Free tool · Workflow automation

Automation ROI calculator

Estimate what automating one workflow is worth: the staff hours it releases, how much of that time becomes a real cash saving, and how long the setup cost takes to pay back.

Amounts in A$ · The calculator doesn't send or save your figures

Your figures

Use one workflow at a time. Timing a sample of real tasks gives a better answer than estimating from memory.

Illustrative exampleA fictional trades business automating its job-completion invoices. The project costs are placeholders for your own quotes, not a quote or our prices.

The workflow

How many times the task is done in a typical month.

Staff time for one task today, including checking it and fixing mistakes.

Staff time still needed per task, averaged across all tasks: reviewing the output and handling exceptions. If 1 task in 10 needs 15 minutes of exception handling, that alone adds 1.5 minutes.

Staff cost

Hourly wage plus super, leave, payroll tax and other on-costs, for the people who do the task.

The share of released hours that will reduce what you pay, such as overtime, casual or contractor hours. Time that moves to other work is capacity, not cash.

Project cost

Staff costs carry no GST. For these two costs, leave GST out if your business claims GST credits, or enter what you'll pay with GST if it doesn't. Use the same basis for both.

Your quote or estimate for setting it up: outside fees, setup charges and any extra paid staff hours for mapping, testing and training.

Software, usage and support fees once it's live. Leave out staff review time: it's already in the minutes after automation.

The calculator works in your browser. It doesn't send, save or store your figures, or add them to the page address. Our standard site analytics still run on this page, as on every page, and record visits and clicks. See the privacy policy.

Example figures

Results

On these figures, the automation saves A$680 a month in cash after running costs. The setup cost is recovered in 8.8 months, and the first year ends A$2,160 ahead.

Each month

Hours released
40 hours
60 hours now, 20 hours after
Capacity value
A$2,000
What the released time costs you. Time, not cash.
Cash savings at 40%
A$800
Running cost
−A$120
Net monthly cash benefit
A$680

First year

Cash savings × 12
A$9,600
Implementation cost
−A$6,000
Running cost × 12
−A$1,440
First-year net cash benefit
A$2,160
First-year project cost
A$7,440
Implementation plus 12 months of running cost
First-year ROI
29.0%
Net cash benefit ÷ first-year project cost
Simple payback
8.8 months
Implementation cost ÷ net monthly cash benefit

Sense check

First-year break-even share
31.0%
The share of released time that must cut paid costs for the first year to break even. You entered 40%.

Want a second opinion?

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Method

How the calculator works

Each figure follows from the ones before it, so you can check any result by hand. The worked line under each formula uses the example figures.

  1. 01

    Hours released per month

    = tasks per month × (minutes now − minutes after) ÷ 60

    Example300 × (12 − 4) ÷ 60 = 40 hours

  2. 02

    Capacity value per month

    = hours released × staff cost per hour

    Example40 × A$50 = A$2,000

    What the released time costs you. It's capacity, not money back.

  3. 03

    Cash savings per month

    = capacity value × share of released time that cuts paid costs

    ExampleA$2,000 × 40% = A$800

  4. 04

    Net monthly cash benefit

    = cash savings − running cost per month

    ExampleA$800 − A$120 = A$680

  5. 05

    First-year project cost

    = implementation cost + 12 × running cost per month

    ExampleA$6,000 + 12 × A$120 = A$7,440

  6. 06

    First-year net cash benefit

    = 12 × cash savings − first-year project cost

    Example12 × A$800 − A$7,440 = A$2,160

  7. 07

    First-year ROI

    = first-year net cash benefit ÷ first-year project cost

    ExampleA$2,160 ÷ A$7,440 = 29.0%

  8. 08

    Simple payback

    = implementation cost ÷ net monthly cash benefit

    ExampleA$6,000 ÷ A$680 = 8.8 months

    Shown only when the net monthly cash benefit is above zero.

  9. 09

    First-year break-even share

    = first-year project cost ÷ (12 × capacity value)

    ExampleA$7,440 ÷ (12 × A$2,000) = 31.0%

    The lowest share of released time that must cut paid costs for the first year to break even in cash.

How it handles awkward figures

  • Review time is counted once. The minutes after automation include checking output and handling exceptions, so the running cost should only cover software, usage and support fees.
  • Added work isn't priced. If the minutes after automation are higher than now, the workflow adds hands-on work. The calculator models workflows that save time, so it stops there and shows no money figures: whether extra minutes cost any cash depends on how your team is paid.
  • No payback without a monthly gain. When the net monthly cash benefit is zero or below, the setup cost is never recovered, so no payback period is shown. Exactly zero is reported as cash break-even each month.
  • ROI needs a cost. With no implementation or running cost there's nothing to divide by, so ROI shows as not applicable.
  • Nothing is guessed. A blank or invalid field stops the calculation until it's fixed, and figures above the calculator's limits are refused rather than trimmed.

Capacity or cash

How much released time becomes cash?

This share usually decides the result, and it's the easiest one to overstate. Released time only becomes a cash saving when you pay for fewer hours.

Overtime, casual, agency or contractor hours you stop booking
Cash, from the month the hours stop.
A vacancy you no longer need to fill, or a planned hire you don't make
Cash, from the date that person would have started.
More work handled by the same team, such as more jobs, quicker replies or faster invoicing
Capacity. Often valuable, but not a cost saving. Judge it on its own rather than adding it here.
A few minutes a day saved across many people
Usually capacity. Small, scattered amounts of time rarely reduce paid hours.

If you're unsure, try 0% and see what the case rests on. If it only works at a high share, find out which paid hours would actually stop before relying on it. The first-year break-even share in the results shows the lowest share that still breaks even.

Limits

What the result leaves out

Results are only as good as the figures you enter.

  • Timing. Savings are treated as starting in month one at a steady level. A build period, a parallel run and a few weeks of settling in all push payback out.
  • Extra revenue. Sales won through faster follow-up aren't counted. Measure those against real results rather than assuming them.
  • Other benefits and risks. Fewer errors, faster cash collection and cleaner records aren't valued, and nor is the cost of the automation failing. Weigh them alongside the result, not inside it.
  • Upkeep. Someone needs to watch alerts and clear exceptions. Spread that time across the tasks and add it to the minutes after automation: 2 hours a month across 300 tasks adds 0.4 minutes per task. Paid support belongs in the running cost.
  • Tax and finance. Tax, depreciation, financing and the time value of money aren't included. This is a planning estimate, not financial or tax advice.