ROI framework calculator
What does this investment actually deliver – and when?
Enter the key facts of your investment. The calculator shows the cumulative value curve over 4 years and the break-even point – as a range, not a flattering single number. The toggle honestly shows why a genuinely new AI capability needs a different time horizon than automating a known process.
The ROI framework calculator applies Beyond Prompt's six-building-block ROI framework to your own numbers: investment cost, ongoing cost and a hard value driver produce a cumulative value curve with a break-even point – distinguishing whether you're automating a known process or introducing a genuinely new AI capability.
Your investment
One-off cost of implementation – comparable to the cost bands of the other tools calculators.
Fully loaded ≈ gross wage × 1.3 (incl. social contributions and overhead).
Maintenance plus any AI running costs – as a percentage of the investment cost per year.
Your result
Range: conservative to realistic. Never the most flattering case.
Break-even
24–34 months
Cumulative net value after 4 years
€2,600–€6,500
Cumulative value curve
Cumulative value curve
Want to know which of your projects pays off first?
How this tool calculates
- Investment (CapEx): your entered investment amount, one-off at the start.
- Ongoing cost (OpEx): as a percentage of the investment cost per year – maintenance plus any AI running costs.
- Hard value driver: time saved × hourly rate, with a realization rate of 70% (conservative) to 90% (realistic) – guards against the most common trap of confusing theoretical with actually realized savings.
- Time-horizon honesty: for a known process, the value driver applies in full from month 1; for a genuinely new AI capability it ramps up over 18 months (the Productivity J-Curve, NBER Working Paper 25148) – our own plausible derivation from the research, not an exact figure from the study.
- Display horizon: 4 years, so the recovery after the J-curve dip is visible too.
- Full derivation including all sources: the ROI framework on the methodology page "The ROI framework".
This calculator provides an estimate as a basis for a decision, not a quote. The actual figures depend on details of your project that we clarify in a conversation.
Frequently asked questions about the calculator
Where does this ROI framework come from?
From four established sources: Forrester Total Economic Impact, McKinsey's value-at-stake argument, the NBER study on the Productivity J-Curve, and the hard/soft benefit standard in IT business cases – plus validation against two real Beyond Prompt projects. The full derivation including all sources is on the methodology page "The ROI framework".
Why does the calculator distinguish between a "known process" and a "new AI capability"?
Because both cases demonstrably deliver value at different speeds. Automating an already-known process has a fast, reliably calculable payback (see our two validated case studies, both under 13 months). Building a genuinely new AI capability, on the other hand, requires complementary, often invisible investments according to research (workflow redesign, ramp-up) – the benefit shows up with a delay. A tool that ignores this distinction would systematically overrate new AI capabilities.
Why does the curve dip for "new AI capability" before it rises?
Because ongoing costs start from month one, while the benefit only ramps up over roughly 1.5 years according to J-curve research. This dip isn't a glitch – it's the honest reflection of a real risk, exactly the point many optimistic AI ROI calculations leave out.
What do I do with the result?
Use it as an order of magnitude for a decision. If the calculator shows a clear, fast break-even, that's a strong signal to implement. If it shows a long or uncertain payback (especially for "new AI capability"), an AI Opportunity Scan is worth doing first to check whether a smaller, faster-acting automation is the better first step.