How much is manual work quietly costing your business?
Most owners have never put a number on it. Answer 6 quick questions and see the hours — and the pounds — that repetitive work drains every year.
Your week, honestly
For each task, roughly how many hours a week does your whole team together spend on it? Guess if you have to — a rough number is enough. Put 0 if it doesn't apply.
The UK median is about £20/hr (ONS, 2025). Once you add employer National Insurance, pension and overheads, the real cost of an hour is often £25+ — slide to your figure.
Add at least a few hours to one task to get your number.
Here's your number
£0
is what manual work costs you a year — roughly 0 hours every week, or 0 working weeks a year on tasks that don't grow the business.
This never shows up on an invoice. It hides inside salaries you already pay — which is exactly why it never gets cut. The good news: most of it doesn't need a human at all.
Where to start — your top 5 to automate first
Ranked by the pounds each one puts back in your pocket. This is the plan we'd start from.
Illustrative estimate — your real figure depends on your team and processes. Hourly cost anchored to ONS median pay, 2025.