Workflow Automation ROI Calculator
Before you invest, let's check what the improvement could be worth. Work through the staff time you might release, how much could become cash benefit and what it will cost to build and run.
Use the automation roi modelRead the companion guideA transparent cash business case and sensitivity comparison.
Enter your own evidence, or try the clearly labeled fictional example. Generate a report, print it or save an editable copy to reopen later.
Your inputs stay in this page; they aren't sent to us or saved automatically. Before you leave, save an editable copy if you want to return to your work, and choose where to keep that download.
Prepared by the Regal Nexus Group editorial team. Version 1.0 · 21 October 2026.
Build a business case you can explain
Let's separate released time from cash benefit and compare the full costs before you rely on a return estimate.
You will create: A transparent cash business case and sensitivity comparison. Read the companion guide.
The model uses steady cash flows for simple payback. It does not account for the time value of money. See ACCA’s explanation of payback and discounted payback for the distinction.
How this tool works
- Start with the time you expect to release: monthly hours released = cases × minutes saved ÷ 60 × adoption. Multiply those hours by your loaded hourly labor cost to estimate capacity value.
- Then ask what becomes financial benefit: monthly cash benefit = capacity value × cash realization share + other evidenced avoided cost + incremental contribution. Check that you haven't counted a benefit twice.
- Compare the same period's benefits and costs: period cash ROI = (period cash benefits − total period costs) ÷ total period costs. Simple payback = upfront cost ÷ positive monthly net cash benefit. With zero total cost, ROI is undefined; with non-positive monthly net benefit, you don't reach payback.
- Use this as a steady-month planning model, not a forecast that includes ramp-up, discounting, tax or financing. To test sensitivity, the tool scales adoption and other benefits by 50%, 100% and 125%, caps adoption at 100% and keeps costs fixed.
A worked example
Try the fictional invoice example. You release 80 hours a month, worth USD 2,000 in capacity, but only 20% is assumed to become cash. Add USD 100 in separate avoided cost, USD 200 in monthly running cost and USD 6,000 upfront. Your 12-month cash ROI is −28.57%, with 20-month simple payback. That's why the cash-realization assumption matters.
Questions before you use it
Can I count all the hours saved as cash savings?
Only where you can substantiate the financial effect. You may free up useful capacity without reducing spending. Keep those hours separate from cash benefits unless an actual budget or cash change supports them.
Does simple payback account for the timing of cash flows?
No. If timing, financing or longer-term cash flows matter to your decision, work through an appropriate discounted appraisal with your finance team.
Download the companion checklist (PDF) · Read the full guide
Validate my automation business case
Bring your assumptions to a free 30-minute assessment. We'll work through your baseline, proposed scope and the evidence you need before relying on the expected benefits.
Validate my automation business caseYour inputs and report are not sent automatically when you open the booking page.