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Automation time savings calculator

List the small tasks you repeat by hand, how long each takes and how often you do it. See how many hours a year automation would give back and what that time is worth.

Tasks you do by hand

32 h a year · $2,400

40 h a year · $3,000

18 h a year · $1,350

Your billable rate, or what you'd pay someone to do it.

Some runs still need a human check. Use 80 if you review each one.

52 minus vacation and holidays.

Your time building and testing the automation.

Hours saved per year

90 h

Value of that time
$6,750
Per week
1.9 h
Per month
7.5 h
Full 8-hour days
11.3
Setup pays for itself in
1.6 weeks

Time saved only turns into money if you use it for paid work or sales. Estimates only. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

The formula

  • Runs per year = times per day × workdays per week × working weeks, or times per week × working weeks, or times per month × 12.
  • Hours saved per year = minutes per run × runs per year × share automated ÷ 60.
  • Value = hours saved × your hourly value.
  • Payback = setup hours ÷ hours saved per working week.

Example: a 10-minute follow-up email after each call, 4 calls a week, 48 working weeks. That's 1,920 minutes, or 32 hours a year. At $75 an hour it's $2,400 of time, and a 3-hour setup pays for itself in under 5 weeks.

How to find tasks worth automating

For one week, write down every small admin task the moment you do it and roughly how long it took. The good candidates repeat, follow the same steps every time and start from a clear event: a form response, a booked call, a proposal that was viewed but not accepted, an invoice paid. Copying the same details from one place to another is a strong sign.

Be honest with the inputs

Lower the share automated if you'll still review each email before it goes. Use your billable rate only if you can actually sell the freed hours; otherwise use what you'd pay an assistant. And remember the things the total leaves out: replies that go out at once instead of the next morning, and follow-ups that no longer depend on your memory.

This calculator assumes the task disappears. If an AI writes a draft that you still read before it goes out, use the AI time savings calculator, which subtracts your review time.

IN SHORT

Yearly hours saved = minutes per task × times per year × share automated ÷ 60. A 10-minute follow-up email 4 times a week over 48 working weeks is 32 hours a year; at $75 an hour that's $2,400. Add every repeated task, subtract the hours it takes to set up the automation, and the payback period is setup hours divided by hours saved per week.

Prices and limits as of .

Questions

How do you calculate time saved by automation?
Multiply the minutes a task takes by how many times you do it in a year, then divide by 60 for hours. Multiply by your hourly value to put a price on it. Reduce it if you still check each run by hand.
What hourly value should I use?
Your billable rate if the freed time goes to client work, or what you'd pay an assistant if you'd otherwise delegate the task. Using your billable rate assumes you can fill those hours.
Which tasks are worth automating first?
Ones that happen often, follow the same steps each time and start from a clear event: a form response, a booking, a sent proposal or a paid invoice. Follow-up emails and moving a contact to the next stage are typical.
How long until an automation pays for itself?
Divide the hours it takes to build and test by the hours it saves per week. A 3-hour setup that saves 1 hour a week pays back in 3 weeks.
Is it worth automating a 2-minute task?
If it happens 10 times a day, yes: that's 80 hours a year at 5 days a week for 48 weeks. Frequency matters more than how long one run takes.
What doesn't this calculator count?
Fewer mistakes, faster replies to clients and not having to remember things. They're real but hard to price, so they aren't in the total.

Let the follow-ups send themselves

SoloWOS Automations sends an email, moves a contact or adds a task when a form is filled out, a meeting is booked, a proposal is accepted or an invoice is paid. 14 days free, no card needed · Then Basic for $2/month.

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