Automation ROI Calculator
Work out whether an automation is worth building before you build it.
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Payback period (including maintenance)
2.1 months
Strong case
Monthly
Year one
How to use the result#
The number that matters is not annual saving — it is payback period including maintenance. Automations have an ongoing cost that most business cases omit, and that omission is why so many automation programmes look successful on paper and unimpressive in the accounts.
The inputs that people get wrong#
Maintenance hours. The most under-estimated input by a wide margin. A workflow touching an external system needs attention whenever that system changes. Budget 10–20% of the build effort annually as a floor.
Error rate reduction. Only count errors that actually cost something. A typo caught at the next step costs nothing; a wrong payment costs the payment.
Volume growth. An automation processing 100 items a month may not justify itself. At 1,000 it usually does. Model the volume you expect in a year, not today's.
A useful rule of thumb
If the payback period exceeds 18 months on today's volume, the automation is usually not the right next project — unless volume is growing fast, in which case model that explicitly rather than hoping.
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