Calculator
Assistant Payback Calculator
Deflection alone rarely justifies a purchase. Captured leads usually do. This counts both against the subscription and the setup effort, and shows the pessimistic case by default because that is the one that has to survive scrutiny.
- Counts setup timeNot just the subscription
- Leads and deflectionBoth sides of the case
- Pessimistic defaultThe case that has to hold
Work it out
Your numbers
Result
- Net monthly return —
- Setup cost —
- Lead value per month —
- Net over twelve months —
- First year return —
- Verdict —
Lead value should be closed value multiplied by your close rate. Using headline deal size is the most common way these calculations end up indefensible in a finance review.
What the numbers mean
Leads usually carry the case, not deflection
Support saving is real but modest at small volume. A handful of captured leads a month with honest intent will normally outweigh it, which is why the lead value input matters more than any other field here.
Count setup honestly
Writing good sources and refusal rules takes real hours. Pretending it is free is how a project looks profitable in a spreadsheet and disappointing in practice.
Use closed value, not deal size
Multiply your headline deal size by the rate at which these leads actually close. Skipping that step is the single most common error in tool ROI cases.
If it does not pay back, the fix is content
A negative result almost always means the assistant has too little to answer from. That is a writing problem, and no pricing tier solves it.
Questions
Because it counts setup time and uses closed lead value rather than headline deal size. Both are omitted from most vendor tools and both are the first things a finance team asks about.
Set it to zero and see whether support saving alone justifies it. If it does, the case is safe. If it does not, you need the lead number before you can decide.
Not necessarily, but it means the case rests on something other than money — coverage at night, consistency of answers, or visibility into what people ask.
Want this run against your actual site?
Tell us the page your assistant lives on and the questions you care about. A person runs them and sends back the raw answers.