Your time does not have one magic hourly rate.

Three useful ways to think about it

• Replacement cost: what would it cost to pay someone competent to do this task?
• Opportunity cost: what higher-value work are you not doing while you handle it?
• Capacity value: if this time came back, could the business actually use it productively?

A simple example

If you spend 5 hours a week on work that could be done for $35/hour, the direct replacement value is about $700 a month. If those same hours are preventing you from quoting or selling, the opportunity value may be much higher.

Do not multiply everything by your billing rate

An owner who can bill $300/hour does not automatically create $300 of value every time they save an hour. The reclaimed hour only matters if it can realistically be used for something better.

For automation decisions

Use a conservative value. It keeps the business case honest and makes bad projects easier to reject.