Small business automation ROI planner
Model staff capacity, review effort and a separate cash-payback scenario using your own assumptions.
Cash realization defaults to zero because released employee time does not automatically reduce payroll. Change it only with a defensible cash-benefit assumption. This is a planning model, not a financial forecast.
Method
Gross hours removed = tasks × manual minutes ÷ 60 × removed percentage. Subtract review and exception hours. Multiply the net capacity by your loaded labor rate. Subtract recurring costs and setup cost spread over the chosen horizon to estimate net capacity value.
The separate cash scenario applies your realization percentage to net capacity value before software and setup. Simple payback uses cash benefit minus recurring cost and is unavailable when that monthly amount is not positive. Taxes, discounting, revenue growth and changing workload are excluded.
Use measured inputs
Observe a real sample, include exceptions and compare invoices over the same horizon. If review takes longer than the manual time removed, the tool shows negative released capacity. Read the automation cost guide for scoping and acceptance tests.