# The one week order entry workload tracker

Before anyone prices automation, measure one normal week. This sheet shows how many orders arrive, how often each one is handled, and why they wait.

Updated 12 October 2026 . 5 min read . Alexey Shurov

## The short answer

Before anyone prices automation for order entry, measure one normal week. Count how many orders arrive, how many times each one is handled, how long it waits before it is entered, and how often it is corrected afterwards. Those four numbers tell you whether the work is worth automating and where the time really goes.

Most teams guess, and the guess is usually typing time. Typing is the smallest part. Waiting for a missing detail, looking up a code and fixing a wrong line are where a week goes. This sheet makes them visible in five working days, with no software.

### 1. Pick one ordinary week

Choose a week without a holiday, a price change or a stock take. One ordinary week is more honest than a month of estimates.

Tell the team why. The sheet measures the work, not the people. If people think they are being timed, the numbers will flatter.

### 2. Log every order once, when it arrives

One row per order. Write the time it landed and how it arrived, as email text, a PDF, a spreadsheet, a portal or a phone call. It takes seconds, and it is the step teams skip.

### 3. Mark each touch

A touch is any time someone opens the order to do something with it. Reading it, asking the customer a question, looking up a code, typing it in, fixing it later. Add one each time.

A clean order has two touches. Five or more means something is missing before the order reaches the desk.

### 4. Give every wait and every fix a reason

Use a short fixed list so the week can be counted. Missing item code, unclear quantity or unit, price query, account query, stock query, duplicate, other. Free text cannot be added up on Friday.

### 5. Add it up on Friday

Count the orders and the lines. Work out the average touches, the share entered more than an hour after arriving, and the share fixed after entry. Then count the reasons. The top two reasons are your real project.

## The blank sheet

One row per order, filled in as the week goes. Keep it where the orders are handled.

| Order ref | Arrived (day, time) | How it arrived | Lines | Touches | Entered (day, time) | Fixed after entry (yes or no) | Reason for wait or fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

[Download this sheet as a file for Excel](data:text/csv;charset=utf-8,%EF%BB%BFOrder%20ref%2C%22Arrived%20%28day%2C%20time%29%22%2CHow%20it%20arrived%2CLines%2CTouches%2C%22Entered%20%28day%2C%20time%29%22%2CFixed%20after%20entry%20%28yes%20or%20no%29%2CReason%20for%20wait%20or%20fix%0D%0A%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%0D%0A%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%0D%0A%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%0D%0A%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%0D%0A)

## A worked example

**Made up example.** Every row here is made up to show the method. Northfield Fixings does not exist.

| Order ref | Arrived (day, time) | How it arrived | Lines | Touches | Entered (day, time) | Fixed after entry (yes or no) | Reason for wait or fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NF-1041 | Mon 08.12 | Email text | 6 | 2 | Mon 08.31 | No |  |
| NF-1042 | Mon 08.40 | PDF | 23 | 4 | Mon 11.05 | No | Missing item code |
| NF-1043 | Mon 09.15 | Spreadsheet | 58 | 3 | Mon 10.02 | Yes | Unclear quantity or unit |
| NF-1044 | Mon 10.30 | Email text | 4 | 5 | Mon 15.20 | No | Price query |
| NF-1045 | Tue 07.55 | PDF | 12 | 2 | Tue 08.20 | No |  |
| NF-1046 | Tue 09.05 | Email text | 9 | 4 | Tue 13.40 | No | Missing item code |
| NF-1047 | Tue 11.20 | PDF | 23 | 3 | Not entered | No | Duplicate of NF-1042 |
| NF-1048 | Wed 08.03 | Spreadsheet | 41 | 2 | Wed 08.44 | No |  |

[Download this sheet as a file for Excel](data:text/csv;charset=utf-8,%EF%BB%BFOrder%20ref%2C%22Arrived%20%28day%2C%20time%29%22%2CHow%20it%20arrived%2CLines%2CTouches%2C%22Entered%20%28day%2C%20time%29%22%2CFixed%20after%20entry%20%28yes%20or%20no%29%2CReason%20for%20wait%20or%20fix%0D%0ANF-1041%2CMon%2008.12%2CEmail%20text%2C6%2C2%2CMon%2008.31%2CNo%2C%0D%0ANF-1042%2CMon%2008.40%2CPDF%2C23%2C4%2CMon%2011.05%2CNo%2CMissing%20item%20code%0D%0ANF-1043%2CMon%2009.15%2CSpreadsheet%2C58%2C3%2CMon%2010.02%2CYes%2CUnclear%20quantity%20or%20unit%0D%0ANF-1044%2CMon%2010.30%2CEmail%20text%2C4%2C5%2CMon%2015.20%2CNo%2CPrice%20query%0D%0ANF-1045%2CTue%2007.55%2CPDF%2C12%2C2%2CTue%2008.20%2CNo%2C%0D%0ANF-1046%2CTue%2009.05%2CEmail%20text%2C9%2C4%2CTue%2013.40%2CNo%2CMissing%20item%20code%0D%0ANF-1047%2CTue%2011.20%2CPDF%2C23%2C3%2CNot%20entered%2CNo%2CDuplicate%20of%20NF-1042%0D%0ANF-1048%2CWed%2008.03%2CSpreadsheet%2C41%2C2%2CWed%2008.44%2CNo%2C%0D%0A)

## How to read the week

If most orders have two touches and none wait, the work is already cheap. Automating it would save typing and little else. Say so and move on.

If a third of the orders wait for a missing code or a unit, the hold up is matching what the customer wrote to what you sell. That is the part worth automating. It is also the part a simple document reader cannot do on its own.

If fixes after entry are common, look at what was wrong. A wrong quantity or unit points at pack sizes. A wrong item points at customer part numbers. Each has its own remedy.

## What can change the answer

One very large order can swamp the averages. Note it, and look at the week with and without it.

Seasonal businesses should run the sheet again in a busy week. The reasons for delay often change when the volume doubles.

## When this is the wrong tool

If orders already arrive through a portal or a link that writes straight into your system, there is little to measure here. Look at the orders that fall outside it instead.

If the team is three people and thirty orders a week, you probably know the answer already. Spend the hour fixing the top reason by hand.

## What the four numbers tell you

| Number | How to work it out | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Orders and lines a week | Count the rows and add up the lines | The size of the job. Lines matter more than orders |
| Average touches | Add up the touches and divide by the orders | How much handling an order needs beyond typing |
| Share that waited | Orders entered more than an hour after arriving, divided by all orders | How often something outside the desk holds an order up |
| Share fixed | Orders fixed after entry, divided by all orders | How often a mistake reaches your system |

## What to do with the result

Take the four numbers and the top two reasons to whoever would build or buy the automation. A supplier who cannot say how they would handle your top reason has not understood your orders.

If you want a second opinion first, the five question check on this site takes the same facts and gives a plain answer in two minutes.[

Client result . Distribution

10 → 1

About 90 percent less manual work, over 95 percent line accuracy

People needed for order entry at a wholesale distributor, client-confirmed.

Read how the system works](https://shurco.ai/solutions/sales-order-entry-automation/)

## Common questions

### How long should I track order entry before deciding on automation?

One ordinary working week is enough for a first decision. It shows the volume, the handling and the main reasons for delay. Run a second week only if the first was unusual, for example a holiday week or a week with one very large order.

### What should I measure before automating sales order entry?

Four things. How many orders and lines arrive, how many times each order is handled, how many are entered more than an hour after arriving, and how many are fixed after entry. Then the reasons for the waits and the fixes.

### Does the tracker need any software?

No. A shared spreadsheet or a printed sheet by the order desk is enough. The value is in logging each order when it arrives and marking each touch, which no software can do for you in the first week.

### What counts as a touch?

Any time a person opens the order to do something with it. Reading it, asking the customer a question, looking up a code, typing it in, or fixing it later. Counting touches shows the handling that typing time hides.

### What if the numbers show automation is not worth it?

Then you have saved the cost of a project. If orders are few, clean and rarely fixed, deal with the top reason for delay by hand and look again in six months.

## Useful next[Free toolWhat to automate first, a scoring toolPick a task your team repeats every week and answer five quick questions. You get a plain answer on whether it is worth automating, what helps and what to watch. Score up to four tasks and it tells you where to start, and you can keep the result as a private plan page.](https://shurco.ai/tools/what-to-automate-first/)[GuideBest sales order automation software in 2026Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers still key emailed purchase orders into their ERP by hand. Here is what each tool actually automates, what it costs, and when it is the wrong buy.](https://shurco.ai/guides/best-sales-order-automation-software/)[PlaybookHow to automate sales order entry in Business CentralCustomers email orders as PDFs, spreadsheets and free text, and someone keys each line into Business Central. Here are the three ways to take that work away, with what Microsoft's own agent does and where it stops.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-sales-order-entry-business-central/)[PlaybookHow to build a business case for AI automationA finance director does not approve AI. They approve a measured task, an honest cost and a way to tell whether it worked. Here is the one page that gets a yes, and the numbers to put on it.](https://shurco.ai/guides/business-case-for-ai-automation/)

## More guides[GuideAI agent pricing in 2026, what vendors actually chargeVendors now charge for agents by the conversation, the outcome, the action or the credit. Here are the published prices, what each unit really means, and how to compare them on your own workload.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-agent-pricing/)[ServiceA monthly test for your customer facing AI assistantOnce a month, I ask your website or phone assistant ordinary customer questions. You get what it got wrong, its exact words and what to change. The first test is free.](https://shurco.ai/guides/ai-assistant-monthly-test/)[PlaybookHow to automate daily site reports across many sitesThe report takes days because the data lives in many places and someone has to chase it. Here is how to gather it in parallel, catch the numbers that disagree and produce a report a manager can check.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-daily-site-reports/)[PlaybookHow to automate quoting for a manufacturer or distributorSlow quotes lose work. There are three quite different kinds of quoting automation, and most buying mistakes come from picking the wrong kind. Here is how to tell which one your quotes need.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-quoting-for-manufacturers/)[PlaybookHow to automate sales order entry in Business CentralCustomers email orders as PDFs, spreadsheets and free text, and someone keys each line into Business Central. Here are the three ways to take that work away, with what Microsoft's own agent does and where it stops.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-sales-order-entry-business-central/)[PlaybookHow to automate timesheet processing for payrollTimesheets arrive as spreadsheets, PDFs, photos and scans, and payroll has a deadline that does not move. This is the order to automate it in, and the checks that stop a wrong payslip.](https://shurco.ai/guides/automate-timesheet-processing-for-payroll/)

## Check your own customer orders in two minutes

Five questions about how the work reaches you and how it is checked. You get a plain answer on whether it is worth automating, with no sign up. [Start with question one.](https://shurco.ai/tools/what-to-automate-first/?k=orders) Or [tell me about the work](https://shurco.ai/#contact) and I will reply myself.

Web version https://shurco.ai/guides/order-entry-workload-tracker/