ROI Calculator
How much would automation save you?
Plug in four numbers. We'll model the annual savings, payback period, and 5-year upside of automating a repetitive task.
Your inputs
Number of employees performing the manual task.
Only count hours you truly expect to eliminate per employee each week.
Include benefits. Typically 1.3–1.5× base salary.
One-time investment to build and roll out the automation.
Payback timeline
Running net value month-by-month. Line crosses $0 at break-even.
Line chart of cumulative net value by month, starting at -$15.0k in month 0, rising $3.7k per month, breaking even in month 5, and reaching $29.9k by month 12.
Cumulative savings (5 years)
Assumes the same weekly hours saved each year.
Area chart of cumulative net savings by year: year 0 -$15.0k, year 1 $29.9k, year 2 $74.9k, year 3 $119.8k, year 4 $164.7k, year 5 $209.6k.
Pressure-test these numbers with us.
We'll validate your assumptions, confirm edge cases, and sketch a concrete build plan: no commitment required.
Request an ROI reviewDisclaimer: This calculator provides an estimate based on labor hours saved. Actual results may vary based on process complexity, exceptions, and adoption. It does not include error reduction, faster cycle times, or revenue impact.
Methodology
How the automation ROI math works.
The model is the same one we run in scoping calls: employees × hours saved per week per employee × fully loaded hourly rate × 52 gives the annual labor value of the task. Divide the one-time build cost by the monthly savings and you have the payback period before running costs. Cumulative value adds the same annual labor capacity each year and deducts the initial build cost once. It is not discounted and does not deduct platform or maintenance costs.
It excludes error reduction, faster cash cycles, and headcount avoidance. Recovered time may be redeployed rather than removed from payroll. Treat the result as a scenario, not a guaranteed saving. Our work examples distinguish first-party builds from illustrative scenarios.
For build costs, start from our transparent pricing (Starter builds from $1,200, $200/hour) or browse the automation catalogue for pre-scoped estimates per workflow. The financial framing CFOs want to see: NPV, redeployment value, risk adjustments — is covered in our CFO's guide to automation ROI.
Questions
Automation ROI, answered.
- How is automation ROI calculated?
- Annual labor capacity = employees × hours saved per week per employee × fully loaded hourly rate × 52. First-year ROI = (annual labor capacity minus build cost) ÷ build cost × 100. Payback divides build cost by monthly labor capacity. This model excludes running costs, rollout delay, error reduction, and discounting. Recovered time is not automatically cash saved.
- What is a "fully loaded" hourly rate?
- Base wage plus benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead, typically 1.25–1.4× the base hourly wage. Using base salary alone understates what manual work actually costs your business.
- What does a typical automation project cost?
- Packaged Starter automations run $1,200–$2,400 and can be bought individually. Custom engagements scoped from scratch start at $2,500. A Workflow-tier build is $3,200–$8,000 for 16–40 hours at our $200/hour build rate, scoped and quoted in writing before any work starts.
- How fast do automation projects actually pay back?
- Payback depends on observed time recovered, adoption, build cost, and ongoing expenses. The calculator estimates a labor-capacity payback before running costs. Use a slower-adoption scenario as well, and identify whether the recovered time can change cash costs or will be redeployed.
- Which tasks should I run through the calculator first?
- Repetitive, rule-based, high-volume work currently done by expensive people: data re-entry between systems, lead routing, invoice generation, report building, and approval chasing. If a task follows the same steps every time, it's a candidate.