Interactive Tool

How Much Are Manual Processes Costing Your Shop?

Most fab shops leak $75,000–$150,000 a year through slow quoting, spreadsheet chaos, and invisible WIP. Calculate your number.

📋 Quoting

How much time does your team spend building quotes manually?

Quotes per week 10
Minutes per quote (manual) 45 min
From reading the drawing to sending the PDF. Typical: 30–90 min.
Estimator's loaded rate $45/hr
Fully loaded: salary + benefits + overhead ÷ hours. Typical: $35–$75/hr.

📉 Underpricing & Mistakes

Manual quotes miss things — missed operations, wrong material costs, zero setup fees.

Jobs per month 20
Average job value $2,500
Estimated underpricing rate 8%
Industry average for manual estimators: 5–15% under real cost.

📊 WIP Tracking & Admin

The invisible drain: walking the floor, updating spreadsheets, answering "where's my job?"

Hours/week on WIP tracking 8 hrs
Includes floor walks, spreadsheet updates, status emails/calls. Typical: 5–15 hrs.
Admin hourly rate $35/hr
Shop manager, scheduler, or admin handling tracking.
$108,800
estimated annual loss to manual processes
Quoting Labor
$19,500
10 quotes × 45 min @ $45/hr
Underpricing
$48,000
8% on 20 jobs/mo avg $2,500
WIP Tracking
$14,560
8 hrs/wk × $35/hr

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