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Automation ROI Calculator
List the repetitive tasks your team does by hand. See how many hours a year automating them frees up, what that time is worth, and which task to automate first. Add your own build and running costs to get payback.
1. Repetitive tasks
One row per task a person does by hand today. Estimate time per run, not per day.
% automatable: the share of runs the automation can finish on its own. Real workflows have exceptions — bad data, approvals, edge cases — that still need a person, so 100% is rarely realistic.
2. What that time costs
3. Your automation costs (optional)
Add your own estimates to see net benefit and payback.
Turn the estimate into working automations
I build self-hosted n8n and AI workflows that connect your CRM, inbox, spreadsheets and internal tools — with error handling and a person in the loop where judgement is needed.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a fully loaded hourly cost?
What an hour of someone's time really costs the business: salary plus payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, software and office overhead, divided by the hours they actually work. It is usually well above the hourly wage, so using the wage alone understates the saving.
Why not set every task to 100% automatable?
Real workflows have exceptions — missing fields, unusual formats, approvals, records that need a judgement call. A well-built automation routes those to a person instead of guessing. 70–90% is a realistic range for most structured, rules-based tasks; lower for work that depends on reading messy documents.
What goes into the monthly running cost?
Hosting or platform subscription for the automation tool, any paid API usage (for example AI model calls), and time spent maintaining workflows when connected apps change. Self-hosted tools such as n8n trade a subscription for server and upkeep costs.
Is time saved the same as money saved?
Only if the time is used for something else. Hours freed from data entry are worth their full cost when they go to sales, support or other work that would otherwise need more hiring. Treat the figure as the value of capacity released, not guaranteed cash.
Does this calculator store what I enter?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved.