Work Toolkit · planner

Automation Value & Cost Planner

Plan a before-and-after workflow comparison while keeping released capacity, direct costs and one-time setup assumptions separate.

CompareUnderstandPlan

COMPARE THE SAME WORKFLOW

Enter current and proposed assumptions.

Nothing entered here is saved or sent to OpenSkool.

Need a starting point?Load a clearly labelled fictional monthly workflow example.

Workflow name (optional)

A. Workload

Completed workflow runs per month *

runs

B. Current process

Average human minutes per completed run *

minutes

C. Proposed process

Average remaining human minutes per completed run *

minutes

Include expected average review, exception handling and rework per completed run.

Additional human maintenance per month *

hours

Do not duplicate effort already included in the per-run figure.

D. Direct costs

Currency symbol for every monetary input

This planner displays one currency and does not perform conversions.

Current monthly tool/service cost allocated to this workflow *

Proposed monthly tool/service cost allocated to this workflow *

Allocate shared costs consistently and avoid double counting.

One-time setup cash cost *

Keep this separate from setup effort in hours.

E. Optional context

One-time setup effort (optional)

hours

Hourly value assigned to human time (optional)

An assumption for valuing capacity, not evidence of cash savings. Existing salaries are not automatically avoidable costs.

COMPARE THE RESULT

Your workflow comparison will appear here.

Enter one monthly workload for both processes. The planner will keep recurring time, direct monthly costs and one-time setup separate.

HOW WE CALCULATED THIS

The formula stays visible.

Each result uses only the values you enter. The tool does not add hidden assumptions.

Current recurring human hours: Monthly completed runs × current minutes per run ÷ 60
Proposed recurring human hours: Monthly completed runs × proposed remaining minutes per run ÷ 60 + monthly maintenance hours
Net recurring hours released: Current recurring hours − proposed recurring hours
Direct monthly cost change: Proposed monthly direct cost − current monthly direct cost

UNDERSTAND BEFORE YOU DECIDE

What the comparison can—and cannot—tell you.

Compare one workflow boundary

Use the same completed monthly workload and outcome definition for both processes. Changing the volume or boundary makes the comparison answer a different question.

Released time is capacity

A positive time result identifies estimated capacity. It becomes useful value only when that capacity improves an outcome, and existing salaries are not automatically avoidable costs.

Keep setup and operation separate

One-time cash cost and setup effort remain visible outside recurring monthly time and direct costs so the planner does not imply unsupported ROI or payback.

This planning comparison uses only your assumptions. It does not prove suitability, safety, productivity gains, cash savings, investment approval or a case for replacing employees.