How Much Is Manual Work Costing You?
This ROI calculator helps businesses understand the true cost of manual, repetitive work and the potential savings from automation. Input your team size, salary costs, hours spent on manual tasks, error rates, and growth projections to receive a comprehensive analysis including: total current costs (labor, errors, opportunity cost), potential annual savings, hours reclaimed, FTE equivalent, and 3-year projected savings. Perfect for building a business case for automation investments.
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export function automationRoiQuiz(form: FormTs) {
form.setTitle(() => '💰 How Much Is Manual Work Costing You?');
// ============ STATE ============
const inputs = form.state<{
employees: number;
avgHourlyRate: number;
hoursOnManualTasks: number;
taskCategories: string[];
errorRate: number;
growthRate: number;
}>({
employees: 10,
avgHourlyRate: 35,
hoursOnManualTasks: 10,
taskCategories: [],
errorRate: 5,
growthRate: 20
});
// ============ CALCULATIONS ============
const getWeeklyManualHours = () => {
const i = inputs();
return i.employees * i.hoursOnManualTasks;
};
const getAnnualManualHours = () => getWeeklyManualHours() * 52;
const getAnnualManualCost = () => {
const i = inputs();
return getAnnualManualHours() * i.avgHourlyRate;
};
const getErrorCost = () => {
const i = inputs();
const baseCost = getAnnualManualCost();
return baseCost * (i.errorRate / 100) * 0.3; // Errors cost ~30% of task value to fix
};
const getOpportunityCost = () => {
const i = inputs();
// Lost productivity from context switching, waiting, etc.
return getAnnualManualCost() * 0.15;
};
const getTotalCurrentCost = () => {
return getAnnualManualCost() + getErrorCost() + getOpportunityCost();
};
const getAutomationSavings = () => {
// Assume 70% of manual work can be automated
return getTotalCurrentCost() * 0.7;
};
const get3YearSavings = () => {
const i = inputs();
const year1 = getAutomationSavings();
const year2 = year1 * (1 + i.growthRate / 100);
const year3 = year2 * (1 + i.growthRate / 100);
return year1 + year2 + year3;
};
const getHoursReclaimed = () => {
return Math.round(getAnnualManualHours() * 0.7);
};
const getFTEEquivalent = () => {
return (getHoursReclaimed() / 2080).toFixed(1); // 2080 = 40hrs * 52 weeks
};
const formatCurrency = (amount: number): string => {
if (amount >= 1000000) {
return `$${(amount / 1000000).toFixed(1)}M`;
} else if (amount >= 1000) {
return `$${(amount / 1000).toFixed(0)}K`;
}
return `$${amount.toFixed(0)}`;
};
const getSavingsLevel = (): 'low' | 'medium' | 'high' | 'massive' => {
const savings = getAutomationSavings();
if (savings >= 500000) return 'massive';
if (savings >= 100000) return 'high';
if (savings >= 25000) return 'medium';
return 'low';
};
const getSavingsColor = () => {
const level = getSavingsLevel();
const colors = { massive: '#059669', high: '#10b981', medium: '#f59e0b', low: '#6b7280' };
return colors[level];
};
// ============ COMPLETION SCREEN ============
form.configureCompletionScreen({
type: 'text',
title: () => `💰 You Could Save ${formatCurrency(getAutomationSavings())}/Year`,
message: () => {
const savings = getAutomationSavings();
const hours = getHoursReclaimed();
return `By automating repetitive tasks, you could save ${formatCurrency(savings)} annually and reclaim ${hours.toLocaleString()} hours. That's equivalent to ${getFTEEquivalent()} full-time employees worth of productive time redirected to high-value work.`;
}
});
// ============ PAGES SETUP ============
const pages = form.addPages('quiz-pages', {
heightMode: 'current-page'
});
// ============ PAGE 1: Team Size ============
const page1 = pages.addPage('team-size', { mobileBreakpoint: 500 });
page1.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('header1', {
label: 'Step 1 of 5: Your Team',
computedValue: () => 'Let\'s understand your team size and costs',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280',
marginBottom: '1rem'
}
});
});
page1.addSpacer({ height: '24px' });
page1.addRow(row => {
row.addSlider('employeeCount', {
label: 'How many employees do manual/repetitive tasks?',
isRequired: true,
min: 1,
max: 200,
step: 1,
defaultValue: 10,
unit: 'employees',
showValue: true,
tooltip: 'Include full-time, part-time, and contractors who perform repetitive manual tasks',
onValueChange: (val) => {
if (val == null) return;
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, employees: val }));
}
});
});
page1.addRow(row => {
row.addSlider('avgSalary', {
label: 'Average hourly rate (fully-loaded cost)',
isRequired: true,
min: 15,
max: 150,
step: 5,
defaultValue: 35,
unit: '$/hour',
showValue: true,
tooltip: 'Include salary, benefits, taxes, and overhead. Typically 1.3-1.5x base salary.',
onValueChange: (val) => {
if (val == null) return;
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, avgHourlyRate: val }));
}
});
});
page1.addRow(row => {
row.addDropdown('industry', {
label: 'What industry are you in?',
isRequired: true,
tooltip: 'Your industry affects automation opportunities and typical error costs',
options: [
{ id: 'tech', name: '💻 Technology / SaaS' },
{ id: 'finance', name: '🏦 Finance / Banking' },
{ id: 'healthcare', name: '🏥 Healthcare' },
{ id: 'retail', name: '🛒 Retail / E-commerce' },
{ id: 'manufacturing', name: '🏭 Manufacturing' },
{ id: 'professional', name: '💼 Professional Services' },
{ id: 'other', name: '📦 Other' }
],
placeholder: 'Select industry'
});
});
// ============ PAGE 2: Manual Tasks ============
const page2 = pages.addPage('manual-tasks', { mobileBreakpoint: 500 });
page2.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('header2', {
label: 'Step 2 of 5: Manual Work',
computedValue: () => 'How much time is spent on repetitive tasks?',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280',
marginBottom: '1rem'
}
});
});
page2.addSpacer({ height: '24px' });
page2.addRow(row => {
row.addSlider('hoursPerWeek', {
label: 'Hours per employee per week on manual/repetitive tasks',
isRequired: true,
min: 1,
max: 40,
step: 1,
defaultValue: 10,
unit: 'hours/week',
showValue: true,
tooltip: 'Estimate time spent on tasks that could potentially be automated',
onValueChange: (val) => {
if (val == null) return;
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, hoursOnManualTasks: val }));
}
});
});
page2.addRow(row => {
row.addSuggestionChips('taskTypes', {
label: 'What types of manual tasks are most common? (Select all that apply)',
isRequired: true,
suggestions: [
{ id: 'data-entry', name: 'Data Entry' },
{ id: 'reporting', name: 'Reports & Dashboards' },
{ id: 'email', name: 'Email Processing' },
{ id: 'scheduling', name: 'Scheduling' },
{ id: 'invoicing', name: 'Invoicing' },
{ id: 'onboarding', name: 'Onboarding' },
{ id: 'approvals', name: 'Approvals' },
{ id: 'document', name: 'Document Processing' }
],
min: 1,
alignment: 'left',
onValueChange: (val) => {
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, taskCategories: val as string[] }));
}
});
});
page2.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('weeklyImpact', {
computedValue: () => {
const hours = getWeeklyManualHours();
return `📊 Your team spends ~${hours.toLocaleString()} hours/week on manual tasks`;
},
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
color: '#dc2626',
textAlign: 'center',
padding: '12px',
background: '#fef2f2',
borderRadius: '8px',
marginTop: '1rem'
}
});
});
// ============ PAGE 3: Impact Assessment ============
const page3 = pages.addPage('impact', { mobileBreakpoint: 500 });
page3.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('header3', {
label: 'Step 3 of 5: Business Impact',
computedValue: () => 'How do manual processes affect your business?',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280',
marginBottom: '1rem'
}
});
});
page3.addSpacer({ height: '24px' });
page3.addRow(row => {
row.addSlider('errorRate', {
label: 'Estimated error rate on manual tasks',
isRequired: true,
min: 0,
max: 25,
step: 1,
defaultValue: 5,
unit: '%',
showValue: true,
tooltip: 'Percentage of manual tasks that require corrections or rework',
onValueChange: (val) => {
if (val == null) return;
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, errorRate: val }));
}
});
});
page3.addRow(row => {
row.addSlider('growthRate', {
label: 'Expected annual business growth rate',
isRequired: true,
min: 0,
max: 100,
step: 5,
defaultValue: 20,
unit: '%',
showValue: true,
tooltip: 'Projected year-over-year growth in revenue or headcount',
onValueChange: (val) => {
if (val == null) return;
inputs.update(current => ({ ...current, growthRate: val }));
}
});
});
page3.addRow(row => {
row.addRatingScale('bottleneck', {
label: 'How much are manual processes limiting your growth?',
isRequired: true,
preset: 'likert-5',
lowLabel: 'Not at all',
highLabel: 'Critical bottleneck',
size: 'md',
alignment: 'center',
variant: 'segmented'
});
});
// ============ PAGE 4: Results ============
const page4 = pages.addPage('results', { mobileBreakpoint: 500 });
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('header4', {
label: 'Step 4 of 5: Your ROI Analysis',
computedValue: () => 'See how much automation could save you',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280',
marginBottom: '1rem'
}
});
});
page4.addSpacer({ height: '24px' });
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('bigNumber', {
computedValue: () => `${formatCurrency(getAutomationSavings())}`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '3rem',
fontWeight: '800',
textAlign: 'center',
color: getSavingsColor(),
padding: '20px',
background: '#f0fdf4',
borderRadius: '12px',
border: `3px solid ${getSavingsColor()}`
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('savingsLabel', {
computedValue: () => 'Potential Annual Savings from Automation',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1.1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
textAlign: 'center',
color: '#374151',
marginTop: '0.5rem'
}
});
});
page4.addSpacer({ height: '20px' });
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('breakdown', {
label: '📊 Cost Breakdown',
computedValue: () => '',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
color: '#1f2937'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('laborCost', {
computedValue: () => `Direct Labor Cost: ${formatCurrency(getAnnualManualCost())}/year`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.95rem',
color: '#4b5563',
padding: '10px 15px',
background: '#f9fafb',
borderRadius: '6px'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('errorCostDisplay', {
computedValue: () => `Error & Rework Cost: ${formatCurrency(getErrorCost())}/year`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.95rem',
color: '#4b5563',
padding: '10px 15px',
background: '#f9fafb',
borderRadius: '6px',
marginTop: '0.5rem'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('opportunityCostDisplay', {
computedValue: () => `Opportunity Cost: ${formatCurrency(getOpportunityCost())}/year`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.95rem',
color: '#4b5563',
padding: '10px 15px',
background: '#f9fafb',
borderRadius: '6px',
marginTop: '0.5rem'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('totalCost', {
computedValue: () => `Total Current Cost: ${formatCurrency(getTotalCurrentCost())}/year`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
color: '#dc2626',
padding: '12px 15px',
background: '#fef2f2',
borderRadius: '6px',
marginTop: '0.5rem'
}
});
});
page4.addSpacer({ height: '15px' });
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('additionalMetrics', {
label: '⏱️ Time Impact',
computedValue: () => '',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
color: '#1f2937'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('hoursReclaimed', {
computedValue: () => `Hours Reclaimed: ${getHoursReclaimed().toLocaleString()} hours/year`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.95rem',
color: '#059669',
padding: '10px 15px',
background: '#ecfdf5',
borderRadius: '6px'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('fteEquivalent', {
computedValue: () => `FTE Equivalent: ${getFTEEquivalent()} full-time employees`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.95rem',
color: '#059669',
padding: '10px 15px',
background: '#ecfdf5',
borderRadius: '6px',
marginTop: '0.5rem'
}
});
});
page4.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('threeYearSavings', {
computedValue: () => `3-Year Projected Savings: ${formatCurrency(get3YearSavings())}`,
customStyles: {
fontSize: '1.1rem',
fontWeight: '600',
color: '#059669',
padding: '15px',
background: '#d1fae5',
borderRadius: '8px',
marginTop: '1rem',
textAlign: 'center'
}
});
});
// ============ PAGE 5: Lead Capture ============
const page5 = pages.addPage('lead-capture', { mobileBreakpoint: 500 });
page5.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('header5', {
label: 'Step 5 of 5: Get Your Report',
computedValue: () => 'Enter your details to receive your personalized ROI report',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280',
marginBottom: '1rem'
}
});
});
page5.addSpacer({ height: '24px' });
page5.addRow(row => {
row.addTextPanel('leadCapture', {
label: '📧 Get Your Full ROI Report',
computedValue: () => 'Enter your details to receive a detailed PDF with automation recommendations',
customStyles: {
fontSize: '0.9rem',
color: '#6b7280'
}
});
});
page5.addRow(row => {
row.addTextbox('name', {
label: 'Your Name',
isRequired: true,
placeholder: 'John Smith'
}, '1fr');
row.addEmail('email', {
label: 'Work Email',
isRequired: true,
placeholder: 'john@company.com'
}, '1fr');
});
page5.addRow(row => {
row.addTextbox('company', {
label: 'Company Name',
isRequired: true,
placeholder: 'Acme Inc.'
}, '1fr');
row.addTextbox('phone', {
label: 'Phone (optional)',
placeholder: '+1 (555) 123-4567'
}, '1fr');
});
page5.addRow(row => {
row.addCheckboxList('consent', {
options: [
{ id: 'report', name: '📄 Send me the detailed ROI report', isRequired: true },
{ id: 'consultation', name: '📞 I\'d like a free automation consultation' },
{ id: 'case-studies', name: '📚 Send me automation case studies' }
],
defaultValue: ['report'],
orientation: 'vertical'
});
});
// ============ PDF REPORT ============
form.configurePdf('roi-report', pdf => {
pdf.configure({
filename: 'automation-roi-report.pdf',
pageSize: 'A4',
allowUserDownload: true,
downloadButtonLabel: '📄 Download ROI Report',
header: {
title: 'Automation ROI Analysis',
subtitle: 'Your Manual Work Cost Assessment'
},
footer: {
text: 'Generated by FormTs Automation ROI Calculator',
showPageNumbers: true
}
});
pdf.addSection('Executive Summary', section => {
section.addRow(row => {
row.addField('Potential Annual Savings', formatCurrency(getAutomationSavings()));
row.addField('3-Year Projected Savings', formatCurrency(get3YearSavings()));
});
section.addRow(row => {
row.addField('Hours Reclaimed/Year', `${getHoursReclaimed().toLocaleString()}`);
row.addField('FTE Equivalent', getFTEEquivalent());
});
});
pdf.addSection('Current Cost Analysis', section => {
section.addTable(
['Cost Category', 'Annual Cost', 'Percentage'],
[
['Direct Labor', formatCurrency(getAnnualManualCost()), `${Math.round((getAnnualManualCost() / getTotalCurrentCost()) * 100)}%`],
['Errors & Rework', formatCurrency(getErrorCost()), `${Math.round((getErrorCost() / getTotalCurrentCost()) * 100)}%`],
['Opportunity Cost', formatCurrency(getOpportunityCost()), `${Math.round((getOpportunityCost() / getTotalCurrentCost()) * 100)}%`],
['Total', formatCurrency(getTotalCurrentCost()), '100%']
]
);
});
pdf.addSection('Key Metrics', section => {
const i = inputs();
section.addRow(row => {
row.addField('Team Size', `${i.employees} employees`);
row.addField('Avg Hourly Rate', `$${i.avgHourlyRate}/hr`);
});
section.addRow(row => {
row.addField('Weekly Manual Hours', `${getWeeklyManualHours().toLocaleString()}`);
row.addField('Annual Manual Hours', `${getAnnualManualHours().toLocaleString()}`);
});
});
pdf.addPageBreak();
pdf.addSection('Automation Recommendations', section => {
const tasks = inputs().taskCategories;
section.addText('Based on your manual tasks, here are priority automation opportunities:');
section.addSpacer(10);
if (tasks.includes('data-entry')) {
section.addText('📝 DATA ENTRY: Implement API integrations between systems, use OCR for document scanning, set up automated data validation rules.');
}
if (tasks.includes('reporting')) {
section.addText('📊 REPORTING: Set up automated dashboards with real-time data, schedule report generation and distribution, use templates for recurring reports.');
}
if (tasks.includes('email')) {
section.addText('📧 EMAIL: Deploy email automation tools, use templates and snippets, implement AI-assisted responses for common queries.');
}
if (tasks.includes('invoicing')) {
section.addText('💳 INVOICING: Automate invoice generation from sales data, set up automatic payment reminders, integrate with accounting software.');
}
if (tasks.includes('onboarding')) {
section.addText('👋 ONBOARDING: Create automated welcome sequences, use digital forms for paperwork, set up self-service portals.');
}
if (tasks.includes('approvals')) {
section.addText('✅ APPROVALS: Implement workflow automation tools, set up auto-approval rules for low-risk items, use digital signatures.');
}
});
pdf.addSection('Implementation Roadmap', section => {
section.addText('Phase 1 (Months 1-2): Quick wins - automate highest-volume, simplest tasks');
section.addText('Phase 2 (Months 3-4): Core workflows - tackle main business processes');
section.addText('Phase 3 (Months 5-6): Integration - connect systems and optimize');
section.addText('Phase 4 (Ongoing): Continuous improvement and expansion');
});
});
// ============ SUBMIT BUTTON ============
form.configureSubmitButton({
label: () => `💰 Get My Full ROI Report (Save ${formatCurrency(getAutomationSavings())}/yr)`
});
form.configureSubmitBehavior({
sendToServer: true
});
}
Frequently Asked Questions
What costs does this calculator include?
The calculator accounts for three cost categories: Direct labor cost (time spent on manual tasks), Error & rework cost (time fixing mistakes from manual processes), and Opportunity cost (productivity lost to context switching and inefficiency).
How accurate are the savings estimates?
The estimates assume 70% of manual work can be automated, which is a conservative industry average. Actual savings vary based on your specific processes, automation tools chosen, and implementation quality. Use this as a starting point for deeper analysis.
What types of tasks can be automated?
Common automation candidates include: data entry between systems, report generation, email processing, invoice creation, approval workflows, customer onboarding, scheduling, and document processing. The calculator helps identify your biggest opportunities.
How long does automation implementation take?
Implementation timelines vary, but a typical phased approach includes: Quick wins (1-2 months), Core workflows (3-4 months), Integration & optimization (5-6 months), with ongoing continuous improvement. The PDF report includes a recommended roadmap.