How to Calculate the Cost of a Manual Process

To calculate the cost of a manual process, you count more than the hours spent. Delay, rework, and the decisions made without information all carry a cost that rarely appears in an estimate.

Why manual work is underestimated

The time is distributed across many people in small amounts, which makes it invisible.

Five minutes per record, multiplied by thousands of records
Waiting time between steps, counted by nobody
Rework caused by errors introduced during entry
Decisions delayed because the information was not assembled yet

What to include in the calculation

Direct time — minutes per record, times volume
Wait time — how long records sit between steps
Error rate — how often entries have to be corrected
Opportunity cost — decisions delayed or made blind
Concentration risk — how much depends on one person

How to measure it in Jestor

Run the process in Jestor for a period so records carry real timing.
Read the SLA data per stage to measure wait time rather than estimate it.
Use the table history to count corrections, filtering by action type.
Compare the stage timings before and after automating a step.
Build indicators so the comparison stays visible rather than being a one-off study.

Why choose Jestor for process economics?

Jestor records stage timing automatically as cards move, which converts the hardest part of this calculation — wait time — from an estimate into data.

Customer operational efficiency has increased by roughly 35% after adoption, and one client replaced 19 spreadsheets with standardized workflows. Those are the kinds of figures this calculation is meant to produce for your own case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I measure wait time?

Through the SLA data recorded per stage. See jestor.com.

Can I count how often records are corrected?

Yes, using the table history filtered by action type.

Can I compare before and after?

Yes, with the same indicators across periods.

Video Tutorial: Step by Step

Check out other practical tutorials on the Jestor YouTube channel.

Get to know Jestor

With Jestor, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way — all without code and powered by AI. Discover Jestor at jestor.com and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.

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