What is technical debt costing me, exactly?

Two things: the direct hours your team spends every month keeping a legacy Access/Excel system patched and running, and the 'velocity tax' — how much slower every new feature or change ships because it has to work around it. This calculator estimates both and adds them into one annual number.

How is the velocity tax calculated?

It's a surcharge on your direct maintenance cost, based on how much the legacy system slows down other work — from a small tax if it's stable, up to a heavy one if your team actively avoids touching it.

No — it's an honest estimate based on the numbers you enter, not a diagnosis. A free system review gives you the real picture for your specific setup.

Free tool

Technical Debt Calculator

What is your legacy Access/Excel system really costing you? Estimate the direct maintenance cost — plus the velocity tax it puts on everything else you build.

Hours/month keeping the legacy system running10 hrs

How many people that pulls in2

Their rough hourly cost

How much does it slow down new work

How it’s calculated: maintenance hours × people × 12 months × hourly cost, plus a velocity-tax surcharge for how much it slows down everything else you build.

This legacy system is costing you roughly

$11,760/year

$8,400 in direct maintenance + $3,360 in slower delivery on everything else.

Retiring it removes both numbers — the maintenance hours and the tax on every future feature.

Estimate — real numbers depend on your setup.

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Common questions

What is technical debt costing me, exactly?: Two things: the direct hours your team spends every month keeping a legacy Access/Excel system patched and running, and the 'velocity tax' — how much slower every new feature or change ships because it has to work around it. This calculator estimates both and adds them into one annual number.
How is the velocity tax calculated?: It's a surcharge on your direct maintenance cost, based on how much the legacy system slows down other work — from a small tax if it's stable, up to a heavy one if your team actively avoids touching it.
Is this exact?: No — it's an honest estimate based on the numbers you enter, not a diagnosis. A free system review gives you the real picture for your specific setup.

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