Meeting Burner

Real-Time Meeting Cost Calculator: watch your budget vanish in real-time!

We've all been there: sitting in a conference room with ten other people, watching the clock tick by, wondering, "Is this meeting really worth it?" In business, time is money – quite literally. However, because salaries are paid monthly rather than by the minute, organizations often treat meeting time as a free resource. It isn't.

The Meeting Burner makes that invisible cost visible. It is a serious tool designed to visualize exactly how much capital is being "burned" second by second during a gathering. Whether you are a project manager trying to keep stand-ups efficient or a CFO analyzing operational waste, this tool puts a price tag on the conversation.

How it Works: The Math Behind the Meeting

Calculating the true cost of a meeting is usually a tedious manual process. Meeting Burner automates this with a simple, privacy-friendly approach.

Instead of asking for exact salaries (which can be sensitive), the tool allows you to select Job Types and Seniority Levels. It then applies industry-standard salary averages to generate a 'Cost Per Minute' for the room. As the timer runs, it aggregates these costs in real-time.

Key Features

• Global Currency Support: Works with major currencies including USD ($), GBP (£), and EUR (€), making it useful for international teams.
• Role-Based Calculations: distinct salary bands for different roles – from interns to executives – ensure the "burn rate" is realistic.
• Real-Time Ticker: A visual counter that updates every second, creating a sense of urgency to wrap up and get back to work.

Contextualizing the Cost (The "Pizza Index")

Seeing a number like "$450.00" on a screen can sometimes feel abstract. To make the cost more relatable, Meeting Burner includes an Alternative Cost feature. It automatically converts the wasted cash into tangible commodities: Pizzas and Pints of Beer.

“We just spent 15 pizzas on this status update.”

“That client call cost us 40 pints.”

This adds a layer of levity, but it serves a functional purpose: it humanizes the data. It helps teams understand the trade-offs of their time in terms of team morale or social budget.

When to use Meeting Burner

1. The Daily Stand-up: Project on the big screen to ensure the 15-minute meeting actually stays 15 minutes.
2. Budget Reviews: Use it to audit recurring meetings that may have outlived their usefulness.
3. The "Reality Check": When a meeting is dragging on with no agenda, fire up the burner to decide if it's time to break for lunch.