CSS frameworks · Framework 01 of 09
The Owner Tax
Every time you touch a job or client that someone else could have handled, the business pays a tax. We count it, price it, and track it down.
Why it matters
You are the most expensive person in the business, and the queue that forms behind you is more expensive still.
A reschedule that waits two hours for your reply costs a tech a slot, a customer a callback, and the office a re-key. The tax is paid in your hours at your rate, plus everything that waited.
How we apply it
- In the free Snapshot we trace one workflow from first request to paid and mark every point where you had to step in.
- We multiply touches by minutes by what your hour is worth, then by your monthly volume. That is the tax, in dollars, on one workflow.
- In the Diagnostic we measure it properly, with sources, so it becomes your baseline.
- Every Partnership Tier reports it monthly. Written decision rules lower it first; drafts you no longer write, created within your agreed monthly scope, lower it next.
The number
| Measure | Cadence | Baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Owner touches per job or client | Monthly | Diagnostic, week 1 |
| Owner hours per week on the workflow | Monthly | Diagnostic, week 1 |
| Dollar value of the tax per month | Monthly | Snapshot estimate, then Diagnostic |
Where it ran
- The Cradle Spa: Owner time on client updates fell from 8.5 hours a week to 0.5, and clients book with no login.
- Tapps Business Connect: Leadership admin fell from 6 hours a week to < 1, and guest vetting takes 1 approval tap.
- Corporate Synergy Solutions (Client Zero): We run our own business on the rules we sell, and content takes 90 minutes a week, not 12 hours.
Who is accountable
We report the Owner Tax every month against your baseline, in writing. You set the target in month 1.
If a plan stops moving the number for two months, we say so and recommend the change, including stepping down.
Where you meet it
The free Snapshot.
A common question
The Owner Tax, asked and answered.
What counts as a touch?
Any point where work stopped until the owner replied, approved, forwarded or re-keyed something. Reading a report does not count; being the reason a job waited does.