# The ROI method: price the change before you fund it

> How CoWorQ prices a business process: active time, wait time, role and hourly cost on every step, a conservative cost-side floor, and an illustrative calculator you can run on your own numbers.

Source: https://co-worq.com/roi

The ROI method

# Price the change before you fund it.

Put a cost on every step of a process: active time, wait time, who does it and what their hour costs. Change a step and the business case updates. Fund only the changes that pay back.

[Run the calculator](#calculator)[Model your own process with Rigel](https://co-worq.com/rigel)

## How does CoWorQ calculate automation ROI?

CoWorQ prices a process one step at a time. Each step records its active time, its wait time, the role or system that performs it, and that role's fully loaded hourly cost. Automating a step changes those inputs, and the difference is the saving. The business case uses cost-side levers only, a conservative floor, and the first project is chosen so that floor covers the build within 90 days.

Inputs per step

Active time, wait time, role, cost per hour

Return

(Value gained − total cost of ownership) ÷ total cost of ownership

Floor

Cost-side levers only; revenue upside shown separately

First project

Scoped to pay back in 90 days, not guaranteed

Illustrative calculator

## Run the numbers on one process

Preloaded with the review-capacity lever from our high-value order review model: 16,000 flagged orders a year, 12 minutes each by hand today. Change any input.

Step 1: Gather customer context from Shopify, Salesforce and HubSpot

Step 2: Assess risk and decide

Step 3: Record the decision in each system

Illustrative result

Annual cost saving (cost-side floor)

$96,244

Payback

20 days

Net per year

$92,644

Person-hours per year

3,200 h →420 h

Time per run

6.7 h →26 min

Illustrative. Cost-side levers only, so revenue recovered and fraud avoided are not counted. Plug in your numbers. A first project is scoped to pay back in 90 days, not guaranteed to.

Reference models

## Conservative floors from our solution specs

Each model counts cost and margin levers only. Illustrative: plug in your numbers.

- $96KReview capacity released, high-value order review[Illustrative · one lever of a ~$360K model](https://co-worq.com/examples/high-value-order-review)
- $337KConservative annual floor, B2B wholesale account onboardingIllustrative · cost and margin levers only
- $529KConservative annual floor, return, refund and churn-risk triageIllustrative · cost and margin levers only
- 90 daysPayback window a first project is scoped toScoped, not guaranteed

Questions

## About the ROI method

Is the 90-day payback guaranteed?

No. "Scoped to pay back in 90 days" describes how we choose the first project: one where the cost-side case covers the build within 90 days. It is a selection rule, not a warranty.

What is the conservative floor?

The business case counted using cost-side levers only: hours released, rework avoided, tools retired. Revenue-side levers such as recovered orders are shown separately. If you dispute a revenue assumption, we concede it and present the floor.

Where does this calculator come from?

Every workflow in QRION has an ROI view that captures active time, wait time, role and hourly cost per step, with what-if controls. This page is a simplified, illustrative version of that method.

How do I get the model for my own process?

Describe the process to Rigel, or book a 30-minute working session. We build the cost-per-step model with your numbers and show you the floor before anything is signed.

## Which of your processes pays back first?

Bring one process to a 30-minute working session. We'll build the cost-per-step model with your numbers.

[Book a working session](https://calendar.app.google/yF5awaB5GSSMDumE8)[Start with Rigel](https://co-worq.com/rigel)

You see the model before you sign anything.