Test the assumptions. See the full cost.
Start with an industry and team size, then change the share of opportunity captured and the costs. See the net value after running costs and the build investment. These are planning assumptions, not measured savings or a forecast.
12 operating months at your selected capture, after running costs and one-time investment
- Annual net after running costs
- +$17,013
- Payback at selected capture
- 13 months
Planning assumptions, not a forecast. Saved time is not automatically cash savings. Audit fees, managed services and internal time are excluded unless added to your inputs.
At 100% capture, the first-year ceiling is +$130,263. Full recovery is a theoretical limit, not a prediction or typical result.
See the full calculation and limits
- Manual-work opportunity+$100,000
- Capacity opportunity+$50,000
- Value at selected capture+$18,750
- Run costs / year-$1,737
- Sprint investment (one-time)-$18,000
A planning model, not a promise. Saved time is not automatically cash savings; count it only when you can explain how it produces value. Use gross profit rather than sales revenue, and do not count the same recovered hours twice. The default opportunity rates are assumptions, not survey averages. The first year means twelve months of operation; it does not include the pre-launch period. Audit fees, managed services, internal time, taxes and financing are excluded unless included in your inputs. Read the formula and worked examples.
Law, accounting, insurance, consulting, financial advisory.
12.5% is a sensitivity case, not an expected result. 100% is the theoretical ceiling.
Defaults are headcount-based planning estimates. Replace them with your scoped costs. Audit fees, managed services, internal labor and other extras are excluded unless you add them here.
12 operating months, after the costs above.
View the model assumptions
- Manual work / employee$4,000/yr
- Capacity value / employee$2,000/yr
- Sprint investment$18,000
- Run costs (tools + model usage)$1,737/yr
Bring this scenario to a free 30-minute assessment. We can help validate the inputs and compare the workflow with a simpler alternative. See published service prices.
Cost is half the question. Find out if you’re ready.
How this is modeled.
The whole model, written out. If you disagree with an assumption, change it above — that is what it is there for.
The calculation
Annual opportunity = employees × (the industry's manual-work rate + capacity-value rate). The rates are published assumptions. The selected capture percentage reduces that opportunity to the value in your scenario.
Annual net value = opportunity × capture percentage − twelve months of running costs. First-year net subtracts the one-time investment as well. Payback divides investment by positive annual net value; zero or negative annual net does not pay back.
Editable assumptions
Change capture, monthly running costs and one-time investment. The starting investment uses $720 per employee, floored at $18,000 and capped at $60,000. That is a planning proxy within the published $18,000–$60,000 sprint range, not a quote calculated from headcount.
Default running cost scales from $50 a month at five employees to $500 at one hundred. It is a convenience assumption, not a measured relationship between employees and model usage. Once you edit a cost, changing headcount keeps your cost in place. Reset restores the planning defaults.
The default 25-person example
Professional services starts at $100,000 of manual-work opportunity plus $50,000 of capacity opportunity. At 12.5% capture, that is $18,750 of modeled annual value. Subtract $1,737 running costs and the $18,000 one-time investment: first-year net is −$987. Annual net before the build cost is $17,013 and simple payback is about thirteen operating months.
What this cannot prove
The 100% capture figure is a theoretical ceiling. Neither it nor the 12.5% case is a forecast, a confidence interval or a guaranteed result. Actual results can be worse, including no return.
Recovered hours are not automatically payroll savings. Revenue capacity needs demand, adoption and gross margin to become value. Avoid double-counting labor value and the revenue generated by the same hours. Add audit fees, managed services, internal review time and other relevant costs to make a complete business case.
The model, asked plainly.
01What are the calculator's assumptions?
Industry and team size set an assumed opportunity baseline. You can edit the captured share, monthly running cost and one-time investment. First-year net subtracts both twelve months of running costs and the build investment. Fees and other costs not entered are excluded.
02Where do the $4,000 and $2,000 figures come from?
They are planning assumptions for professional services, not survey results or proven savings. Other industries use different published rates. Adjust the captured share and replace the baseline with measured workflow costs before making an investment decision.
03Is this a projection of what we will save?
No, and the distinction matters. It is a model, not a promise. It shows what the stated assumptions imply arithmetically for a business your size. Your real numbers come out of an AI Readiness Audit, which measures your actual workflows rather than a per-employee average.
04Does industry change the estimate?
Yes. Each industry has different manual-work and capacity-value assumptions, listed in the model guide. The formulas are shared. Changing industry changes the opportunity baseline; it does not prove which workflow your business should automate.