Hours-lost worksheet
By Tom Hunt · Updated October 2026
Every people business - businesses that sell their people's expertise and time: agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants - loses hours to the manual work between apps. This worksheet turns 'it feels like a lot' into a number: log a normal week, total it by task, and you know what to fix first. Then test the fix in the automation ROI calculator.
HOURS-LOST WORKSHEET - [Firm name] Week of: [date] Fill in one row per person, per repetitive task. Log real minutes for one normal week. Person | Role | Task | Apps involved | Times a week | Minutes each | Minutes a week | Hours a week -------|------|------|---------------|--------------|--------------|----------------|------------- [Name] | [role] | [e.g. weekly client status email] | [apps] | [#] | [#] | [times x minutes] | [minutes / 60] [Name] | | | | | | | [Name] | | | | | | | TOTALS BY TASK Task | People doing it | Hours a week (all people) | Hours a year (x [46] working weeks) | Loaded hourly cost | Cost a year -----|-----------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------|------------ [Task] | [#] | [#] | [#] | [amount] | [hours a year x cost] TOP THREE TO FIX FIRST 1. [Task] - [hours a year] - [what a fix would look like] 2. 3.
pick a version, copy it, or download as .docx or .pdf - then make it yours.
How to fill it in
Pick a normal week
Avoid holiday weeks and month-end crunches unless that is the problem you want to measure.
Log minutes, not impressions
Ask people to note the time as they go. End-of-week recall is much less reliable.
Total by task
The same task done by six people is one fix, not six. Add it up across the team.
Use a loaded cost
Value the hours at what they really cost - salary plus taxes, benefits and overheads - not at the billing rate.
For example: one task, totalled
A realistic, filled-in version - so you can see what good looks like before you start.
Task: weekly client status email People doing it: 6 account leads Times a week: 4 clients each | Minutes each: 25 Hours a week (all people): 6 x 4 x 25 / 60 = 10 Hours a year (x 46 weeks): 460 Loaded hourly cost: $55 -> cost a year: $25,300 (Example figures, for illustration only - use your own week of logging.)
Common mistakes
- Guessing the hours instead of logging a real week.
- Counting each person separately and missing that it is one task to fix.
- Valuing time at the billing rate instead of the loaded cost.
- Treating the result as a headcount cut. The point is hours back for the work only your people can do.
Want the hours counted for you?
On a two-week ops audit we talk to your team, count the hours lost across the firm and scope the builds that give them back. $2,500 / £2,000, credited to your first month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure the hours my team loses to manual work?
Pick the repetitive tasks - status updates, chasing, rekeying, report building - and ask each person to log the minutes they spend on them for one normal week. Multiply up to a year.
Why measure for a week instead of guessing?
Guesses tend to be off in both directions. A week of real logging gives you a number you can trust when you decide what to fix first.
What do I do with the total?
Rank the tasks by hours a year, then put the top one into the automation ROI calculator to see whether a fix pays back.