Method and System for Tracking Estimated Cost of Events

A system for determining a cost of an event, the system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by the processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:
• detecting an initiation of an event, the event being associated with one or more intended participants;
• determining an estimated duration of the event;
• determining an estimated cost per intended participant for each of the one or more intended participants based on the estimated duration of the event and a cost per time unit for the intended participant;
• and
• determining a total estimated cost of the event based on the estimated cost per intended participant for the one or more intended participants.

A machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

• detecting an initiation of an event, the event being associated with one or more intended participants;
• determining an estimated duration of the event;
• determining a total estimated cost of the event based on the estimated duration of the event and a cost per time unit for each of the one or more intended participants;
• determining a probable participation fraction of the event, wherein the probable participation fraction corresponds to a fraction of the intended participants likely to participate in the event;
• and
• adjusting the total estimated cost of the event to determine an adjusted cost of the event.

A method for providing a user with an estimated meeting cost, the method comprising:

• detecting an invitation for a meeting, the invitation identifying a plurality of invitees and an estimated meeting duration;
• accessing and retrieving a cost per time unit for each of the plurality of invitees;
• determining a cost per invitee based on the cost per time unit for each respective invitee and the estimated meeting duration;
• and
• determining a total estimated cost of the meeting, the total estimated cost of the meeting comprising a sum of the determined costs per invitee for the plurality of invitees.

A method for providing a user with an estimated e-mail message cost, the method comprising:

• detecting a an e-mail message, the e-mail message identifying one or more intended recipients;
• accessing and retrieving a cost per time unit for each of the one or more intended recipients;
• determining an estimated time spent per recipient for the e-mail message, the determining the estimated time spent per recipient comprising:
• retrieving a pre-stored value of a time spent per content volume unit associated with the e-mail message;
• and
• determining a volume content of the e-mail message;
• and
• determining the estimated time spent per recipient based on the retrieved time spent per content volume unit and the content volume of the e-mail message;
• determining a cost per intended recipient for each of the one or more intended recipients based on the cost per time unit for the respective intended recipient and the estimated time spent per intended recipient;
• and
• determining a total cost of the e-mail message, the total cost of the e-mail message comprising a sum of the costs per recipient for the one or more intended recipients.