Where time goes by industry.
Per-vertical admin cost breakdowns for UK service businesses. Use them to sanity-check your own week against the median for your sector and spot the time sinks worth fixing first.
General service businesses
10 hours per person per week is the UK median for general service businesses.
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Letting agents
14 hours per person per week is the UK median for letting agents.
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Accountants and bookkeepers
That is 12 hours a week of client onboarding, records chasing, and software switching - at senior billing rates.
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Trades businesses
Quotes, invoices, and chasing payments add up to roughly £13,800 a year per person.
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Consultancies
At mid-tier billing rates that is roughly £55,700 a year of unbillable time per consultant.
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Recruiters
15 hours per consultant per week is the UK median, the highest in our dataset.
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Retailers
Stock reconciliation, supplier follow-up, and returns add up to roughly £12,400 a year per person.
Read breakdown →Want a custom number for your business, not just the median?
The HoursBack Assessment is a 60-minute interview and a custom report within two working days of your call. Named tools. Exact steps. £799, money-back if it doesn’t surface 5+ hours a week.