Free business automation tool
Model one repetitive workflow. Compare annual capacity, first-year economics, recurring value, and payback across three transparent scenarios.
No signup. No form submission. Your assumptions stay in this browser unless you choose to create a share link.
Model one workflow
Start with a workflow you can observe, such as lead intake, document handling, scheduling, reporting, invoicing, or customer follow-up.
Transparent methodology
The calculator intentionally models capacity—not invented revenue. Use a conservative baseline, compare the scenarios, and replace assumptions with observed workflow data before making an investment decision.
People × manual hours per person each week × operating weeks.
Annual manual hours × automatable share × scenario capture rate.
Gross automated hours × (1 − human review and exception share).
Net hours returned × loaded hourly labor cost.
Capacity value − implementation − annual operating cost. ROI divides that net amount by total first-year cost.
Implementation cost ÷ monthly capacity value after monthly operating cost. Ramp-up is not modeled.
Use a loaded rate
Employer labor cost can include wages, paid leave, insurance, retirement, legally required benefits, and other compensation. Use your own finance or payroll data when available.
Review the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology (opens in a new tab)Do not double-count
Time returned becomes financial value only when the business puts it to use. Do not add labor capacity, avoided hiring, and increased throughput together unless each outcome is independently evidenced.
Read the complete ROI decision guideWorkflow readiness check
The workflow also needs an operating design that people can trust. Validate these conditions before treating the estimate as an investment case.
The workflow happens often enough to measure and improve.
The correct next action can be defined or escalated.
Required information is accessible, current, and permitted.
A named person or team handles uncertain and failed cases.
Volume, touch time, delay, errors, and completion can be observed.
Leadership knows how returned time will create business value.
Frequently asked questions
Automation ROI compares the measurable value created by a workflow with the complete cost of implementing and operating it. A responsible model includes implementation, software, maintenance, human review, exceptions, and adoption—not only the minutes a demo appears to save.
No. Capacity value estimates the loaded labor value of time returned to the team. It becomes cash savings only when payroll or outside spend is actually reduced. It may instead create capacity for faster response, additional volume, customer work, quality control, or other priorities.
The calculator is a directional planning model, not a forecast or guarantee. Its usefulness depends on the quality of the workflow baseline, the realism of the automatable share, the human-review estimate, implementation cost, and recurring operating cost. Validate important decisions with observed workflow data.
Include discovery, process design, application work, integrations, data preparation, security controls, testing, rollout, training, and initial operating setup. Recurring software, infrastructure, model usage, monitoring, support, and improvement belong in monthly operating cost.
Strong candidates usually have repeatable volume, stable rules, accessible data, measurable handling time, defined exceptions, and a clear owner. Work involving ambiguous judgment, unsafe system access, poor source data, or no recovery path needs redesign before automation.
