What's the problem costing you,
and what does the solution return?
From process cost accounting to ROI, payback and net present value. Start with three values, and go into as much detail as you like. Your result is always just a click away.
Three values are enough for the process costs. If you want, keep going up to ROI and net present value. Free, no sign-up, nothing is sent.
- Process cost / year
- €81,144searching, re-typing, duplicate work
- Inefficiency / year
- €91,555incl. rework and point solutions
- Payback
- 26 monthsafter running costs
- ROI over 3 years
- 40 %NPV €8,243
Worked example with the default values: 8 people each lose 4.9 hrs a week at €45 fully loaded cost per hour. Software for €40,000 saves 27 % of the cost of inefficiency.
How does the cost-benefit calculator work?
The calculator answers two questions in turn. First: what does a workflow cost per year that currently runs on manual work, follow-up questions and disconnected point solutions? Second: does a one-off investment in software that removes part of that cost pay for itself? Every formula is listed here, and every default can be changed in the calculator.
How do you calculate process costs?
Process cost = people involved × fully loaded cost per working hour × hours lost per person per week × 46 productive working weeks. That's the time that goes into searching, re-typing, duplicate work and switching between media.
On top come rework, a percentage of the process cost for corrections and follow-up questions, and the cost of disconnected point solutions (monthly licence and running costs × 12). The total is the annual cost of inefficiency.
How much does software save?
Gross savings are the expected efficiency gain in percent, applied to the cost of inefficiency. The calculator uses the share that can realistically be achieved, not the technical maximum.
The running costs of the new software are deducted from that, set as an annual percentage of the investment for maintenance, hosting and changes. What's left is the net saving per year, which all three metrics build on.
How do you calculate payback, ROI and NPV?
- Payback
- Investment ÷ net saving per year, in months. If the net saving is zero or negative, the investment never pays back.
- ROI
- (Net saving × years in the period − investment) ÷ investment. Easy to read, but it ignores when the money comes back.
- Net present value (NPV)
- Each year's net saving is discounted at the discount rate, added up and reduced by the investment. If it's positive, the investment returns more than putting the money to work at that rate. Because it accounts for when the returns arrive, it's the strictest of the three metrics.
Which default values does it use?
The defaults are deliberately conservative. Where there's a reliable source it's linked, where there isn't, that's stated:
- Hourly rate: Destatis, labour cost per hour 2024 (avg. €43.40)
- Time lost: Asana, Anatomy of Work Global Index 2023 (4.9 hrs/week)
- Discount rate: KPMG, Cost of Capital Study (avg. WACC ~8 %)
- Efficiency gain 27 % and maintenance 15 %/year: conservative in-house assumptions (industry rules of thumb), no hard source
How accurate is the result?
It's a model calculation for orientation, not a business case for your project. The result depends mostly on two inputs, the hours lost and the efficiency gain, and both can only be estimated until the workflow has actually been mapped. The calculator assumes the same savings every year, with no ramp-up, taxes or grants.
The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Only what you send through the enquiry form yourself is transmitted.
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Your inputs, the actual cost structure and the projection with savings, ROI, payback and net present value, cleanly as a PDF, ready to share with your team.
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