Most teams are sitting on $50K–$200K in recoverable cost.

Automation ROI is the dollar value an automation project returns relative to its build and operating cost. For most SMB workflows, that comes down to four numbers: hours of manual work removed, the loaded cost of those hours, the value of avoided errors, and the upfront build cost. Annualizing the first three and netting the fourth produces a defensible payback period (typically 30 to 120 days) and a multi-year return.

The defaults per workflow type are tuned against real numbers we have observed across the case studies on this site. Your specific situation will vary, sometimes meaningfully. The calculator is designed to give you a defensible first-pass estimate to decide whether a deeper conversation is worth having, not a fixed quote.

Fixed-fee project work: discovery, scoping, build, testing, documentation, handoff, and a short post-launch monitoring window. It does not include ongoing maintenance, which we structure as a separate optional retainer (typically $200 to $800 per month depending on complexity).

Because automation does not just save labor cost, it frees humans to do revenue-generating work. The lift factor varies by workflow type (sales outreach is much higher than bookkeeping, for example). The toggle lets you turn it off if you only care about the cost-saving side of the math.

It is the number of days of operation it takes for the total annual benefit to equal the upfront build cost. After that point, every additional day of operation is net positive. Most properly-scoped automations have a payback period between 30 and 120 days.

Project cost depends entirely on workflow complexity. Bookkeeping and document automation typically range from $3,500 to $12,000 fixed-fee. Sales outreach and CRM automation range $4,000 to $18,000. Voice agents and full call-center stacks range $12,000 to $25,000. The calculator above gives a workflow-specific midpoint as the default; the FAQ below the calculator covers what is included.

Almost always, for any workflow that consumes more than 10 hours per week of team time and recurs predictably. The two cases where it is not worth it: workflows that change shape every month (the automation breaks faster than it pays back) and workflows that are inherently low-value (automating a $15-an-hour task to save $2K a year is rarely worth $8K of build cost).

Most fixed-fee automation engagements ship in 1 to 3 weeks once requirements are agreed. Discovery is typically a 15-minute call and a written scope. Build, test, and document is the bulk of the time. Handoff includes a Loom walkthrough and a brief monitoring window where any edge cases get patched.

Make.com is a hosted visual workflow builder, fastest for non-developer setup. n8n is open-source and self-hostable, better for sensitive data or high-volume flows where per-operation pricing would be expensive. Google Apps Script runs inside the Google Workspace boundary, ideal for Sheets-bound work and Gmail automation. Most of our builds use a combination based on where the data already lives.

Two ways. First, the URL updates automatically as you adjust inputs — copy it from your address bar and paste it anywhere. Second, enter your email in the results panel and we will send a formatted one-page report with all the numbers and methodology.

Pick the closest match, or use 'Something else' for a conservative cross-category default. Then book a call. We can pull a more accurate number against your specific process in 15 minutes than any calculator can in 30 seconds.