For business owners
Free workflow automation ROI calculator
Use the automation ROI calculator for staff workflows to estimate recovered hours, costs and payback while separating capacity from cash savings.
- Free to use
- No account needed
Your result
Starting example. Replace these figures with your own.
117.7778%First-year ROI on realizable benefit
- Released hours per year
- 336 hours
- Released capacity value
- $11,760.00
- Estimated realized annual benefit
- $5,880.00
- First-year setup and running cost
- $2,700.00
- First-year net benefit
- $3,180.00
- Ongoing monthly net benefit
- $390.00
- Setup payback
- 3.8462 months
Calculation
ROI = (realized annual benefit − setup − annual running cost) ÷ (setup + annual running cost) × 100.
Read with the result
Released time is capacity, not automatic cash savings.
Uses your 50% financial realization assumption. Benefits and active weeks are spread evenly for the payback estimate.
USD. Running cost is charged for 12 months; setup is one-time. ROI is not defined when total investment is zero.
Payback uses unrounded ongoing net benefit. Taxes, discounting, revenue uplift and error reduction are not added automatically.
More options
Compare another scenario
Scenario B has its own inputs and result. Changes here do not replace Scenario A.
Use it from an AI browser
This page has site tools: actions an AI agent can call directly, with no plugin or API key. The ChatGPT desktop app’s browser can use them where site tools are available, and so can Chrome with WebMCP turned on. The agent works on this page, with the same steps and limits as its buttons, so you can check the result before you use it.
Open doany.ai/tools/automation-roi-calculator and model a workflow taking 20 hours a week, with 70% automated and 2 review hours a week, USD 40 loaded hourly cost, 48 active weeks, USD 3,000 setup and USD 200 monthly running cost. Use 50% financial realization of released time.
Site tools work only while this page is open. They never send messages, invoices or payments for you.
Build an automation case from the work it changes
Start with observed manual effort. Model the share automation can handle, include review and operating costs, and decide how much recovered capacity can produce realizable value.
Measure the manual baseline
Enter manual hours per active week, the share of that work you expect to automate and the weeks the process runs. Use measured effort rather than the entire team’s paid time.
Include work that remains
Enter review hours, a loaded hourly cost, setup cost and monthly operating cost. Keep the review effort on the same weekly basis and include recurring software or support costs you expect.
Test the realizable benefit
Choose the share of recovered labour value you expect to realize. Compare a more conservative second scenario and review first-year value and payback before deciding to build.
Separate the operating improvement from the cash claim
Recovered hours can help a team, but their financial value depends on what the team does with them.
Reduce repetitive administration
What to change
A process takes 10 hours a week. Automating 60% saves 6 gross hours; 1 hour of review leaves 5 hours of recovered capacity.
Before you use it
The review hour includes exception handling and quality checks, not only pressing a button.
Support a seasonal workflow
What to change
Use only the weeks the process runs, while including all months of a subscription you still pay.
Before you use it
A seasonal process does not generate a full year of time benefit by default.
Compare a cautious rollout
What to change
Lower the automation share or realization assumption and increase review time in the second scenario.
Before you use it
Keep setup, operating costs and the measurement period visible so a favorable result is not created by omitting them.
Review the business case before committing
- Manual effort and review effort use the same weekly basis.
- Active weeks reflect how often the process really runs.
- Loaded hourly cost and realization are explicit assumptions.
- Setup and recurring costs include the expenses you expect to incur.
- Recovered capacity is not automatically a payroll reduction or verified cash saving.
Count the hours still needed
Net recovered hours per active week = manual hours × automation share − review hours. If review takes more time than the automated share saves, the model shows a time shortfall rather than treating the difference as a saving.
Value only the benefit you can realize
Recovered hours × loaded hourly cost gives a capacity value. Applying the realization assumption makes the modeled benefit more conservative when only some of that capacity can reduce costs or produce useful additional work.
Include the cost of getting there
First-year net value subtracts setup and annual operating costs from the modeled annual benefit. Payback compares setup cost with positive ongoing net benefit; no finite payback is established when ongoing benefit does not exceed operating cost.
Sources checked on October 9, 2026: Microsoft Learn: user-defined automation savings baselinesopens in a new tab
Questions about this tool
How do I calculate automation ROI?
Define the manual workload, estimate the automated share, subtract review effort and value the recovered time under your realization assumption. Compare that modeled benefit with setup and operating costs over the same period. The displayed breakdown states the cost basis.
Are recovered hours the same as cash savings?
No. A team can recover capacity without reducing payroll or outside spend. Cash savings require a cost that actually goes away; extra revenue requires useful work and demand. Use the realization assumption to represent the portion you can justify.
What should I include in loaded hourly cost?
Use the cost or value basis relevant to your plan, such as wages plus employer burden and allocated benefits. Keep the basis explicit. A selling rate includes a different economic meaning and should not be substituted without explanation.
Why does the calculator include review time?
Automated work can still require checking, corrections and exception handling. Enter the weekly effort that remains so the model does not value gross time removed as if no human work were required.
How do setup and monthly costs affect the result?
Setup is an upfront investment in the first-year comparison. Monthly costs continue across the year. Include the software, integration, maintenance and support amounts relevant to your scenario instead of assuming automation has no ongoing expense.
What does automation payback mean?
Payback estimates how long positive ongoing net benefit would take to recover setup cost under the entered assumptions. If ongoing benefit does not cover operating cost, the model cannot establish a finite payback period.
Can I model a process that runs only part of the year?
Yes. Use the active-weeks field for the workload that produces time benefit. Check whether the monthly operating cost is paid year-round; fewer active weeks do not automatically cancel a subscription.
Does this measure or build a live automation?
No. It is a local planning calculation from your figures, available without signup. Compare a second scenario and copy or download the business case; no workflow is enabled and no realized saving is verified.