Include only entered recovery costs; any effect on future retention is uncertain.
Try this with your own numbersFormula and worked example
Recovery budget = cases × (refund + rework hours × hourly cost)
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Refund or credit per case | 80 |
| Rework hours per case | 2 |
| Loaded hourly cost | 35 |
| Cases in period | 10 |
| Calculated result | 1,500 |
Choose reliable inputs
Include software licences, delivery time, revisions and ongoing support when costing a project. For this paid media agency calculation, use project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes and a consistent definition of one client month.
- Account management: include the portion belonging to this client month or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Creative: include the portion belonging to this client month or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Reporting: include the portion belonging to this client month or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.
What does resolving a complaint actually cost?
Include only entered recovery costs; any effect on future retention is uncertain.
What if this input changes?
If refund or credit per case rises by 10%, this example changes by 80 . This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.
Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.