Reports someone builds by hand every week: what they cost you per year
The weekly report is not free just because no one invoices it separately.
Almost every company has a report that someone copies, pastes, and formats every week. No one questions it because it has always been done that way. Added up over a year, that ritual costs more than it looks, and it is usually one of the first things worth automating.
01 The simple math
An analyst spending 6 hours a week on a manual report burns about 300 hours a year. At USD $15 to $25 per fully loaded hour, that is USD $4,500 to $7,500 a year for a single report.
~300 hrs/year = USD $4,500 to $7,500
02 Errors cost too
Copy-and-paste introduces errors. A mispasted figure that reaches leadership can cost you a decision, not just a correction.
03 The multiplier
It is rarely just one report. Three or four weekly reports across different areas easily add up to 1,000 person-hours a year.
04 When to automate
If the report is built the same way every week from data that already lives in a system, it is a direct candidate. If every week is different and calls for judgment, automate the data part and leave the analysis to the person.
// A typical illustrative case
Picture one area with three weekly reports, each about 5 hours. That is 15 hours a week, close to 750 hours a year. At USD $18 per fully loaded hour, roughly USD $13,500 a year in manual assembly. Automating the extraction and formatting leaves human time only for interpretation. Illustrative numbers.
Illustrative example with typical market figures, not a specific client.
// next step
Make a list of your recurring reports and estimate the weekly hours for each. With that list we tell you which ones pay off automated and which do not, and we quote it at a fixed price.