Automation proposals often claim huge savings that nobody checks afterwards. A better habit is to estimate the saving before you build, with numbers you measured, and to review the actual result three months later. This method is simple enough for a spreadsheet and strict enough to stop you building things that save nothing.
Step 1: time the task
Measure the real time, not the remembered time, over a normal week. Ask two or three people to note the minutes for each repetition, including the small delays: opening files, finding the right customer, asking someone to approve. Take the average.
Step 2: count the volume
How many times per week or month is the task done, across all staff? Check against records, such as the number of invoices issued or enquiries received, rather than estimates from memory.
Step 3: convert to money
| Line | Example |
|---|---|
| Minutes per task | 6 |
| Tasks per month | 900 |
| Hours per month | 90 |
| Loaded cost per hour (salary, visa, insurance, desk) | AED 45 |
| Monthly time cost | AED 4,050 |
| Share the automation removes | 80 percent, so AED 3,240 per month |
Step 4: add the cost of errors and delays
Include what mistakes cost you: invoices issued wrong, orders missed, leads answered late. If one in fifty orders retyped from WhatsApp has an error costing AED 150 to fix, and you have 400 orders a month, errors cost about AED 1,200. Late replies are harder to price, but tie them to the lead value as in the lead response process.
Step 5: compare with build and running cost
- One-time cost to design, build, test and train.
- Monthly running cost: hosting, message fees, support and maintenance.
- Payback period equals build cost divided by monthly net savings.
If payback is longer than a year, look for a cheaper solution or a different task first. Many good automations repay in three to six months.
Step 6: be honest about what staff will do with the time
Saved hours only become money if the time is used: more sales calls, faster collections, fewer overtime hours or growth without hiring. Decide in advance where the time goes, or you have made people's days easier but not changed the numbers. That is a fair benefit but should not be sold as profit.
Review after three months
Measure the same task again. Compare the real saving with the estimate, and note what you would do differently. Keep a register of automations with their results; it teaches the company where automation works. For ideas on what to automate see automation ideas for UAE SMEs, and for services see business automation in Dubai. Tell us your most repetitive task and we will help you estimate it.