ROI Calculator (General)

You need hard numbers before you pitch AI to your partners. This calculator translates your firm's operational data into projected savings for each Play in the Workforce Playbook.

No fluff. No "potential synergies." Just: input your numbers, see your savings, decide which Plays to implement first.

Pull these numbers from your practice management system, payroll records, and last year's financials:

Firm Size

• Total headcount (everyone on payroll)
• Fee-earners only (partners, associates, consultants who bill clients)

Billing Metrics

• Average hourly rate across all fee-earners
• Average billable hours per fee-earner per year
• Realization rate (percentage of billed hours actually collected)

Time Allocation

• Non-billable hours per fee-earner per year spent on admin work (document management, data entry, scheduling, filing, email management)
• Fully-loaded hourly cost of administrative staff (salary + benefits + overhead, divided by 2,080 hours)

If you don't have exact numbers, use these industry benchmarks as starting points:

• Law firms: 1,700-1,900 billable hours/year, 85-90% realization
• Accounting firms: 1,500-1,700 billable hours/year, 80-85% realization
• Consulting firms: 1,400-1,600 billable hours/year, 75-85% realization

The spreadsheet applies time-savings percentages to your current workload, then calculates two sources of value:

1. Direct cost reduction: Hours no longer performed by expensive staff
2. Revenue capture: Freed-up hours redirected to billable work

Each Play has different savings assumptions based on real implementation data from 50+ professional services firms:

Play 1: Automate Administrative Tasks

• Time savings: 60% reduction in admin hours per fee-earner
• Billable conversion: 70% of saved hours become billable, 30% go to business development
• Example: Associate spending 400 hours/year on admin saves 240 hours. 168 hours convert to billable work at $350/hour = $58,800 in new revenue.

Play 2: Augment Research and Analysis

• Time savings: 40% reduction in research hours per fee-earner
• Billable conversion: 85% of saved hours become billable, 15% go to professional development
• Example: Senior associate spending 300 hours/year on research saves 120 hours. 102 hours convert to billable work at $400/hour = $40,800 in new revenue.

Play 3: Enhance Client Intake and Matter Management

• Time savings: 50% reduction in intake/setup hours per fee-earner
• Billable conversion: 75% of saved hours become billable, 25% go to client relationship work
• Example: Partner spending 200 hours/year on intake saves 100 hours. 75 hours convert to billable work at $600/hour = $45,000 in new revenue.

Play 4: Optimize Contract Drafting and Review

• Time savings: 30% reduction in drafting/review hours per fee-earner
• Billable conversion: 80% of saved hours become billable, 20% go to practice development
• Example: Associate spending 500 hours/year on contracts saves 150 hours. 120 hours convert to billable work at $350/hour = $42,000 in new revenue.

Play 5: Streamline Due Diligence and Investigations

• Time savings: 45% reduction in due diligence hours per fee-earner
• Billable conversion: 90% of saved hours become billable, 10% go to knowledge management
• Example: Senior associate spending 400 hours/year on due diligence saves 180 hours. 162 hours convert to billable work at $450/hour = $72,900 in new revenue.

The calculator outputs three critical numbers for each Play:

Annual Savings

• Administrative cost reduction (hours × admin staff cost)
• New billable revenue (converted hours × billing rate × realization rate)
• Total annual impact (sum of both)

Implementation Cost

• Software licenses: $50-150 per user per month
• Training and change management: 20-40 hours per fee-earner at their hourly cost
• Integration and setup: $10,000-50,000 depending on firm size

Payback Period

• Months until cumulative savings exceed implementation cost
• Anything under 12 months is a strong business case
• Anything under 6 months is a no-brainer

100-Person Law Firm

Inputs:

• 100 total employees, 65 fee-earners
• $375 average billing rate
• 1,750 billable hours per fee-earner per year
• 87% realization rate
• 380 admin hours per fee-earner per year
• $48 hourly cost for admin staff

Play 1 Results:

• 228 admin hours saved per fee-earner
• 160 hours convert to billable work
• 160 hours × 65 fee-earners × $375 × 87% = $3,405,000 new revenue
• 228 hours × 65 fee-earners × $48 admin cost avoided = $711,360
• Total annual savings: $4,116,360
• Implementation cost: $180,000
• Payback period: 0.5 months

Play 2 Results:

• Assume 250 research hours per fee-earner per year
• 100 hours saved per fee-earner
• 85 hours convert to billable work
• 85 hours × 65 fee-earners × $375 × 87% = $1,803,938 new revenue
• Total annual savings: $1,803,938
• Implementation cost: $220,000
• Payback period: 1.5 months

Bottom line: This firm should implement Plays 1 and 2 immediately. Combined annual savings exceed $5.9 million with payback in under 2 months.

30-Person Accounting Firm

Inputs:

• 30 total employees, 18 fee-earners
• $285 average billing rate
• 1,600 billable hours per fee-earner per year
• 82% realization rate
• 320 admin hours per fee-earner per year
• $42 hourly cost for admin staff

Play 1 Results:

• 192 admin hours saved per fee-earner
• 134 hours convert to billable work
• 134 hours × 18 fee-earners × $285 × 82% = $565,099 new revenue
• 192 hours × 18 fee-earners × $42 admin cost avoided = $145,152
• Total annual savings: $710,251
• Implementation cost: $65,000
• Payback period: 1.1 months

Play 3 Results:

• Assume 180 intake hours per fee-earner per year
• 90 hours saved per fee-earner
• 68 hours convert to billable work
• 68 hours × 18 fee-earners × $285 × 82% = $286,286 new revenue
• Total annual savings: $286,286
• Implementation cost: $55,000
• Payback period: 2.3 months

Bottom line: This firm should start with Play 1, then add Play 3 within 90 days. Combined savings of nearly $1 million annually.

Present your findings in this order:

1. Current state cost: "We're spending $X annually on administrative work that AI can handle."
2. Opportunity cost: "Our fee-earners are losing $Y in potential billable hours to non-billable tasks."
3. Projected savings: "Implementing Play [X] will recover $Z annually."
4. Payback timeline: "We'll break even in [N] months."
5. Risk mitigation: "We'll pilot with [specific practice group] for 90 days before firm-wide rollout."

Attach the calculator spreadsheet to your memo. Let partners plug in their own assumptions. Transparency builds trust.

Access the ROI Calculator Spreadsheet

The spreadsheet includes:

• Pre-built formulas for all five Plays
• Sensitivity analysis (adjust savings percentages to see impact)
• Comparison view (rank Plays by ROI)
• 12-month cash flow projection

Make a copy, input your numbers, and run the scenarios. You'll have your business case built in 30 minutes.