"Can you show me the ROI?"
That question usually comes up once procurement gets involved or the investment exceeds the decision-maker's discretionary budget. But when exactly does that happen?
The honest answer: it doesn't depend on the amount. It depends on the decision path.
As long as a manager can make the decision alone within their own budget, they don't need a formal ROI. They need trust and confidence in the decision.
Once they have to justify the investment internally to a boss, CFO, or board, they need numbers. Not necessarily for themselves, but for the people they need to convince.
At what point does ROI become relevant?
These thresholds are rough guidelines and vary significantly by industry, company culture, and budget cycle. In the public sector, formal justification requirements tend to kick in much earlier, often from CHF 25,000. At a startup, a founder might make a CHF 200,000 decision alone.
What a good ROI calculator includes
An ROI calculator isn't a spreadsheet gimmick. It's a consulting tool that helps the customer build their own business case:
Net benefit = cost savings + revenue gains
+ risk reduction (quantified)
− implementation effort (internal)
Payback period = investment / annual net benefit
The real work is in the numerator. What are the specific savings? Which costs disappear? Which risks are reduced?
A good calculator uses the customer's actual current-state numbers, not generic benchmarks.
The three ROI dimensions that convince buyers
1. Hard numbers: direct cost savings
Staff hours saved multiplied by the hourly rate. Fewer errors multiplied by the cost per error. Lower inventory costs.
These numbers are the easiest to calculate and the hardest to dispute because the customer provides the inputs.
2. Soft numbers: risk reduction
What risk does the product reduce? Fines, product liability, reputational damage, or compliance costs.
These are harder to quantify, but often emotionally persuasive. Nobody wants to be the person who accepted a risk that later materialized and could have been avoided through the investment.
3. Strategic value: growth enablement
What does the investment make possible? Entering new markets, serving new customers, or scaling faster.
This dimension is the hardest to measure, but for growth companies it's often the most important one in a conversation with the CEO or board.
Offer the ROI calculator as an interactive worksheet that customers complete themselves. An ROI customers calculate themselves is about three times more convincing than one presented by sales. Customers believe their own numbers.
When an ROI request is actually a signal
When a customer suddenly asks for ROI after never asking before, it's often not really an objection. It's a signal.
Either they've encountered internal resistance or they're uncertain about the decision. In both cases, an ROI calculator solves only half the problem.
The other half is asking a direct question:
"What do you need internally to get this decision approved?"
That question can reveal more than any spreadsheet.
"ROI isn't the answer to price resistance. It's the customer's language when they're fighting an internal battle. Help them fight it."