1. Enter costs and benefits
Provide one-time investment, recurring cost, quantified annual benefits, timing and useful life.
Decision-support tool
Build a transparent ROI case for data, AI and managed services
Estimate net benefit, ROI, benefit-cost ratio, partial-year payback, NPV and up to five years of cash flow using your own assumptions.
Calculations are deterministic and based only on the information you enter. No external data or inflated performance claims are used.
How it works
Use a consistent sequence so decision-makers can trace every outcome back to an input or assumption.
2. Apply scenarios
Set your conservative and optimistic benefit factors while the expected case uses the values entered.
3. Review the decision case
Compare ROI, payback, NPV, annual cash flow, sensitivity and recommended actions.
ROI calculator
All amounts use the selected currency. Annual benefits should be incremental, attributable and supportable with evidence.
Methodology and responsible use
The calculator is designed for transparent screening and business-case discussion. It does not replace finance, tax, accounting, legal, procurement or investment approval processes.
Core formulas
Net benefit = total benefits − total costs
ROI % = net benefit ÷ total costs × 100
BCR = total benefits ÷ total costs
Time value and payback
NPV = −initial investment + Σ(net cash flowₜ ÷ (1 + discount rate)ᵗ)
Partial-year payback equals completed years plus the unrecovered balance at the start of the payback year divided by that year’s net cash flow.
Important limitations
Benefits may overlap, fail to translate into cash, or depend on adoption and operating change. Taxes, depreciation, financing costs, working capital, inflation and probability-weighted risk are not modelled unless reflected directly in your inputs.
Related tools
Use complementary assessments to strengthen assumptions before an investment decision.
Frequently asked questions
What does ROI measure?
ROI compares total net benefit with total cost. A positive ROI indicates that modelled benefits exceed modelled costs, but it does not by itself prove affordability, strategic fit or delivery feasibility.
How is partial-year payback calculated?
The calculator identifies the year in which cumulative cash flow becomes non-negative, then divides the unrecovered amount at the start of that year by the year’s positive net cash flow.
Why use NPV as well as ROI?
ROI does not reflect when cash flows occur. NPV discounts future cash flows, making earlier benefits more valuable than otherwise equal benefits received later.
What should be included in one-time investment?
Include implementation, discovery, design, data preparation, migration, integration, testing, change management, training, security, launch and other non-recurring costs attributable to the initiative.
What counts as an annual recurring cost?
Examples include software subscriptions, cloud consumption, managed services, support, monitoring, model operations, data licences, governance, assurance and ongoing training.
How should productivity benefits be valued?
Use financially realisable value where possible. Time saved should not automatically be treated as cash unless capacity can be removed, redeployed or converted into measurable additional output.
What is benefit ramp-up?
Ramp-up represents the percentage of full annual benefit realised in each year. It can reflect implementation timing, user adoption, process change, data availability and operational stabilisation.
How does the implementation period affect year one?
Year-one gross benefit is reduced proportionally. For example, a six-month implementation period leaves half of year one available for benefit realisation before the separate ramp-up percentage is applied.
What is a benefit-cost ratio?
The ratio divides total benefits by total costs. A value of 1.20 means the model includes 1.20 units of benefit for each unit of cost.
When should terminal value be used?
Use terminal value only when the initiative has a supportable residual value at the end of the modelled life, such as reusable assets or a documented continuing value. Avoid using it merely to make the case positive.
How should conservative and optimistic scenarios be set?
Base the factors on identifiable uncertainty such as adoption, delivery timing, price, volume or realisation risk. The calculator changes benefits only; enter cost uncertainty directly through separate runs when needed.
Is the result an investment recommendation?
No. It is a deterministic model based on user-supplied assumptions. Decision-makers should validate inputs, assess non-financial outcomes and risks, and apply internal approval standards.