ROI Calculator
ROI on an operations automation project
A services business spends $120,000/year on a manual back-office process and expects $46,000/year of savings after a $38,000 build that takes 3 months.
Example inputs
- Current annual cost
- $120,000
- Estimated annual savings
- $46,000
- Implementation cost
- $38,000
- Time to implement
- 3 months
- Discount rate
- 10%
Return on Investment
232.9%
3-year ROI based on implementation cost vs. modeled post-implementation cost reductions
Annual Cost Reduction
38.3%
Modeled annual savings as a share of current annual cost ($46,000 / $120,000)
Payback Period
12.9 months
Time to recover initial investment
3-Year NPV
$69,489
Net present value at 10% discount rate
3-Year Modeled Savings
$126,500
Modeled cost reductions over 36 months after implementation delay
Net Benefit
$88,500
Total savings minus implementation cost
This investment shows a 233% ROI with a payback period of 12.9 months. The 3-year NPV is $69,489.
What it recommends
- Exceptional result: 233% ROI means the modeled net benefit is $88,500 over 3 years. Validate the $46,000/year cost-reduction assumption before moving to approval.
- Payback is 13 months; you need $38,000 in available cash or financing for that recovery window. Ensure your cash flow can absorb this without straining operations.
Show the decision trail (6 steps)
- 01Analyzed investment of $38,000 with 3 month implementation
- 02Used current annual cost baseline of $120,000
- 03Modeled annual cost reduction of $46,000 (38.3% of current annual cost)
- 04Applied 10.0% discount rate for NPV calculation
- 05Projected 36-month modeled savings after implementation delay of $126,500
- 06Determined break-even at month 13
Why this matters: A full discounted-cash-flow model — 3-year ROI %, payback in months, break-even month, and risk-adjusted NPV at a 10% discount rate — computed from first principles on this server request.