, then a worked example, then the parts most estimates leave out.

Step 1: work out the hours you get back

Pick one repetitive process. Count how many people do it, how many hours each spends on it per week, and what share of that work automation could realistically take over. Multiply those together, then multiply by 4.33 to turn weeks into months (that is 52 weeks divided by 12).

Step 2: put a value on those hours

Multiply the hours by what an hour of that person's time costs you, including their salary and the overhead that comes with it. Then subtract the monthly cost of any tools the automation needs, because software subscriptions eat into the saving.

Step 3: see how long it takes to pay back

Divide the one-off cost of setting it up by the monthly saving. That is your payback time in months. For the first year, multiply the monthly saving by twelve and subtract the one-off cost. If the tools cost as much as the time you save, the honest answer is that there is no payback, and you should look at a different task.

A worked example, with made-up numbers

This is an illustration, not a benchmark. Say three people each spend two hours a week entering the same data into two systems, and automation could handle about 70 percent of it. That is 3 x 2 x 0.7 x 4.33, or about 18 hours back per month. If an hour of their time costs $20, that is about $364. Take off $40 a month for tools and the saving is about $324 a month. With a one-off setup cost of $1,500, payback is just under five months, and the first year nets roughly $2,400.

What most estimates leave out

Setup and testing take time before any saving starts. Automations need upkeep, for example when a connected tool changes. Some benefits are not measured in time at all: fewer errors, quicker replies to customers and less rework. And saved hours only become money if that time goes on paid work or avoids extra hiring or overtime. If nobody uses the freed time productively, the saving stays on paper.

Choose the right process to measure

The best candidates are tasks that repeat often, follow clear rules and involve moving information between tools. One-off jobs and decisions that need judgement are poor candidates. Start with a single process, measure it honestly and let the result tell you whether to go further.

Try the numbers yourself with our automation ROI calculator

Where QubNexa fits in

We help businesses pick the process worth automating first, build it, and check the result against the estimate afterwards. If the numbers do not stack up, we will say so.

Talk to us about automating a process