Time Leakage Audit

A 25-statement diagnostic scorecard that shows where your business is losing time each week, what that is likely costing you, and a 90-day action plan to win those hours back.

How to use this tool. This scorecard is for owners and managers who feel busy all day but unsure where the hours go. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes in one sitting. At the end you will have a percentage score, your two biggest areas of time leakage, a rough dollar estimate of the cost, and a 90-day action plan.

Why it matters

Time leakage is the hours your business pays for but does not turn into revenue, quality or progress. It rarely looks like a crisis. It looks like a 20-minute search for a file, a quote that sits for three days, a job that needs a second site visit, or a meeting with no decision at the end.

Individually these are small. Added across a team and a year, they are often one of the largest hidden costs in an SME. They also fall hardest on the owner, whose time is usually the most expensive and the least replaceable.

This audit does not ask you to track every minute. It asks you to rate how your business actually runs, find the weakest areas, and fix those first.

How the method works

Score honestly. Rate each statement from 0 to 4 based on what happens on a typical week, not on what should happen. If unsure, ask a team member or look at last week's calendar and job records.
Total each area. Each area has five statements and a maximum of 20 points.
Convert to a percentage. Add the five area totals and use the results table. A higher score means less leakage.
Pick the two lowest areas. These are where you start. Do not try to fix everything.
Put a dollar figure on it. Estimate the hours lost per week in those areas and multiply by the hourly cost of the people involved. Treat this as an estimate. It only needs to be good enough to justify action.
Commit to 90 days. Turn the findings into dated actions with a named owner.

The scoring scale

Score	Meaning	What it looks like in practice
0	Not true at all	It does not happen, or it is a regular problem
1	Rarely true	Happens occasionally, mostly by accident
2	Sometimes true	Depends on who is doing it or how busy we are
3	Mostly true	Usually happens, with some gaps
4	Fully true	Documented, consistent and checked

The scorecard

Area 1: Owner time and decisions

#	Statement	Score (0 to 4)
1	I spend most of my week on work only I can do, not tasks someone else could handle.
2	Staff can make routine decisions (small refunds, scheduling changes, ordering) without asking me.
3	I have protected, uninterrupted time in my calendar for planning and key tasks.
4	I can take a week off without the business stalling.
5	Decisions are made once and recorded, rather than revisited repeatedly.
	Area 1 total (out of 20)

Area 2: Meetings and communication

#	Statement	Score (0 to 4)
6	Every regular meeting has a purpose, an agenda and an end time.
7	Meetings finish with named actions and due dates.
8	Staff know which channel to use for what (urgent, routine, formal).
9	Customers and suppliers get timely answers without us chasing internally for information.
10	Interruptions (calls, messages, drop-ins) do not regularly break up focused work.

	Area 2 total (out of 20)

Area 3: Quoting, admin and paperwork

#	Statement	Score (0 to 4)
11	Quotes go out within an agreed timeframe using a standard template.
12	We enter job or customer information once, not into several places.
13	Invoices are issued promptly after work is completed or milestones are met.
14	Overdue invoices are followed up on a set schedule without the owner prompting it.
15	Routine admin (timesheets, purchase orders, compliance records) is done weekly, not in a backlog.
	Area 3 total (out of 20)

Area 4: Delivery, handoffs and rework

#	Statement	Score (0 to 4)
16	Work is handed from sales to delivery with a complete written brief.
17	Jobs are scheduled so people and materials are ready before work starts.
18	Rework, return visits and corrections are rare and we record why they happen.
19	Staff know what "finished" means for each type of job.
20	We review completed jobs briefly to capture what to repeat or change.
	Area 4 total (out of 20)

Area 5: Systems, tools and information

#	Statement	Score (0 to 4)
21	Anyone on the team can find a customer file, price list or procedure in under two minutes.
22	Our software, apps or spreadsheets are used consistently, and unused ones are cancelled.
23	Key processes are written down in simple steps.
24	New staff can become productive without constant shadowing by the owner.
25	We have a regular routine for reviewing key numbers (jobs, cash, margins, enquiries).
	Area 5 total (out of 20)

Your results

Area	Total (out of 20)
1. Owner time and decisions
2. Meetings and communication
3. Quoting, admin and paperwork
4. Delivery, handoffs and rework
5. Systems, tools and information
Grand total (out of 100)
Percentage (total divided by 100)

Score	Band	What it means	Priority
80% to 100%	Tight	Time is well controlled. Leakage is minor and local.	Fix the single lowest statement and keep reviewing quarterly.
60% to 79%	Moderate leakage	The basics work but gaps are costing real hours.	Target the two lowest areas over 90 days.
40% to 59%	Significant leakage	Time loss is systemic and probably limiting growth or your own capacity.	Fix the lowest area first, then the next. Delegate or document before adding new tools.
Below 40%	Severe leakage	The business depends on heroics and the owner.	Stabilise first: one area, one fix per month. Consider outside support.

Put a dollar figure on it

Complete this for your two lowest areas. Use honest estimates.

Leak (what is happening)	Area	Hours lost per week (estimate)	Hourly cost of the people involved	Weekly cost	Annual cost (weekly cost x 46)

Worked example (fictional)

Brightwater Mechanical Services is a 9-person Perth commercial maintenance business. The owner, Dana, scored it as follows.

Area	Total
1. Owner time and decisions	8
2. Meetings and communication	13
3. Quoting, admin and paperwork	7
4. Delivery, handoffs and rework	12
5. Systems, tools and information	10
Grand total	50 (50%)

That is a Significant leakage result. The two lowest areas were Area 3 and Area 1. Dana found that quotes were written from scratch and approved by her, taking about 5 hours a week. At an estimated owner cost of $120 an hour, that is roughly $600 a week, or about $27,600 over 46 weeks. Her 90-day plan was a standard quote template with pricing rules, authority for the supervisor to approve quotes under a set value, and a weekly invoice run on Friday mornings. These were practical, low-cost changes.

90-day action plan

Choose no more than six actions in total. Each one needs a named person, a date and a measure you can check.

Phase	Action	Area	Owner	Due date	Measure of success
Days 1 to 30
Days 1 to 30
Days 31 to 60
Days 31 to 60
Days 61 to 90
Days 61 to 90

Rescore the scorecard on day 90. A gain of 10 percentage points is a solid result for one quarter.

How to read your results

Look at the pattern, not just the total. A 65% business with one area at 25% has a specific problem. Fix that area before spreading effort.
Low Area 1 often drives everything else. If the owner is the bottleneck, other areas rarely improve until decisions and tasks are delegated.
Scores of 0 or 1 on a single statement are your quick wins. Many can be fixed with a template, a checklist or a 15-minute conversation.
Share the results with your team. Staff often see the leaks first, and their scores may differ from yours. That difference is useful information.

Common mistakes

Scoring aspirations. If it is only true when you are watching, it is a 1 or 2, not a 4.
Buying software before fixing the process. A new tool applied to an unclear process just makes the confusion faster.
Trying to fix all five areas at once. Progress stalls and nothing sticks.
Skipping the dollar estimate. Without a cost, improvements slip down the list behind urgent work.
Fixing it once and never reviewing. Leakage creeps back as the business grows or staff change. Review quarterly.

Put it to work this week

Complete the scorecard today and calculate your percentage and area totals.
Pick your two lowest areas and fill in the dollar estimate table.
Write down the three lowest-scoring statements and decide on one small fix for each that can be done in a week.
Complete the first two rows of the 90-day action plan, with names and dates.
Book 30 minutes in your calendar for day 90 to rescore and review.

Where Lotus helps

Lotus Strategic Services helps Australian SME owners find where time and money are leaking, then build simple processes, delegation structures and reporting routines that hold up as the business grows. We can review your results with you, test the dollar estimates against your numbers, and help you build the 90-day plan. Book a free 30-minute discovery call at lotusstrategic.com.au.