Power Automate can now estimate desktop flow savings
Reviewed by Helen Jones
Microsoft has made time-and-cost savings rules for desktop flows generally available from 16 July 2026, subject to geographic availability. Teams configure the manual duration and cost baseline for a task, and Power Automate aggregates estimated savings from successful runs. The feature is not enabled automatically.
Automation value is often reported through a spreadsheet assembled long after a flow goes live. That makes the result hard to maintain and easy to inflate when the original manual baseline was never recorded properly. Built-in tracking can make the estimate more repeatable, but it does not turn assumptions into audited return on investment. The quality of the result still depends on a realistic manual comparison, representative run volume and a clear explanation of what the number excludes.
Analysis
Check feature availability, choose one stable desktop flow and document an observed manual baseline before enabling the rules. Review the estimate after 30 days and present it as a directional measure rather than proven cash savings.
Source note
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces, reviewed by Helen Jones on . Cite as "Power Automate can now estimate desktop flow savings", Collab365 Spaces.