AI automation savings calculator

What Is ROI from AI Automation and How Is It Calculated

ROI (return on investment) from AI automation is the ratio between the savings that automation brings and the cost you invested to make it work. The simplest formula the calculator uses is:

ROI = (total savings over the period − total cost) / total cost × 100

The period is most often three years, because that is the timeframe in which you can see whether the investment paid off after covering the initial costs (implementation, integrations, training) and the monthly running costs (licenses, API calls, maintenance).

The key difference compared to a simple "how many hours do we save" calculation is that ROI also includes the cost. Automation that saves 40 hours a month but costs more than that saving is not a good investment, no matter how impressive it sounds.

How to Calculate Savings from Automation for a Repetitive Task

The procedure is the same for every task, only the numbers change. Do it like this:

1. Count the people who do the same task. If three people enter invoices, that is three, not one.
2. Measure the hours per week per person. Do not estimate "roughly"; take one real week and add up the time.
3. Calculate the gross cost of an hour of work. Take the salary, add taxes and contributions, then add a share of overhead (space, equipment, software). The gross hourly cost is usually significantly higher than the net salary divided by hours.
4. Multiply the number of people × hours per week × gross hourly cost × 4.33 (the average number of weeks in a month).
5. Apply the percentage that AI realistically takes over. For tasks with clear rules this is usually 50 to 80 percent, not 100, because people still check exceptions.

Example: two people at 6 hours a week sorting emails, gross hourly cost 1,800 dinars. The monthly cost of the work is 2 × 6 × 1,800 × 4.33 ≈ 93,500 dinars. If AI takes over 60 percent, the saving is about 56,000 dinars a month.

What Goes into the Monthly Cost of an AI Solution

People often compare the saving with the license price and forget the rest. A realistic monthly cost has several parts:

• Licenses or subscription for the AI tool or platform.
• API calls if the solution processes documents or text per item.
• Maintenance and monitoring: someone has to track errors and update the workflows.
• Time for exceptions: people still review what AI cannot resolve.

If the payback (the period in which the investment is recovered) is shorter than 12 months, automation is almost always a good decision. If it is longer than 24 months, check whether you estimated the percentage of work taken over too optimistically.

Practical tip: first automate one narrow task with high volume, measure the actual saving for a month, and only then expand. Estimates "on paper" are often 20 to 30 percent more optimistic than the real situation.

Most Common Mistakes When Estimating Savings

Calculating with net salary. Savings are measured by the gross hourly cost, because the employer pays taxes and contributions. If you calculate with net, you will underestimate the saving and reject a good idea.

Assuming AI takes over 100 percent. There is always a part left for checking and exceptions. It is more realistic to plan for 50 to 80 percent and calculate with the lower bound.

Forgotten implementation cost. The first month usually has no savings because the workflows are being set up and tested. The calculator covers this through the payback period, but only if you enter a realistic initial cost.

Automating a task that is rarely done. If a task comes up once a month for 20 minutes, the saving is small regardless of the percentage. Focus on tasks with high volume and clear rules.

If the process is large, with multiple systems and unclear rules, the calculator estimate is only the first step; in such cases EVI Solutions can help with analysis and implementation of the solution.