Decision calculators
Manual work cost calculator — what spreadsheets cost you per year
Manual data entry rarely shows up in a cost breakdown, because nobody invoices you for it. You still pay for it every month, through salaries. This calculator turns "we all lose a bit of time on this" into a concrete annual figure, and shows the budget at which automation starts paying for itself.
Free · no signup · runs in your browser
Your situation
Count only the people who actually re-key data, not the whole team.
Re-keying data, manual reports, copying between systems.
Full employer cost, not take-home pay.
No idea? Start from PLN 10,000 for a standard system.
For processes built on re-keying data, the realistic range is usually 50-80%.
Result
Annual cost of manual work
PLN 66,240
Based on 46 working weeks per year.
Hours per year
828
Time your team gives up to repetitive tasks.
Annual saving after automation
PLN 39,744
At the automation level you set.
Payback on the project
4 months
After this many months the project breaks even.
Saving over 5 years
PLN 198,720
Excluding salary growth.
See what a system that removes this would cost
Get a ballpark instantly in our quote calculator. A human replies to your first message within 24 hours, and we prepare a firm quote after a short call.
Estimate your project in 2 minHow it works
- 01
Describe the scale
How many people do repetitive manual work, how many hours a week each of them loses to it, and what an hour of their time costs the company.
- 02
Estimate what can be removed
Not every step can be automated. The automation slider lets you compare a conservative and an optimistic scenario side by side.
- 03
Read the cost and payback point
You get the annual cost, the annual saving after automation and how many months a project of a given budget needs to break even.
Assumptions and limits
- Cost per hour means the full employer cost, not take-home pay - entering a net rate will understate the result.
- We assume 46 working weeks per year (52 minus holidays and public holidays). That is an assumption, not a statistic.
- The calculator ignores indirect costs: errors caused by re-keying, delayed invoicing, and turnover among people bored by repetitive work. The real cost is usually higher than the number shown.
- The payback point excludes running costs. To include them, add a maintenance retainer from PLN 500/month to the project budget field.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know how many hours we lose per week? +
The simplest way is to ask the team directly, or to time one repetitive task for a week. With no data at all, start from a conservative estimate and check whether the result is still uncomfortably high - that alone usually justifies measuring properly.
Can 100% of this work be automated? +
Almost never. For processes built on re-keying data the realistic range is usually 50-80%, because exceptions and human judgement remain. That is why the automation slider defaults below the maximum.
What does a system that removes this cost? +
It depends on scope. Automating a single process starts from PLN 3,000, a standard system from PLN 10,000, and a custom rollout covering several processes from PLN 25,000. You get a ballpark for your case instantly from our quote calculator, and a firm quote after a short call.
Does my data go anywhere? +
No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, no results are stored and we do not ask for your email.
Turn the numbers into a project
Get a ballpark instantly, a reply from a human within 24 hours and a firm quote after a short call. No obligation.
Estimate your project in 2 min