Cost of manual order entry
Put in your own order volumes, keying times and error costs to see what typing orders, invoices and ASNs by hand costs you per year, and what changes if part of it arrived by EDI.
- Your numbers, not benchmarks
- Formulas shown
- Runs in your browser
Example values: replace them with yours
The numbers already filled in only show how the calculator works. They are not benchmarks or Comparatio figures. Type your own and the results update as you go. 10 fields still hold an example value.
Your numbers
Your results
Keyed by hand: $27,700 a year (620 hours). With 70% by EDI: $11,740, $15,960 lower.
Total per year, everything keyed by hand
$27,700
- Hours per month
- 51.7
- Hours per year
- 620
- Labor cost per year
- $21,700
- Error cost per year
- $6,000
- Cost per order
- $4.62
- Total per year
- $27,700
What if 70% came by EDI?
Your what-if inputs, per year. EDI documents take the minutes you set; the rest is keyed as today.
| Figure | Today | 70% EDI |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 620 | 284 |
| Labor cost | $21,700 | $9,940 |
| Error cost | $6,000 | $1,800 |
| Total | $27,700 | $11,740 |
Difference: $15,960 lower per year, 336 hours fewer.
How it is calculated
Each rule in words, then with your numbers. Hours and counts are rounded to one decimal before the next step.
Hours per month
(orders × minutes per order + invoices and ASNs × minutes each) ÷ 60
(500 × 5 + 200 × 3) ÷ 60 = 51.7
Hours per year
Minutes per month × 12 ÷ 60
3,100 × 12 ÷ 60 = 620
Labor cost per year
Hours per year × hourly labor cost
620 × $35 = $21,700
Errors per year
Orders per month × 12 × share of orders with a keying error
500 × 12 × 2% = 120
Error cost per year
Errors per year × average cost to fix one
120 × $50 = $6,000
Total per year
Labor cost + error cost
$21,700 + $6,000 = $27,700
Cost per order
Total per year ÷ orders per year (invoice and ASN keying included)
$27,700 ÷ 6,000 = $4.62
What-if hours per year
(keyed orders × minutes + keyed invoices and ASNs × minutes + EDI orders and documents × EDI minutes) × 12 ÷ 60
(150 × 5 + 60 × 3 + 490 × 1) × 12 ÷ 60 = 284
What-if errors per year
(keyed orders × keying error rate + EDI orders × EDI error rate) × 12
(150 × 2% + 350 × 0%) × 12 = 36
Difference
Total today − total in the what-if (labor and errors, each worked out as above)
$27,700 − $11,740 = $15,960
Your inputs
Where to find your numbers
The result is only as good as the inputs. A rough figure you measured beats a precise-looking guess.
| Input | How to get your number |
|---|---|
| Orders keyed per month | Count a typical month in your ERP order register. Include only orders someone types in from email, PDF, fax or a customer portal. |
| Minutes to key one order | Time 10 to 20 real orders from opening the email or PDF to a saved order, including item and price look-ups, and take the average. |
| Fully loaded labor cost | Hourly wage plus benefits, payroll taxes and overhead. Your finance team may already use a standard rate. |
| Orders with a keying error | Orders corrected after entry because of a typing mistake (credit memos, re-shipments, returns), divided by the orders keyed in the same period. |
| Cost to fix one error | Credits and write-offs, freight to re-ship or bring goods back, and the staff time to sort it out with the customer. |
| Minutes per EDI order or document | If you already receive some EDI orders: the time spent on the ones that stop on an exception, spread over all of them. |
FAQ
Questions about the calculator
Where do the starting numbers come from?
They are examples, chosen to show how the calculator works. They are not industry averages and not figures from Comparatio customers. Replace each one with your own; the fields you have not changed yet are marked Example.
What does "fully loaded" labor cost mean?
The full cost of an hour of staff time, not only the wage: benefits, payroll taxes and a share of overhead such as office space and equipment. If you only know the wage, the result will be lower than the real cost.
Why does the what-if still count minutes for EDI orders?
Orders that arrive by EDI do not need typing, but some still need a person: a price that does not match, an unknown item, a ship-to address that is not on file. The minutes per EDI document are yours to set, and you can set them to whatever your experience suggests.
Does Comparatio see the numbers I enter?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and does not send or store what you type. Copy results puts a text summary on your clipboard so you can paste it into an email or a spreadsheet.
Want to talk through your numbers?
Comparatio runs managed EDI for distributors on Epicor Prophet 21, NetSuite and Infor CloudSuite Distribution. We can walk you through how your customers' orders would arrive by EDI.