Why Calculate ROI Before Investing
Too many AI projects start with enthusiasm and end as stalled POCs. The question is not 'is AI interesting?' but 'how much does it make me, at what cost?'. Without this quantified answer, there is no rational decision—only a gamble.
The 4 Areas of Gains to Quantify
- Time saved: hours freed × loaded hourly cost (data entry, follow-ups, reporting, time tracking).
- Cash flow freed: days of DSO gained × daily turnover.
- Errors avoided: current error rate × volume × unit cost of an error (VAT, duplicate, delay).
- Margin identified: up-sell/cross-sell opportunities and scrap reductions detected by AI.
The 3 Cost Categories to Account For
- License and subscription (monthly or annual).
- Integration and deployment (one-off, amortized over 3 years).
- Training and change management (one-off).
The ROI Formula
ROI = (Annual Gains − Annual Costs) / Annual Costs × 100. A profitable AI project generally achieves an ROI > 100% in less than 12 months. Our clients observe an average ROI of 200 to 400% over 12 months, with a break-even point in 3 to 6 months.
Quantified Example: A Fiduciary Firm with 8 Employees
- Time gain: 10h/week × 80 CHF × 46 weeks = 36,800 CHF/year.
- Error gain: 20 errors avoided/year × 200 CHF = 4,000 CHF/year.
- Margin gain: 2 additional mandates absorbed = 20,000 CHF/year of additional revenue.
- Cost: 18,000 CHF/year (license + amortized integration).
- Year 1 ROI: (60,800 − 18,000) / 18,000 × 100 = 238%.
Our Recommendation
Before any investment, demand a quantified ROI calculation tailored to your company. A serious provider will offer this for free. At Mediasoft, it is systematic: no recommendation without figures, no project without predictable ROI.
