Business
Automation ROI Calculator
Hours saved, loaded labour cost and software spend in — payback and year-one return out.
Is the automation worth it?
Automation only pays when it removes hours you will actually stop doing — or errors that cost real cash. Count the weekly time saved, value it at a realistic loaded rate, then subtract build cost and ongoing babysitting. Include training, documentation and failure handling in the one-off cost so the payback period stays honest. A brittle scraper that needs a human every Monday morning is not ‘fully automated’; price that supervision. ROI here is a planning ratio, not an accounting profit figure for the statutory accounts. Compare the soft cost of meetings you might eliminate with the meeting cost calculator, and sense-check labour rates with salary to hourly. Software subscription fees belong in ongoing cost beside the hours. Estimates only — not investment or procurement advice. Security and access reviews belong in build cost for anything that touches customer data. Revisit ROI after the first quarter when the novelty maintenance burden becomes visible.
Worked example
A workflow costs £1,200 to build and £30 a month in SaaS. It saves five hours a week valued at £28 loaded cost (£140/week). Annual benefit ≈ £7,280; annual SaaS £360; net benefit about £6,920. Payback on the build is roughly two months before maintenance surprises. If someone still spends one hour a week watching the bot, net weekly saving falls to four hours and payback stretches accordingly.
Limits and assumptions
Saved hours only count if the person does higher-value work or you reduce contractor spend. Brittle integrations and undocumented zaps need a maintenance allowance. Compliance, security review and vendor lock-in are outside the simple ROI ratio.
Frequently asked questions
What hourly rate should I use for time saved?
Use loaded employee cost or the contractor rate you would otherwise pay — not a symbolic £10 ‘nice round number’.
Should I automate a task done once a quarter?
Usually not unless the task is error-prone or stressful. Focus on frequent, stable processes.
How do I include software subscription costs?
Add them to ongoing cost so ROI and payback reflect the true cash picture.
What if the automation fails monthly?
Estimate hours to recover each failure and subtract from weekly savings, or raise ongoing cost.
Is payback the same as ROI?
No. Payback is time to recover build cost; ROI relates net benefit to cost over a chosen period.