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Self-assessment

What is first-line enquiry handling costing you?

Four inputs, including the deflection assumption itself. Every figure is yours; nothing here is drawn from measured client outcomes.

The last two percentages are your assumptions to set, not figures measured across client engagements. Start conservative on the first and generous on the second.
Illustrative scenario based on your inputs
Released capacity, per year
$6,400
200
enquiries handled at first line / month
21
hours released / month, after review
Send these figures to yourself:
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How to read this tool

  • You entered Figures you typed or selected. Nothing is pre-filled from client data.
  • Illustrative assumption A planning percentage you control. Not measured across client engagements.
  • Calculated output Arithmetic applied to the two rows above, shown in full below.
  • Verified client result None. No figure in this tool comes from a client engagement.

This tool provides an illustrative planning estimate based on the information and assumptions entered. It is not a forecast, quotation, professional advice, or guarantee of business results.

How the estimate is calculated

  • Enquiry volume, current handling time and labour cost per hour are figures you enter. Nothing is pre-filled from client data.
  • Percentage suitable for automation is an assumption you set (5–60%, defaulting to 25%). It is not measured across client engagements.
  • Human review rate is a second assumption you set (0–100%, defaulting to 20%) — the share of automatically-handled enquiries a person still checks.
  • Enquiries handled at first line = monthly volume × percentage suitable for automation.
  • Hours released per month = those enquiries × average handle time ÷ 60, then reduced by the human review rate.
  • Released capacity per year = hours released per month × your hourly cost × 12.
  • The figure describes released capacity, not cash removed from the payroll.

Not included in the figure

  • Platform and model usage cost — the per-message or per-token running cost of the assistant.
  • Integration cost — connecting the assistant to your CRM, ticketing, telephony or knowledge base.
  • Ongoing maintenance — tuning, content updates and change management as your products and policies move.
  • Escalation handling — the cost of the cases that route to a person, over and above the review rate modelled above.
  • Implementation cost — the initial design and build of the workflow.
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