Scalor
    Resources · Calculators

    Automation ROI calculator

    Before you automate, run the numbers: what the task costs you today, how much the automation saves each month and how many months the project takes to pay for itself. The starting values are the example from our article on the cost of automation; change them to yours. You can also call it a simulator: the numbers change as you move the sliders.

    Your numbers
    h

    Add up everyone involved.

    €/h

    Salary plus employer costs, not just take-home pay.

    %

    Typically between 70% and 90%.

    €

    Design, integration, testing and launch.

    €/month
    Result
    Time to pay for itself12.5 months
    Current monthly cost of the task€400
    Net savings per month€240
    Hours freed up per month13.6 h
    Result after 12 months−€120
    Result after 3 years€5,640

    Indicative estimate: real values depend on your process and your data.

    Time to pay for itself12.5 months

    How it is calculated

    Current monthly cost = hours per month × cost of each hour.

    Net monthly savings = current cost × automated share − tools and maintenance.

    Time to pay for itself = project cost ÷ net monthly savings. The 12-month and 3-year results are the accumulated net savings minus the project cost.

    The calculation leaves out the value of freeing that person to sell, serve customers better or grow, and the errors avoided. That is why the real gain is usually larger than what you see here.

    Sources

    Frequently asked questions

    What share of the work should I assume the automation removes?

    For repetitive tasks with clear rules, 70% to 90% is realistic. If the task needs a lot of human judgement, use a lower value or pick a different process to start with.

    What counts as the cost of each hour?

    The total cost to the company: gross salary, employer costs and a share of overheads. Using only take-home pay makes the automation look less profitable than it is.

    How long should an automation take to pay for itself?

    Many SME automations pay for themselves in anywhere from a few months to about a year. If the numbers show several years, the process has little volume or the project is oversized.

    The 12-month result is negative. Is the project not worth it?

    Not necessarily. A negative first year with a 13 or 14-month payback is normal. What matters is the payback period and the recurring gain after it.

    Is this a calculator or a simulator?

    Here they are the same thing: change the values and see the result instantly, with nothing to install and no details to leave. If you were looking for an automation ROI simulator, this is it.

    Go deeper

    Other calculators

    Cost of a manual processWhat a repetitive task nobody accounts for costs per year.Open calculator Cost of an AI applicationWhat a chatbot, an agent or document analysis costs per month, by model.Open calculator Process automationThe cost of manual work, what is worth automating, which tools to use and how to move from rules to AI agents.Read the guide

    Want help putting this into practice?

    In a free 30-minute assessment we look at your operation and show you where the biggest return is.

    Get a free assessment