How does the calculator work?
It multiplies the number of tasks per week by minutes per task to get your current monthly time (using 4.33 weeks per month). It then takes only the share you consider truly repetitive, and subtracts the time your team will still spend reviewing each automated task. Optionally, it converts freed hours into rupees using your own loaded hourly cost.
Why do we include review time?
Because good automation keeps a person in charge. If staff review drafts or approve actions, that time is real and should be counted. Many ROI calculators ignore it, which makes their numbers look better than reality. Our stop rule approach is designed to keep review time small, but not zero.
How do you get good input numbers?
- Tasks per week: count for one normal week. WhatsApp chat exports, helpdesk reports or a simple tally sheet all work.
- Minutes per task: time a few real examples, including lookups and copy-paste.
- Repetitive share: be conservative. Exclude anything needing judgement, negotiation or empathy.
- Review time: estimate how long checking or approving one automated output takes, often well under a minute for simple drafts.
- Loaded hourly cost: salary plus overheads divided by working hours. Use your own figure.
What should you compare the result with?
Compare freed hours and their value with the build and running costs of automation. Our AI automation cost guide explains those costs and lists prices some agencies publish. Also ask what the freed time will be used for. Time is only valuable if it goes to better work: faster responses, more follow-ups, better care.
What does the calculator not capture?
Faster response times, consistency, out-of-hours coverage and fewer dropped leads can matter more than hours saved, but they're specific to your business, so we don't guess them. Discuss them in a consultation. See also chatbot vs hiring staff.
Worked example of the arithmetic
How do we apply this in client work?
Everything on this page feeds into how we run pilots. We start with a consultation to understand the process and the people involved, then write a one-page scope: the trigger, inputs, steps, outputs, a success measure and a stop rule that says what the agent may do alone, what needs approval and when it must hand over. We build inside the tools you already use, test on real or realistic cases including awkward ones, and review the results with your team before anyone talks about expanding.
We keep a few habits on every project: we never publish invented results, we label examples as illustrations, we list third-party costs separately, and we say so plainly when something isn't worth automating yet. If that sounds like the kind of partner you want, read the pilot process or message us on WhatsApp.
What should you prepare before talking to us?
You don't need a technical brief. A useful first conversation needs only a few things, and gathering them is valuable even if you never work with us:
- The process in plain words: what triggers it, who does what, and where it usually goes wrong.
- Rough volumes: how many messages, orders, tickets or invoices per week. A one-week tally is enough.
- Your tools: WhatsApp app or API, CRM, sheets, accounting or helpdesk software, including versions or plans where you know them.
- Three real examples: typical messages or cases, plus one awkward one, with personal details removed.
- What must never happen: the mistakes that would hurt most. These become the first lines of your stop rule.
- An owner: the person who will review the workflow once it runs.
Send these on WhatsApp or by email, or run the pilot scorecard first.