A time allocation template breaks a repeatable process, like onboarding one customer, into every step, who owns it, how long it takes, and how often it happens. Hours and cost per customer fall out as formulas instead of guesses.
What it does
Breaks a repeatable process, like onboarding one customer, into every step, who owns it, how long it takes, and how often it happens. Once that's mapped, hours and cost per customer fall out as formulas instead of guesses. The spreadsheet includes editable assumptions (hourly rate, onboarding duration, customers per month), a phase-by-phase breakdown with automatic subtotals, and a capacity planning section at the bottom.
| Phase | Hours per customer | Cost per customer |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-boarding setup | 1.6 | $80 |
| Kickoff | 7.5 | $375 |
| Implementation | 49.5 | $2,475 |
| Training & testing | 23 | $1,150 |
| Launch | 5 | $250 |
| Handoff | 3 | $150 |
| Ongoing / other | 15 | $750 |
| Total | 104.6 | $5,230 |
Sample numbers shown above at a $50/hr rate, 14-week onboarding, 4 customers/month. Replace with your own, everything else recalculates automatically.
Where this actually helps
Pricing & quoting: cost per customer tells you the true delivery cost behind an onboarding fee, so you don't price below cost.
Headcount & capacity planning: hours per customer × customers per month converts pipeline into FTEs needed.
Justifying a hire or tool purchase: a phase-level subtotal turns "we're slammed" into a specific number leadership can act on.
Spotting automation opportunities: flag high-effort, low-complexity steps that are good candidates to automate first.
Finding process bottlenecks: see what has to finish before each step starts.
Onboarding new hires: the step, owner, and tool columns double as a checklist for someone new to the role.
Headcount & capacity planning: hours per customer × customers per month converts pipeline into FTEs needed.
Justifying a hire or tool purchase: a phase-level subtotal turns "we're slammed" into a specific number leadership can act on.
Spotting automation opportunities: flag high-effort, low-complexity steps that are good candidates to automate first.
Finding process bottlenecks: see what has to finish before each step starts.
Onboarding new hires: the step, owner, and tool columns double as a checklist for someone new to the role.
How to fill it in
1. Set your assumptions (hourly rate, onboarding duration, customers per month) at the top.
2. List every step in the process in the order it happens, grouped into phases.
3. Enter hours per occurrence and number of occurrences for each step, most happen once, recurring ones get real occurrence counts.
4. Tag owner, tool, automation potential, and dependency for each step so the sheet doubles as a process map, not just a time log.
5. Check the grand total and capacity planning section, that's your real cost and staffing picture per customer.
2. List every step in the process in the order it happens, grouped into phases.
3. Enter hours per occurrence and number of occurrences for each step, most happen once, recurring ones get real occurrence counts.
4. Tag owner, tool, automation potential, and dependency for each step so the sheet doubles as a process map, not just a time log.
5. Check the grand total and capacity planning section, that's your real cost and staffing picture per customer.