A few minutes per order add up. A useful estimate starts with measured steps and a clearly defined period.
If you want to improve order processing, first find out where the time goes. “It takes us all day” describes a real feeling, but it does not show which step to change.
You can take an initial measurement with a timer, a simple record and consistent definitions of the activities you track.
Decide what to measure
In this guide, admin time includes receiving and checking order details, updating the order status and related communication. Packing, production and shipping stay outside the calculation unless you explicitly choose a broader scope for your own measurement.
Measure active working time. If you spend two minutes sending a message and wait until tomorrow for a reply, record two minutes of work and a separate waiting period. Combining them would make a day of waiting look like a full day of work.
Use the same rule across the team. If two people each spend five minutes on an order, that is ten minutes of work in total, even when they work at the same time.
Record a few ordinary working days
Choose a period that includes the kinds of orders you normally process. For each order, record the minutes spent on the activities you defined. Include orders with problems. Measuring only easy orders will describe only that part of the workload.
| Activity | What to include |
|---|---|
| Intake and checks | Reading the order, checking details and clarifying missing information |
| Updates and coordination | Changing the status, handing over to colleagues and recording the next step |
| Communication | Order-related messages and calls, averaged across all measured orders |
For work done in batches, measure the whole batch and divide by the number of orders in it. Twenty minutes spent updating ten orders means an average of two minutes per order.
For communication, add all the minutes and divide by all orders tracked, including those that needed no messages. Use the same group of orders for every category. You can then add the averages without counting the same order twice in the volume.
Convert minutes into monthly hours
Hours per month = orders per month × average admin minutes per order ÷ 60.
In a fictional example, suppose there are 300 orders in a month. The averages are 3 minutes for intake, 2 for updates and 1 for communication: 6 minutes per order in total.
The calculation is 300 × 6 ÷ 60 = 30 hours per month. This estimates the work described by those inputs. It is not a measured result from a Dropthework customer and does not represent time that can all be eliminated.
If most orders arrive on a few busy days, a monthly average does not describe the workload on those days. Repeat the measurement during busy periods when planning the team’s work.
Test one change at a time
Choose one specific activity: a repeated check, a message rewritten for each order or a handoff with too little information. Change one step and measure another comparable group of orders.
Compare quality as well as time. A shorter process that leaves details incomplete may create extra work later. Record how many corrections were needed and whether the next colleague could continue without asking for context.
In the fictional example, a hypothetical reduction of one minute per order would mean 300 × 1 ÷ 60 = 5 hours per month. The calculator lets you test that assumption. The reduction starts at zero, keeping current admin time separate from an improvement you have not measured.
Use the free calculator
Open the order admin time calculator. Enter your monthly volume and average minutes per activity. Download a CSV summary or print the result. The calculation runs in your browser and the calculator does not send your inputs to a server.
Start by measuring the current process. If responsibilities and next steps are hard to track, try the free order tracking template. Once you identify repeated work, use the guide to testing a platform or explore Dropthework and test a workflow relevant to your team.