With the latest update now available on the Apple AppStore, MeeTime meeting timer adds the ability to calculate the costs of your meeting.

Combining a meeting cost calculator into a meeting timer app allows you to see the estimated cost of the meeting both as you are planning the meeting and while you are running it.

To find out why you should be using a timer for your meetings at all, read this first.

If you have never worked out the cost of your meetings before then we think you might be shocked at the amount even a simple meeting costs. For a very quick glance, try the free one at HBR.

We costed a recent conference call for the whole sales force of a large corporation at £7.5k.

It really puts into perspective the value of time you can save by finishing early. This particular meeting finished early and saved over £1k worth of time.

To set up the meeting cost calculator in MeeTime, you need to have a pro version of the app, either by purchasing the app previously or by signing up for a pro subscription (a two week free trial is available on all plans at the time of writing).

If you have a pro version, the meeting costs section in the setting should automatically switch to “on.”

In settings, you can click on edit to change the default average salaries by grade for your organisation.

If you have no idea then you can leave them as they are. The dollar amount is just to denote currency amount rather than the actual currency, you do not need to convert your salaries into dollars if you are using the app in other currencies unless you want to.

Remember to include fully costed salaries for this part so you can really understand what the value is the organisation rather than the individual's. A rough rule of thumb is to double the amount of gross salary that you estimate each grade to get paid. This allows for employers pension/401k contributions, national insurance / health care and any other benefits that the company might provide for their employees.

Once you have done the set up, or left the default settings, the next time you add a meeting and get to the agenda entry screen, you will see an option at the top to add costs to the meeting. This is the meeting cost calculator part.

You will have already, or will next, add the timings to the meeting. The costs per grade are already set as they are unlikely to change very frequently. So all you need to do now is add the number of attendees from each grade that you think will be coming to the meeting.

If you are running a meeting with guest speakers coming in and out revolving around a core group, then we advise to simply enter the average amount of people in the room for the whole duration to make the costs calculate most accurately.

The time in the circle in the top right will show the cost of the meeting if you have already entered the agenda. If not, when you go back to add the agenda timing the text in the circle will cycle in between showing the duration of the meeting and the cost of the meeting.

Once you are done, just hit save like normal, add the meeting to your calendar if needed and wait until 15mins before the meeting start time to get a notification pop up from MeeTime and get set to have a great meeting!

The benefit of having the meeting cost calculator within the meeting timer is that you can see costs in real time during the meeting (above). This really focuses the mind when you can see the costs increasing each second, especially in with a large meeting agenda.

Again, for a quick glance for free to see how much your costs trickle upwards, use this free web app.

For more sophisticated meeting tracking, ​see the MeeTime app in action below:

Find out more at www.meetimeapps.com or download from the AppStore now

"It's a bargain. It was on sale. It was half price."

Something is only worth what someone else will pay for it.  Unless you are in the business of reselling stuff you bought a low price then why bother about the promotion?

If the price is important then there are always alternatives that are cheaper in almost every market.  The designer top that is a bargain because it is half price, is still about 2500% more that it cost to make.  Is it really a bargain?

And if you are a brand owner or retailer, why not sell out at full price?  

Fix your product.  Fix your service.  Customers should be happy to pay more for a scant supply of something valuable to them.

Unless you are a commodity.  Then the best thing you can do is realise you are a commodity and structure and price yourself accordingly.  The problem with a race to the bottom though, as Seth would say, is that you might win.

Money helps, but like all pleasures it is fleeting.

Find what truly matters to you.

It costs less than you think.

And putting it off to work to earn money will cost you more than you think...

...your life.

A self-help book disguised as a book about money.  This contains some key principals that could be explained in a book the quarter of the size.  But the length is intentional to persuade you to actually take action.

If you read last week's recommendation, then contrast the two and get the best advice.  Remember life is a paradox - if you can figure out the best of both then you are on the winning track.

Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.

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