Free calculator · three inputs
Automation ROI calculator: run your numbers.
Know your payback before you build. Three inputs go in; the machine runs them through the same conservative model as our written reports, with build and run costs included.
Exception. A person decides.
This is how our automations work: rules catch the odd case, a person approves it.
Net benefit a year
Hours back a year
Payback
14.7 mo
- One-time build
- $256,532
- 3-year NPV at 10%
- $571,880
Estimate on your three inputs and the assumptions listed. Not a quote.
Loaded with an example: 40 people, 12 hrs a week, $80 an hour. Now set yours.
Wages plus benefits. The US private-industry average is about $46 (BLS).
See the assumptions
- Share of stated hours automated 60% Steady state, net of exceptions and human review. McKinsey puts technical potential at 60-70% of work time; Ardent Partners reports about 67% straight-through processing for best-in-class AP, roughly 3x peers.
- Working weeks per year 48 52 weeks less about 4 weeks of US paid holidays and vacation (BLS National Compensation Survey).
- Loaded hourly cost $80/hr Your input: wages plus benefits per hour worked. BLS ECEC private-industry average is $46.15 (Dec 2025).
- Freed time that converts to value 50% Forrester TEI standard productivity conversion rate: not all saved time is put back to productive use.
- Benefit risk adjustment -15% Forrester TEI reduces productivity benefits by 10-20% for estimate uncertainty.
- Engineering build $67,856 fixed + $500 per automated weekly hour x 1.31 complexity Fixed cost covers discovery, integrations, security review and governance; it and the complexity multiplier rise with team size (more systems, variants and controls).
- Change management 16 hrs of staff time + $250 per person Forrester TEI composites budget about 2 days of retraining per employee affected by a process automation.
- Cost risk adjustment +10% Forrester TEI raises implementation and support costs by 5-10%.
- Annual run cost 20% of build + $2 per automated hour Maintenance and support at 15-25% of build per year (industry rule of thumb) plus model/API, workflow and hosting usage.
- Build, then adoption ramp 4.3 mo build, 5.3 mo ramp No benefit before go-live; linear ramp to full adoption. Both lengthen with team size (governance, integrations, training).
- Discount rate 10% Forrester TEI default; Duke CFO Survey median WACC 9.8%. Implementation is spent at month 0.
- Horizon 36 months Three-year analysis window used by Forrester TEI. No residual value counted after it.
40 people x 12 hrs/wk x $80/hr
- Manual hours a year 23,040
- Hours back a year (60%) 13,824
- Gross labor value $1,105,920
- Realized (50%, less 15% risk) $470,016
- Run cost a year -$60,652
- Net benefit a year $409,364
- One-time build $256,532
- Build, then ramp 4.3 + 5.3 mo
- Payback 14.7 mo
- 3-year NPV at 10% $571,880
Sent.
Your report is on its way to , usually within a minute or two.
They see a return. Know yours before you build.
98% of senior leaders whose organization is investing in AI say they have seen a positive return.
(02) The method
Conservative by design.
Freed hours are discounted. Time is not cash. Build and run costs sit inside every figure. We count 60% of the hours as automatable, half of that as value, then take 15% off for risk.
Conventions from Forrester TEI; wage benchmark BLS ECEC; automation potential McKinsey. The full list is in your report.
- Manual hours at your cost $1,843,200
- x 60% automatable $1,105,920
stays manual: exceptions and review
- x 50% becomes value $552,960
slack: freed time not put to use
- less 15% for risk $470,016
estimate risk
- less run cost $409,364
maintenance and usage
(03) The timeline
The first months are a cost.
Nothing pays during the build. Adoption ramps, then the curve climbs. Hours per person and the cost of an hour move payback most; a bigger team adds systems and training, so it can make payback slower, not faster.
Three levers
Payback with each input moved by a quarter. Your current value is the tick.
(04) Before you build
An estimate is not an audit.
The machine is a fair first answer. The systems audit replaces each assumption with a measurement and ends in a written quote. From $2,500, priced to your scope, credited against the build. You keep the process map either way.
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L160% of hours automate
Your real exception rate, on your documents
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L2The hours you typed
Handling time on real work, timed
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L3A generic build-cost curve
A fixed, written quote
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L4Systems unnamed
Every system, integration and access path, mapped
Net benefit$409,364 a year
Payback14.7 mo
Skip the call
Start the audit now.
Pay online by card or US bank account through Stripe. An engineer reads your brief within one business day and kicks off within two.
- 01 Pay your audit price By card or US bank account, through Stripe.
- 02 An engineer reads your brief You hear from them within one business day.
- 03 Kickoff within 2 business days Then the weeks on your work order to the process map and a written quote.
Credited in full: $2,500 against a build signed within 90 days of the readout.
SA-01 2 weeks $2,500 Updated price
Regular price $3,125. Launch offer: 20% off when you book by Dec 31, 2026. Your quote is held for 48 hours.
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(06) Questions
Fair questions.
Anything else: [email protected]
Is this a sales number?
No. It discounts freed hours twice, counts the build, training and run costs, and includes months with no benefit at all. If it errs, it errs low. The audit replaces the assumptions with measurements.
Where do the assumptions come from?
Forrester TEI conventions for realization, risk and the 10% discount rate, the BLS employer cost survey for wage levels, and McKinsey for how much work is automatable. Every assumption and its basis is in the drawer above and in the PDF.
Why is my payback longer than a vendor quoted?
Most quotes count gross hours and skip the build, the training and the adoption ramp. This one counts all three, so a payback of a year or more is a normal, healthy answer for a team-sized process.
What does "hours back" mean if nobody leaves?
Capacity: work your team stops doing by hand. Only half of it is counted as value, because freed time is not automatically put to use. How you use the rest is your call.
Why doesn't my small team pay back?
A custom build has fixed costs: integrations, security and testing. Below a certain volume they outweigh the hours. The machine tells you roughly where that line is; the audit may find a smaller fix or tell you to buy off the shelf.
What is in the PDF?
Your three inputs, the value bridge, build and run costs, payback, 3-year NPV, a 36-month cash view and every assumption with its source. Free, in your inbox in a minute or two. One email with the PDF.
Who sees my numbers?
They are stored with your email so we can send the report and an engineer can read it. We do not share them, and you can ask us to delete them at [email protected].
What does the audit add?
Two weeks and up with your team and your data: real handling times, your exception rate, every system mapped, and a fixed written quote. From $2,500, priced to your scope, credited against the build.
(07) Your move
Take the number with you.
Get the full report by email, or tell us about the process behind the number. A senior engineer replies within one business day.
40 people x 12 hrs x $80 = $409,364 a year, payback 14.7 mo.
Sent.
Your report is on its way to , usually within a minute or two.
Received.
An engineer will reply within one business day from [email protected]. If it is urgent, reach us at [email protected].