The ROI of AI: How to Calculate Your Savings (Real Math)
"It sounds cool, but will it actually make me money?"
That is the only question that matters when you're buying software for your business.
If you're looking at AI automation, you might see a price tag of $497 or $997 a month and think, "That's a car payment."
But smart business owners don't look at cost. They look at ROI (Return on Investment).
If I sold you a machine for $1,000 that printed $5,000 bills every month, would you complain about the price? No. You'd buy ten of them.
AI automation is that machine. But only if you know how to do the math.
The Simple ROI Formula
You don't need an MBA to figure this out. You just need three numbers:
- Time Spent (Hours/month)
- Hourly Cost ($/hour)
- Automation Cost ($/month)
Step 1: Calculate Your "Burn Rate"
Pick a task. Let's say Appointment Scheduling.
- Your receptionist spends about 2 hours a day playing phone tag, emailing back and forth, and rescheduling no-shows.
- That's 10 hours a week.
- That's 43 hours a month.
Now, what do you pay them? Let's say $20/hour. Add 20% for taxes and benefits, so $24/hour.
The Math: 43 hours x $24/hour = $1,032/month.
That is your "Burn Rate." You are burning $1,032 every month just to put appointments on a calendar.
Step 2: Compare to Automation
A custom AI booking agent from GVAI (part of our Starter Plan) costs roughly $497/month.
And it works 24/7. It never calls in sick. It never forgets to send a reminder.
Step 3: The Profit Calculation
- Cost to do it manually: $1,032/month
- Cost to automate: $497/month
- Net Savings: $535/month
That's an immediate 107% ROI. You doubled your money in month one.
The "Hidden" ROI (Where the Real Money Is)
Saving $535 is nice. But that's just the savings.
What about the earnings?
1. The Speed-to-Lead Bonus
Harvard Business Review found that if you don't respond to a lead in 5 minutes, your chance of closing them drops by 400%.
Humans are slow. We sleep. We eat lunch. We get stuck on other calls.
AI responds in 10 seconds.
If you close just ONE extra deal a month because you responded faster, what is that worth?
- For a roofer: $10,000?
- For a lawyer: $3,000?
- For a dentist: $1,500?
Suddenly, that $497 investment isn't saving you $500. It's making you $5,000.
2. The "No-Show" Killer
Manual reminders get missed. Automated SMS reminders don't.
If you reduce no-shows by 20%, that's direct revenue back in your pocket.
Stop Guessing. Use the Calculator.
We built a tool to do this math for you. You don't need a spreadsheet.
👉 Click here to use the free ROI Calculator
- Enter your team size.
- Enter their hourly rate.
- Estimate how much time they waste on busy work.
The tool will tell you exactly how much money you're setting on fire every month.
The Verdict
If the math works, do it. If it doesn't, don't.
But don't make the mistake of only looking at the price tag. $497 is expensive if it does nothing. It's cheap if it saves you $2,000.
Ready to see the numbers? Run the calculator now.