---
type: source-summary
title: 'Source: 04-ROI-CALCULATOR.md'
modified: 2026-04-07
tags:
  - roi
  - economics
  - cfo
  - source
  - preston-test
---

# Source: 04-ROI-CALCULATOR.md

## What this source is

The **logic and assumptions document** for the interactive ROI calculator that CFOs use to stress-test SuiteCentral 2.0's economics. Short (~1K chars) but high-leverage — it closes the CFO's single biggest open question: what the 25-157% 3-year ROI range actually decomposes into.

Read directly from the canonical Preston-Test repo at `public/Squire-Executive-Package-v2/04-ROI-CALCULATOR.md`.

## Key claims

1. **Baseline assumptions** (NEW, resolves CFO scenario stress-test question):
   - Hourly cost: $150/hr (consultant rate)
   - Integration volume: 5 integrations/month
   - Current error rate: 15% rework
   - Current process: Manual field mapping & integration
2. **Three scenarios with specific ROI numbers**:
   - **Conservative**: 70% time reduction, 90% error reduction, 4× support scalability → **25% 3-year ROI**
   - **Base case**: 75% time reduction, 95% error reduction, 5× support scalability → **75% 3-year ROI**
   - **Optimistic**: 85% time reduction, 98% error reduction, 6× support scalability → **157% 3-year ROI**
   The 25% and 157% numbers from earlier sources are the **conservative** and **optimistic** ends of the range. The **base case is 75%** — neither source called this out before.
3. **Base-case annual economics** (NEW):
   - **Platform cost: $29,940/year ($2,495/month)** — first formally-ingested **SaaS pricing**
   - Labor savings: $95,400/year
   - **Net annual benefit: $65,460/year**
4. **Operational impact in base case**:
   - ~30 hours/month per consultant saved
   - Mapping time: 15 hours → <1 hour (consistent with [[sources/ai-governance-layer-video]] claim 12 of 15 hours → 30 seconds, which is actually faster than this document's estimate)
   - Support capacity: 1 engineer manages **50 clients** vs 10 today (5× scale — matches the base-case "support scalability" multiplier)

## Pages updated by this ingest

**Created** (1 new page):
- [[pages/concepts/roi-scenarios]] — dedicated page for the three scenarios with full number breakdown

**Updated** (2 existing pages):
- [[pages/concepts/pilot-30-60-90]] — added the ROI scenarios section with the base case and SaaS pricing
- [[pages/role-briefs/cfo]] — closed the "ROI breakdown by scenario" open question; updated the decision-frame table

## Notable quotes

The document is a list of bullet values; the most notable "quote" is the absence of marketing language. Every number is presented as a parameterized scenario with explicit inputs — exactly what the CFO brief asked for ("scenario inputs are adjustable and transparent").

## Cross-references / contradictions found

- **Mapping-time discrepancy**: this source says base case reduces 15 hours → "<1 hour" while [[sources/ai-governance-layer-video]] says "15 hours to 30 seconds." Not a contradiction — the video pitches the achievable best-case (30 seconds) while the ROI calculator uses a conservative 1-hour assumption for the financial model. The 1-hour baseline in the model is deliberately ~120× more conservative than the hero number. Consistent with the philosophy throughout the corpus of leading with hero numbers and modeling with floors.
- **Pricing anchor**: the $2,495/month SaaS price is the first formally-ingested price point for SuiteCentral 2.0. Enables real CFO math.
- **Base case is 75% 3-year ROI**: worth emphasizing. Every prior source that mentioned ROI quoted the 25-157% range. None called out that the expected (base) case is 75%. That's a significant clarification for anyone reading the corpus.
- **5× support scalability (base) matches the "1 engineer manages 50 clients vs 10"**: 50/10 = 5×. The support scalability multiplier is the literal ratio. Internally consistent.

## Notes

- The document ends with: *"This text file contains the logic and data used in the interactive HTML calculator."* So `/04-ROI-CALCULATOR-STANDALONE.html` (referenced in [[sources/09-claim-proof-matrix]]) is the interactive tool and this `.md` is the logic underneath it.
- This is the CFO's answer to "stress-test the assumptions." The CFO can adjust the baseline metrics (hourly cost, integration volume, error rate), pick a scenario, and see the financial result change. Now fully documented.
- Read directly from the Preston-Test repo per the updated source scope rule — Preston-Test is canonical.