We built a free AI automation ROI calculator for UK SMEs
Most small business owners do not need a thirty-page business case to decide whether automation is worth it. They need one honest number. So we built a free calculator that gives them it, in under a minute, without asking for an email address.
The short version: it is free, it takes about a minute, and it works in the browser. Try the AI Automation ROI Calculator.
Why we built it
Every week we talk to UK small business owners who are trying to justify an automation project. The conversation usually goes the same way. They have a process in mind, they suspect it takes too long, and they have no quick way to turn that feeling into a number they can share with a partner, a director or themselves.
Spreadsheet templates exist, but they ask for thirteen inputs and produce a wall of assumptions. Booking a call with a consultant to get a rough estimate feels heavy when you are still at the "is this even worth thinking about" stage.
The calculator is the middle ground. Seven inputs, four headline results, one shareable link.
What it calculates
You enter one process and seven simple figures:
- How many people do the work
- Hours per person each week, including checking, copying and rework
- A fully-loaded hourly cost
- The percentage of the process you think could be automated
- One-off implementation cost
- Ongoing monthly cost
It then works out the monthly hours saved, the gross value of that time, the net monthly saving after ongoing costs, and the payback period. It also shows a first-year position, including ROI where a one-off cost has been entered.
Everything is transparent. The formulas are printed on the page, and the estimates are deliberately conservative. If you enter a 40% automation share, it uses 40%, not the 90% you will see in vendor demos.
What it deliberately does not do
It does not count revenue gains from faster replies, quality improvements, or avoided mistakes. Those are real, but they are hard to predict, so they are kept out of the core maths. It does not claim to be financial advice, a quote, or a guarantee. It is a planning estimate, clearly labelled as one.
It also does not ask for an email address, a login, or a cookie consent wall. Open the page, move the sliders, get the number.
Why we think it matters
Automation decisions in small businesses usually stall for one reason: nobody has put a rough number on the problem. The calculator lowers that barrier to zero.
It also gives us a better starting point when we do talk. A business that has already estimated one process is a business that has already done the thinking. We can skip the generic pitch and get straight to what should stay human, what can be automated, and what it would actually take.
If you are not sure whether a process is a good candidate, the page includes three worked examples: lead follow-up and CRM updates, client onboarding administration, and weekly reporting. There is also a longer guide on how to calculate the ROI of AI automation for a UK small business if you want the reasoning behind the maths.
What is next
The calculator is the first tool on a small tools page we intend to grow. If there is a calculation you would find useful as a UK small business owner, tell us and we will consider building it.
In the meantime: try the calculator, copy the shareable link, and send it to whoever you would normally run the numbers past.
