Free calculator

What would automation be worth to you — in euros?

Pick the processes that cost you time, enter your team size and hourly rate, and set your budget against them. You immediately see how much time and money is freed up, when the investment pays for itself — and which process contributes most.

The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Without JavaScript you see the starting values and the method here — enough to redo the rough calculation by hand.

Starting values per process
Process	Hrs/week (one person doing it)	of that automatable
Recurring customer enquiries Answering the same questions about prices, delivery times or responsibilities over and over.	4.0	55 %
Quotes & estimates Gathering line items, copying text blocks, formatting the document, following up.	3.0	60 %
Creating & checking documents Writing or reviewing reports, minutes, forms and contracts by hand.	3.0	50 %
Moving data between systems Re-typing the same details into CRM, accounting and spreadsheets.	2.5	85 %
Invoices & receipts Writing invoices, sorting receipts, matching payments, sending reminders.	2.5	70 %
Reports & analytics Collecting figures from several sources and reworking them every month.	2.0	75 %
Appointments & reminders Arranging dates by email, sending confirmations, chasing deadlines.	1.5	80 %

Prefer to talk directly? Free initial call

What the calculator measures — and what it doesn't

It estimates how much working time sits in processes that can be fully or partly automated, values that time at your fully loaded cost and sets your budget against it. Three figures come out: the net saving in the first year, the point at which the investment has paid for itself, and the return. What it cannot do: judge the quality of your data, model special cases, or predict how quickly your team adopts the new processes.

Recurring customer enquiries

55%

Answering the same questions about prices, delivery times or responsibilities over and over.

Typical leverage compared

Quotes & estimates

60%

Gathering line items, copying text blocks, formatting the document, following up.

Typical leverage compared

Creating & checking documents

50%

Writing or reviewing reports, minutes, forms and contracts by hand.

Typical leverage compared

Moving data between systems

85%

Re-typing the same details into CRM, accounting and spreadsheets.

Typical leverage compared

Invoices & receipts

70%

Writing invoices, sorting receipts, matching payments, sending reminders.

Typical leverage compared

Reports & analytics

75%

Collecting figures from several sources and reworking them every month.

Typical leverage compared

Appointments & reminders

80%

Arranging dates by email, sending confirmations, chasing deadlines.

Typical leverage compared

How should I read my payback period?

How to read the payback period
Grade	months	Assessment
A	0–5	Pays for itself very quickly. The investment is recouped in under six months. At that scale a first step is usually defensible without lengthy deliberation.
B	6–11	Pays for itself within the first year. The investment has paid for itself within twelve months. This is the range most automation projects fall into.
C	12–23	Pays for itself in the medium term. The effort does pay off, but it needs patience. Check whether the scope can be cut down for the start — a smaller first step almost always pays back faster.
D	24 and above	Does not add up in this form. On these assumptions the effort outweighs the benefit for the foreseeable future. Either the scope is too large — or automation simply isn't the right tool here. Both are legitimate outcomes.

Why a range instead of a single figure?

Because every figure in this calculation rests on an estimate — your own. A result accurate to the euro would fake a certainty that does not exist. The calculator therefore shows three values: a cautious assumption you can plan with, the realistic middle, and an optimistic upper bound in case more takes hold than expected.

For the question of whether automation is worth it for you at all there is a second tool: the AI potential check asks about your working day instead of figures and needs no preparation. Together they give a solid picture — the check answers whether, this calculator answers how much.

Frequently asked questions

How reliable is the result?

It is a rough calculation, not a quote. The starting values are experience-based and explicitly meant to be overwritten — the closer your own figures are to reality, the more solid the result. That is also why the calculator gives a range rather than a single number.

Why do I have to enter an investment?

Because a saving without anything set against it is not a return. Only once setup effort and running costs are weighed against it can you say from when something pays for itself. The default corresponds to the middle of our published price ranges — overwrite it with the quote you actually have, even if it comes from somebody else.

What does the hourly rate mean?

The fully loaded cost of one working hour, not the gross wage: salary plus employer contributions, workplace, software and downtime. For employees this figure is usually well above what appears on the payslip. Anyone using only the hourly wage underestimates the saving.

Are my entries stored?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser — nothing is transmitted to us and nothing is stored with us. Your entries appear only in this page's address bar so you can pass the result on as a link or open it again later. Where that link goes is entirely your decision.

Does this mean cutting staff?

In most small and mid-sized businesses, no — the time gained goes into work that had been piling up. The calculator therefore values those hours as cost, not as redundancies. Whether you book the gain as relief or as extra capacity is your decision.

What if the result is small?

Then that is useful information. A low result means your processes are already lean or the tasks involved come up too rarely. We will tell you that just as plainly in conversation, rather than selling you a project that doesn't add up.

How we realise these savings

You do not have to commission any of this from us — much of it can be done in-house. If you would like support, this is what we actually do.

Automation Connecting and replacing recurring processes — from quote to invoice. AI tool consulting Choosing and introducing the tools that fit your tasks and your data protection requirements. SEO & AI search Being found — in Google and in the answers given by AI systems. Marketing Turning visibility into real enquiries, with AI speeding the work up rather than replacing it. Websites & web platforms From a one-pager for a small trade business to a platform with user accounts and interfaces. Managed service Operation, maintenance and further development, so that what has been built keeps running.

In a free intro call we will tell you plainly which of these will do something for you — and which will not. Including when the honest answer is “none”.

You've seen the number — what now?

In a free 30-minute call we check your assumptions, name the process with the greatest leverage and tell you what a first step realistically costs. No sales pressure — and an honest no if the effort doesn't add up for you.

Book your free initial call Check your potential in 2 minutes

What would automation be worth to you — in euros?

What the calculator measures — and what it doesn't

Recurring customer enquiries

Quotes & estimates

Creating & checking documents

Moving data between systems

Invoices & receipts

Reports & analytics

Appointments & reminders

How should I read my payback period?

Why a range instead of a single figure?

Frequently asked questions

How we realise these savings

Ready to really put AI to work?