Not everything is worth automating. Rather than automating randomly, teams should use financial calculations to identify workflows with the highest return on investment.
The Core Principle
Automation isn't magic. It's math. Quantify pain points before building automation solutions.
The Basic Formula
Annual Hours = Frequency x Duration x 52 x People
With typical labor costs of $60-$90 per hour, even modest time savings compound quickly.
Three Cost Multipliers
Labor savings alone understate the value. Add these multipliers:
- Revenue uplift from faster processing
- Error-related expenses (refunds, penalties, rework)
- Compliance and regulatory risks
Practical Example: Lead Routing
Consider a lead routing workflow: 40 leads per week, 6 minutes each, across 2 people. That generates 416 annual hours, or $31,200 in labor cost alone.
Add revenue gains from faster response ($50,000) and avoided penalties ($8,000), and the total annual value reaches $89,200.
Making the Case
Don't tell executives a process "saves time." Tell them: "This is worth $89K." Financial framing changes the conversation from cost center to investment.