How to Calculate the ROI of Automation Before You Build

One of the most common mistakes businesses make is automating things without knowing if they'll actually get a return. Here's a simple framework to calculate ROI before you build anything.

The Formula

Monthly ROI = (Time Saved × Hourly Rate + Revenue Recovered) − Monthly Tool Cost

That's it. Let's put numbers to it.

Example: Lead Follow-Up Automation

Time saved: Your team currently spends 2 hours/day manually following up on leads. That's 10 hours/week, 40 hours/month.

Hourly rate: At $30/hour (admin/sales rate), that's $1,200/month in labor.

Revenue recovered: You estimate you're losing 2 leads/month to slow follow-up. Your average project value is $1,800. That's $3,600/month in recovered potential revenue.

Tool cost: Make Professional plan + a CRM tool = $60/month.

Monthly ROI = ($1,200 + $3,600) − $60 = $4,740/month

That's a 79x return on the tool cost. Even if you're conservative and only recover 1 lead and save half the time, you're at 30x.

Example: Invoice Follow-Up Automation

Time saved: 1 hour/week chasing invoices = 4 hours/month = $120/month (at $30/hr).

Revenue recovered: You have $30,000/month in invoices. 8% typically go 30+ days late. Automation recovers half of those = $1,200/month.

Tool cost: $20/month (already covered by the Make subscription above).

Monthly ROI = ($120 + $1,200) − $20 = $1,300/month

What to Measure Before You Build

Before you start any automation project, answer these three questions:

1. How many hours/week does this task currently take? (Be specific. Time yourself for a week if needed.)

2. What's the hourly rate of the person doing it? (Use fully-loaded cost, not just salary.)

3. Is there any direct revenue impact? (Lost leads, late payments, missed upsells.)

Sum it up. If the total exceeds your monthly tool cost by at least 3x, it's worth building.

The Payback Period

For most automation projects, the payback period is under 60 days. A well-scoped lead intake system typically pays back in the first week it's live.

If you want us to run this calculation for your specific workflows, book a free AI audit. We'll tell you exactly what to build first and what the projected return looks like.