FLOXOLAB / AUTOMATION ROI CALCULATOR

Automation ROI calculator:
is this task worth automating?

Turn a repetitive task into a decision you can explain. Estimate the time you get back, account for the work automation creates, and find your break-even point.

Time saved is a benefit.
Cash saved is a different number.

See how we separate them ↓

Describe the work

Start with an illustration, then replace its assumptions.

Illustrative example · not a quote or benchmark

Task name

Total runs across the team

Frequency

Minutes per manual run

Value of one work hour

Currency for all costs

Use total person-minutes per run. Do not multiply by team size again. Currency changes the label; it does not convert amounts.

Model the automation

Manual time removed 70%

Keep time for exceptions and checks in the remaining percentage. This is your assumption, not an industry average.

One-time build cost

Tools & usage / month

Maintenance hours / month

Months until launch

Maintenance is extra workflow upkeep, beyond the per-run work left above. Tool and paid support costs begin now; benefits and upkeep begin at launch.

Internal setup, paid support & cash savings

Internal setup hours

Paid support / month

Only include costs not already counted. Internal hours use the hourly value above; paid support is an additional cash expense.

Freed time that reduces paid spending 0%

Leave at 0% if salaries stay the same. Increase only for spending you expect to avoid, such as billed contractor hours or overtime. The rest is capacity for other work.

Saving replaces your one local plan. A shared link includes your inputs in its fragment. Anyone with it can read them.

YOUR DECISION BRIEFUSD · 12 months

Your estimate will appear here

Based on your inputs, including setup and ongoing costs.

First-year net time value—

After build, internal setup, tools, support and upkeep.

Hours back / year one—

Time-value payback—From today, including launch delay

First-year time-value ROI—Net time value ÷ total investment

First-year cash impact—

Manual work / month

Work left + upkeep

The path to break-even

24-month projection

━ Net time value┄ Cash impact

What if it saves less time?

Change only the time removed by ±20 percentage points, bounded at 0–100%. These are scenarios, not probabilities.

Time removed	Year-one value	Payback

Your decision thresholds

Show the year-one calculation

An estimate of one workflow, not a quote or a revenue forecast. A positive time value does not guarantee a cash return.

READ THE RESULT

A business case you can question.

Use this to choose what to pilot and what to measure. The most useful number is the one you can verify.

01 / TIME

Capacity comes first

Monthly runs × manual minutes ÷ 60 gives current work hours. Multiply by the percentage removed, then subtract monthly upkeep. Hours back in year one includes only the months after launch.

02 / VALUE

Include the whole investment

First-year net time value = hours back × hourly value − one-time build − internal setup time value − 12 months of tools and paid support. ROI divides that net value by build, setup, tools, support and upkeep time value.

03 / CASH

A salary may stay the same

Cash impact applies your avoided-spending percentage to net freed time, then subtracts the build and recurring cash costs. Internal setup uses existing staff time, so it is a time cost here. Put any additional setup payment into the build cost.

04 / ASSUMPTIONS

Keep the model simple, visibly

Daily runs use working days × 52; weekly runs use 52 and monthly runs use 12. Volume, prices and performance stay constant. Launch is a step change, not a gradual ramp. No taxes, discounting, revenue lift or error-reduction benefit is modeled.

BEFORE YOU BUILD

Test the assumption that matters most.

Time 10 manual runs. Pilot the workflow with real exceptions. Track human review and upkeep. Then replace these estimates with what you measured.

Discuss this workflow with FloxoLab ↗See workflow examples →Compare automation platform costs →