Live Tool

Cost-to-Close Calculator

Three inputs. Instant result. Estimate what month-end close, reconciliation, and approval follow-up cost your finance team each year.

Currency
Your Current State
Finance team on close3 people

Everyone who touches close: accountants, controllers, AP/AR staff

Hours per person per close30h / month

Reconciliation, exception review, approval follow-up, journal entries, ERP posting

Loaded hourly cost (A$)A$75/hr

Fully loaded: salary + CPF/MPF + benefits + overhead. Typical range shown.

Total hours/mo
90h
Est. days to close
~5 daysTOP 50%
Close Cost Estimate
Monthly close costA$6,750
Annual “Manual Tax”
A$81,000
per year in close labor and manual review time
After workflow control: 70% reduction model
A$24,300/yr
~2 days to close · 27h/month
You save
A$56,700
756h reclaimed/yr
Close Cycle BenchmarkTOP QUARTILE
FAST CLOSE
TOP QUARTILE
AVERAGE
BELOW AVG
NOW: ~5 DAYS, TOP QUARTILEAFTER: ~2 DAYS, FAST CLOSE

HOW THIS ESTIMATE WORKS: Savings estimate uses a 70% reduction model for manual close work after exception handling, reconciliations, approval follow-up, and recurring checks are controlled or automated. Days-to-close derived from 6h of focused close work per person per day: the industry standard for active reconciliation periods. Benchmarks sourced from Ledge 2025 survey of 100 finance professionals (n=100, companies 51-200+ employees).

Want to know what sits behind the number? Bring one close workflow or approval bottleneck to a scoping call.

Book Scoping Call

Finance automation context

Close cost is one signal, not the whole automation case.

Use the broader finance automation model to connect month-end close work with invoice exceptions, approval evidence, payment controls, and accounting-system handoffs.

View the finance automation model

Where this fits

This calculator is a first-pass model. In a control sprint, we replace broad estimates with your actual close steps, exception queues, approval checks, and evidence requirements before recommending what should be automated or left alone.

Read the close automation guide