Free ROI calculator
AI automation ROI calculator
What would automating one process return? Enter its hours, costs and timing to see the first-year ROI, the payback month and the three-year position, with every assumption on the page.
ROI calculator
Change any number and the results update. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to create a business case.
- First-year ROI
- 79%
- Benefit-to-cost 1.8x
- Payback
- Month 9
- Counted from project start
- Three-year net benefit
- $164,368
- Three-year ROI 465%
- Hours freed per year
- 1,664
- About 0.8 full-time equivalent
| Period | Benefit | Cost | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $49,920 | $27,813 | $22,108 |
| Year 2 | $74,880 | $3,750 | $71,130 |
| Year 3 | $74,880 | $3,750 | $71,130 |
| Three years | $199,680 | $35,313 | $164,368 |
Full yearly benefit once adoption is complete: $74,880.
If the automated share is lower or higher
| Scenario | Hours automated | First-year ROI | Payback | Three-year net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 20% | -10% | Month 14 | $64,528 |
| As entered | 40% | 79% | Month 9 | $164,368 |
| Optimistic | 50% | 124% | Month 8 | $214,288 |
Assumptions
- People doing the work
- 10
- Hours per person per week on it
- 8
- Loaded cost per hour
- $45
- Share of those hours automated
- 40%
- Implementation cost (one-time, month 1)
- $25,000
- Running cost per year (from go-live)
- $3,750
- Go-live
- End of month 3
- Ramp to full benefit
- 3 months after go-live, straight line
- Other yearly benefit
- $0
- Working weeks per year
- 52
- Hours in one full-time year
- 2,080
How this is calculated
- Benefit is the value of staff time freed up, priced at the loaded hourly cost, plus any other yearly benefit you entered. Freed time is capacity that can be redeployed; it is not a headcount reduction unless you choose to make one.
- No benefit is counted before go-live. After go-live, benefit grows in a straight line to the full amount over the ramp-up period.
- The implementation cost is counted in full in month 1. Running costs are counted every month from go-live.
- ROI is (benefit minus cost) divided by cost for the period. Payback is the first month in which cumulative benefit covers cumulative cost.
- No industry multipliers, benchmarks, growth rates or discounting are applied. The figures are an estimate based on your inputs, not a quote or a guarantee.
Turn this into a business case
Add a few details about the process and get a PDF with these figures, the assumptions behind them and a phased plan you can share.
Getting numbers you can trust
- 01
Pick one process
Estimate one process at a time, such as invoice entry or first-line support. Mixing several makes the share automated hard to judge.
- 02
Measure the hours
Ask the people who do the work, or time a sample week. A rough but honest figure beats a precise guess.
- 03
Use loaded cost
Salary plus benefits and overhead, divided by working hours. Roughly 1.25 to 1.4 times the base hourly wage is a common starting point.
- 04
Be careful with the share
The part of the work the automation would take over. Exceptions, reviews and judgement calls usually stay with people, so start conservative.
What AsymiLink Meta clients report
These are results across our client engagements. They are not part of your estimate, which uses only your numbers.
- 3.8x
- average first-year ROI across client engagements
- 96%
- of clients engage AsymiLink Meta for larger projects within 12 months
ROI is measured across client engagements against a baseline agreed before work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Need it in a document?
The business case generator turns these figures into a PDF with an executive summary, recommended solutions and a phased plan.
Not sure which process to start with? Our AI consulting team can help you choose one, and AI agents for support and sales are a common first project.