Lumox has a small Manual Work Cost Calculator for putting a number against one repeated task before deciding whether to change it.
It is free to use, with no signup. Five inputs produce weekly hours, annual hours and an annual labour-cost baseline. The calculation happens in your browser; entered calculator values are not sent to Lumox.
A worked example
The illustrative defaults are:
- 10 repetitions per week
- 15 minutes per repetition, per person
- 3 people involved each time
- 48 working weeks per year
- AUD60 loaded hourly cost
That gives 7.5 hours a week, 360 hours a year and AUD21,600 in annual labour cost. These are example assumptions, not a client result or a promised saving.
The arithmetic is deliberately visible:
annual hours = repetitions/week × minutes ÷ 60 × people × working weeks
annual labour cost = annual hours × loaded hourly cost
Count active effort, rather than the time something sits in an approval queue. If different roles spend different amounts of time or have different hourly costs, calculate them separately and add the results. Avoid counting the same effort twice.
What it does not answer
The baseline does not tell you how much work can safely disappear. Exceptions, necessary judgement, change costs and ongoing support still matter. Simplifying the process or using an existing product may be enough; custom software is one possible outcome.
Try the calculator, or use the blank workflow worksheet to collect assumptions first. Keep business figures in your own private copy.
If you try it, which assumption would you want made more explicit before using the result in a software decision?
Top comments (0)