Workflow automation ROI calculator
Estimate labor saved, review cost, correction work, monthly net value, setup payback, and annual return. Results are planning estimates, not financial forecasts.
Run three scenarios before approving a pilot
What is included
Labor avoided, ongoing review, expected correction work, software spend, and one-time setup.
What is not included
Revenue lift, change management, security review, taxes, downtime, or the cost of a high-consequence failure.
Use the result safely
Run conservative and optimistic scenarios. A positive number does not replace a bounded pilot.
Validate the baseline before you buy software
The $149 teardown maps real volume, exception paths, review work, platform fit, and a fixed pilot scope.
Build inputs from observed records
Use the last thirty days of run volume and time a representative manual sample rather than relying on memory. Loaded labor cost should include wages, taxes, benefits, and the portion of management time attributable to the work. Software cost should include the selected plan, premium connectors, users, AI usage, monitoring, and any infrastructure required to operate the workflow.
Reconcile the model after a bounded pilot
Save every input, source, date, owner, and calculated result. During the pilot, measure setup hours, automated runs, review minutes, correction rate, correction minutes, failed runs, duplicate actions, and downtime. Replace the estimate with observed values, then rerun conservative, expected, and stress cases. Stop when net value depends on unverified revenue lift or assumes failures cost nothing.
Limitations
The calculator does not model taxes, financing, security review, change management, customer harm, regulatory exposure, or the full cost of a high-consequence failure. It is a planning aid, not financial advice or a provider quote. Keep the result beside the workflow map and acceptance criteria so another person can reproduce the decision.