Estimate time and cost savings from your automation.
Meeting your automation ROI goals depends on time saved, how often the process runs, and what you spend to build and license it. This calculator helps you estimate gross savings, net Year 1 return, and payback period. Adjust the inputs below and watch the results and chart update in real time.
Shows how your position changes month by month. Starts negative (implementation cost) and rises as savings accumulate. Crosses zero at payback.
The number of minutes of manual work that each automation run replaces. If a flow processes an approval that used to take 5 minutes by hand, enter 5. Microsoft's business value example uses 2–3 minutes per vehicle inspection.
How often the flow or automated process runs in a typical month. A daily approval flow for 20 people might run 400–600 times per month depending on volume.
The total cost per hour of the person whose time is being saved, including salary, benefits, and overhead. Microsoft's adoption guidance uses $50 per hour for field engineers. Adjust for your organization's labor costs.
The one-time cost to build the solution: development hours × hourly rate, plus any external consulting or tooling. Example: 40 hours at $50/hour = $2,000.
Power Automate, Power Apps, or other per-user, per-month licensing costs for the people using the solution. Power Automate per-user plans and Power Apps per-app plans are common.
The number of months until cumulative savings equal implementation cost. Formula: Implementation cost ÷ (Monthly gross savings − Monthly license). Forrester's 2024 Power Platform study found payback in under six months for a composite organization.