Find the true cost of an operational process
A cost breakdown of a process using activities and time, showing cost per unit and where money is going.
The prompt
Help me calculate the true cost of a process in my operation.
Process and unit of output: [e.g. "processing a return - cost per return", "picking an order - cost per order"]
Steps in the process: [LIST, with roles involved]
Time per step: [minutes per unit, from observation or estimate]
Labor rates: [fully loaded hourly cost by role, or wage plus % for benefits]
Volume: [units per month]
Other costs: [systems, equipment, space, consumables, outsourced pieces, rework rate]
Do this:
1. Build a table: step | role | minutes per unit | labor cost per unit | other costs per unit.
2. Add rework, errors, and waiting time if I gave data - these are often the hidden cost.
3. Allocate shared costs (space, systems) with a simple, stated method, and show how much of the total is allocation vs. direct.
4. Total cost per unit and per month, and the share by step.
5. Highlight the 2-3 steps that cost most and the likely reasons (manual handling, rework, approvals, idle time).
6. Show how cost per unit changes at +/-20% volume, to separate fixed from variable costs.
7. List improvement ideas with a rough savings estimate for each, showing your math.
Label every estimate as [ESTIMATE] and missing data as [ADD]. This is a management estimate, not accounting guidance; align the method with my finance team before quoting numbers.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- LIST, with roles involved
- minutes per unit, from observation or estimate
- fully loaded hourly cost by role, or wage plus % for benefits
- units per month
- ESTIMATE
- ADD
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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