IT Downtime Cost Calculator

CIS business IT tools

What would an IT outage cost your business?

Put a value on the staff time an outage could consume. Adjust the figures, compare recovery times and use the result to start a practical conversation about your IT.

Instant estimateNo email neededYour assumptions, clearly explained

This calculator needs JavaScript to update your estimate. You can also calculate staff time cost by multiplying employees × proportion unable to work × hourly employment cost × working hours of downtime.

Discuss your recovery arrangements with CIS.

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Build your scenario

These are example figures. Change them to match your business.

Your industry

Number of employees

Enter 1–5,000 people.

Team unable to work

The proportion stopped by this outage, from 0–100%.

Employment cost per hour

Your average hourly cost per employee, including employer costs.

Working hours of downtime

Choose the working hours affected. Exclude time you would normally be closed.

Add a revenue exposure estimate

Optional. This shows turnover associated with the affected trading hours. It is separate from staff time cost.

Annual turnover

Leave blank to exclude revenue exposure.

Trading days per year

Trading hours per day

The estimate assumes revenue is spread evenly across trading hours. It does not establish that the revenue would be lost.

Turn the estimate into a plan

How quickly could your team get back to work?

Use this scenario to test your support, backups and recovery arrangements. A free IT Risk Review with CIS gives you a 30-minute discussion, a one-page action summary and three practical priorities.

Get a Free IT Risk Review

No obligation. Support for businesses across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Birmingham.

Questions for professional services firms

Which applications would stop client work?
How quickly could staff regain access to shared files?
Who would own recovery and keep clients informed?

How this calculator works

Staff time cost = employees × proportion unable to work × hourly employment cost × working hours of downtime.

Staff hours lost = employees × proportion unable to work × working hours of downtime.

Optional revenue exposure = annual turnover ÷ trading days per year ÷ trading hours per day × working hours of downtime. It assumes all turnover during those hours is exposed, regardless of the proportion of staff affected. Adjust your scenario if that does not fit your business.

The main estimate values paid time that cannot be used during an outage. It is not necessarily an additional cash expense: staff may catch up, use alternative systems or do other work. Revenue exposure is shown separately because turnover is not profit and may be recovered. These figures are not a full business loss assessment.

Industry selection changes the discussion questions, not the financial calculation. Example figures are illustrations, not industry benchmarks. Calculations run in your browser. CIS receives the details you choose to submit through the separate review form.

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