A company does not need hundreds of employees for automation to make sense. A task that takes 15 minutes a day may seem insignificant, but when it is repeated for months and involves several people, it can represent a considerable amount of time and money.
Copying data between applications, preparing reports, sending emails, recording orders or updating information across different systems are common examples of repetitive work. These tasks are necessary, but they do not always require human intervention at every step.
Process automation allows certain actions to be carried out automatically according to predefined rules. When implemented properly, it can free up time for higher-value activities, reduce errors and make certain processes faster and more predictable.
But there is a more important question than whether a process can be automated: how much can a company actually save by doing it?
How much can a company save by automating processes?
There is no single percentage of savings that applies to every company. The result depends on the process itself, how often it is performed, how many people are involved, the cost of errors and the level of automation that can realistically be achieved.
Research into business automation shows that the potential can be significant in certain processes. McKinsey, for example, has documented cases where intelligent automation has reduced processing times and generated significant operational efficiencies. However, the results depend on how the process is redesigned and implemented, not simply on the technology being used. ([mckinsey.com](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/intelligent-process-automation-the-engine-at-the-core-of-the-next-generation-operating-model?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
For this reason, instead of using a generic figure such as "automation saves 30%", it is much more useful to calculate the potential savings for each specific process.
How to calculate how much time can be saved
The calculation can be quite simple if you start with real data.
Imagine a company where an employee spends approximately 20 minutes a day downloading information from one system, modifying it and transferring it to another tool.
If this task is performed 220 days a year, it represents:
- 20 minutes × 220 days = 4,400 minutes.
- 4,400 minutes = approximately 73 hours per year.
If the same task is performed by four people, that represents approximately 293 hours per year.
An automation that eliminates a large part of this work will not necessarily mean that those employees work fewer hours. The benefit may be that those hours can be redirected towards activities that require judgement, customer service, sales, analysis or management.
How to turn saved hours into money
To estimate the financial savings, you need to assign a cost to the hours spent on the process.
A simple formula is:
Estimated annual savings = hours eliminated or freed up × approximate hourly employment cost
For example, if an automation frees up 300 hours per year and the estimated business cost of those hours is €25, the potential value of the time released would be €7,500 per year.
This is a simplification. In practice, it is important to distinguish between direct savings and released capacity. If a company eliminates a process that used to take 300 hours but keeps exactly the same number of employees, that does not mean it has directly reduced its staffing costs by €7,500. It means it has gained 300 additional hours that can be used to produce more, serve customers better or avoid future recruitment.
This distinction is important when calculating the return on an automation investment.
Savings are not just about reducing costs
One common mistake is to measure the success of automation solely in terms of money saved.
Automation can create value in several other ways:
- Time: reduces hours spent on repetitive tasks.
- Errors: reduces certain mistakes caused by manually entering or transferring information.
- Speed: allows processes to be completed more quickly.
- Capacity: makes it possible to handle more operations without increasing the team proportionally.
- Information: can connect systems and make data available sooner.
- Customer experience: allows certain actions or responses to be delivered more quickly.
- Traceability: makes it easier to record what has happened during a process.
For some companies, the greatest return does not come from reducing a cost line, but from being able to grow without increasing administrative work at the same rate.
Which processes are worth automating?
Not every task should be automated. A good starting point is to look for processes that are frequent, repetitive, predictable and time-consuming.
Common examples include:
Data management
Moving information from a form into a CRM, synchronising data between systems or updating records can generate many accumulated hours of manual work.
If two applications have mechanisms for communicating with each other, many of these tasks can be performed automatically.
Invoicing and administration
Generating certain documents, sending invoices, issuing notifications or updating statuses are processes that may contain several automatable steps.
Automation does not necessarily eliminate human oversight. It can handle repetitive operations while leaving exceptions or decisions that require review to the team.
Customer management
When a new lead arrives through a website, it may be possible to register the data, assign it to a team member, send a confirmation and create a sales task without manual intervention.
This prevents a process that should take seconds from depending on someone remembering to perform several separate actions.
Reports and dashboards
Preparing regular reports often involves collecting data from different sources, cleaning it, combining it and presenting it.
If those sources are connected, part of this process can be automated so that the data is available with less manual intervention.
Orders and internal operations
Receiving an order can trigger several actions: updating a system, notifying the relevant team, generating documentation or sending information to the customer.
When these actions follow clear rules, there is an opportunity to automate them.
A practical example of automation savings
Imagine a company that receives sales enquiries through its website.
Each enquiry currently requires around 10 minutes of administrative work: checking the information, entering it into the CRM, notifying the sales representative and sending a confirmation email.
If the company receives 500 enquiries per month, the process represents:
- 500 enquiries × 10 minutes = 5,000 minutes.
- 5,000 minutes = approximately 83 hours per month.
- 83 hours × 12 months = approximately 996 hours per year.
If an automation eliminates a significant part of these manual tasks, the potential time saving can be considerable.
There is another benefit too: the company becomes less dependent on someone remembering to perform every step. The enquiry can enter the predefined workflow automatically, allowing the team to focus on the part that actually requires human intervention.
This example is hypothetical. Actual savings would depend on the specific process, the level of automation achievable and the tools involved.
How to determine whether automation is worthwhile
Automation is not profitable simply because something can technically be automated. The cost of implementation needs to be compared with the value it can generate.
A simple approach is to calculate:
- How much time the process currently takes.
- How often it is repeated.
- How many people are involved.
- The approximate cost of those hours.
- How many errors the manual process generates.
- What proportion can realistically be automated.
- How much it would cost to develop and implement the solution.
- What ongoing costs it will have afterwards.
These figures provide a useful starting point for estimating return on investment.
Automation ROI: a simple calculation
A basic formula can be used to obtain an initial estimate:
ROI = (benefit obtained - investment) / investment × 100
For example, imagine an automation requiring an initial investment of €10,000 and generating an estimated annual value of €6,000 through released time, fewer errors and other measurable benefits.
The investment would not yet have been fully recovered during the first year. From subsequent years onwards, assuming maintenance costs remain reasonable and the savings continue, the business case may become considerably more attractive.
This calculation should be treated with some caution. The value of released time is not always equivalent to a direct accounting saving, and some benefits are difficult to express in monetary terms.
Automation does not mean eliminating people
Automation often creates more value when it is used to remove repetitive work from people, rather than simply trying to replace them.
A person may still be needed to review an operation, make a decision, handle an exception or communicate with a customer. What changes is that they no longer have to spend time on the mechanical parts of the process.
McKinsey has highlighted the importance of viewing automation as a way to increase employee productivity and redesign how work is performed, rather than treating it exclusively as a way to reduce headcount. ([mckinsey.com](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/the-imperatives-for-automation-success?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
This approach also helps identify an important point: not everything a person does should be automated.
The biggest mistake: automating a process that already works badly
Before automating a process, it is worth analysing how it currently works.
If a company has a procedure full of unnecessary steps, duplicated data and unclear decisions, automating it without reviewing it first may simply make the problem happen faster.
A good strategy therefore usually follows three steps:
- Analyse: understand how the process currently works.
- Simplify: remove steps that do not add value.
- Automate: use technology to execute repetitive parts automatically.
Technology matters, but process design matters just as much.
Simple automation versus custom automation
Not every automation project requires software to be developed from scratch.
In some cases, configuring the tools a company already uses may be enough. In others, it may be necessary to connect several applications through APIs, develop specific integrations or build a solution adapted to the company's processes.
The right choice depends on factors such as the number of systems involved, the complexity of the rules, transaction volume and security requirements.
The right solution is not necessarily the most sophisticated one. It is the one that solves the problem with a reasonable balance between cost and complexity.
What should a company automate first?
If a company has many potential processes to automate, it is usually better not to tackle all of them at once.
A useful way to prioritise is to look for processes that combine high frequency, significant time consumption and relatively predictable rules.
It is also worth looking at tasks that generate frequent errors or create delays for other departments.
For example, automating a task that takes 30 minutes per month is likely to have less impact than automating another task that takes 30 minutes every day and affects five people.
A simple matrix using four variables — frequency, time, cost of errors and automation difficulty — can help identify the best candidates for an initial project.
What should you analyse before automating a process?
Before requesting a technology solution, it is useful to document how the process currently works. There is no need to create a complex report.
Simply answer a few questions:
- What triggers the process?
- What steps are performed?
- Who is involved?
- Which tools are used?
- How long does each operation take?
- How often is it repeated?
- Where do errors or delays occur?
- Which decisions require human intervention?
- What result should the automation produce?
This information makes it much easier to estimate the potential savings and prevents a solution from being developed based on assumptions.
Automation as an investment, not just a technology expense
When properly assessed, process automation is not simply about buying a tool.
It is an investment in improving how a company operates. The return may come through released working hours, fewer errors, faster processes, greater operational capacity or a better experience for customers and employees.
The value can also accumulate over time. An automated task can continue generating savings for years, provided that the process remains useful and the solution is properly maintained.
How much time and money can your company really save?
The answer depends less on the technology itself than on the process you want to improve.
A company looking to calculate its potential savings should start by identifying the repetitive tasks that consume the most time, measuring their frequency and estimating their associated cost. With this information, it becomes much easier to determine which processes have the greatest potential and what level of investment makes sense.
Automation can be particularly valuable when it connects systems that currently force employees to transfer information manually, eliminates repetitive administrative tasks or allows a team to handle a greater workload without increasing operational pressure at the same rate.
At Orizontic, we help companies analyse their digital needs and develop solutions that can include automation, integrations, custom software and process transformation.
If you have tasks that are repeated every day and consume time without creating proportional value, they may be good candidates for automation. The first step is to measure them. From there, it becomes much easier to determine how much time and money automation could really save your business.
