A meeting-cost estimate turns attendee time into an approximate labour cost. It does not prove a meeting is wasteful: useful coordination can avoid more work later. Use the Meeting Cost Calculator as one planning input.
Make units visible
Six attendees at an assumed hourly cost of 40, meeting for 45 minutes, give 6 × 40 × 45 / 60 = 180 currency units. Repeated weekly for 50 weeks, that is an illustrative 9,000 annual time cost.
When deriving hourly cost from salary, state the hours denominator. Salary divided by 2,080 assumes 40 hours for 52 weeks. Fully loaded cost may also include benefits and overhead; mixing it with salary-only rates makes comparisons misleading.
Compare alternatives fairly
Estimate a shorter meeting, fewer attendees or asynchronous preparation while keeping necessary decision-makers involved. Record the intended outcome and whether it happened.
Preparation, follow-up and opportunity costs are excluded unless entered explicitly. Removing a useful meeting can move costs elsewhere. Save the assumptions with the estimate instead of treating the number as a verdict.