Skip to main content
Groenewold IT Solutions LogoGroenewold IT Solutions – Home
🇩🇪
RPA costs and ROI calculation

RPA Costs & ROI – When Does Automation Pay Off?

When does automation pay off? With business cases instead of gut feeling: throughput time, error rate, operating costs – and a pragmatic selection process.

RPA (Robotic Process Automation) promises quick efficiency gains – but not every process is equally suitable. We help you identify the right candidates and create a realistic business case before you invest.

What Really Costs in RPA Projects

It's not just bot development: process maturity, exceptions, permissions, monitoring, change windows, and maintenance determine the TCO. Good RPA is governance work plus technology.

Development Costs

Bot development, testing, deployment – often 30–40% of the budget

Process Analysis

Documenting exceptions, identifying edge cases – often underestimated!

Maintenance & Updates

UI changes, system updates, exception handling – continuous effort

Governance

Permissions, logging, monitoring, compliance – not optional

ROI Drivers – When RPA Is Especially Worthwhile

High Volume: 500+ transactions/month with repetitive steps
Stable Processes: Mature process, few exceptions, clear rules
High Error Costs: Rework, compliance risks, customer dissatisfaction
Legacy Without APIs: Old systems that can only be operated via UI
Quick Peaks: Seasonal spikes without additional personnel
24/7 Availability: Processes that need to run outside business hours

Typical Cost Ranges

€5,000 – 15,000 plus VAT
Simple Bot
  • • One system, structured data
  • • Few exceptions
  • • Standardized process
€20,000 – 50,000 plus VAT
Medium Complexity
  • • 2–3 systems
  • • Exception handling
  • • Reporting/logging
€50,000 – 100,000+
Enterprise RPA
  • • Orchestration, multi-bot
  • • Governance framework
  • • API hybrid, CoE setup

RPA vs. API Integration

Often the best solution is a combination: RPA as a bridge, API-first as the target state. RPA is suited for quick bridging with legacy systems, while APIs are more sustainable and easier to maintain.

RPA Strengths

  • • Fast implementation (weeks)
  • • No backend changes required
  • • Legacy systems without APIs

API Strengths

  • • More performant & scalable
  • • Easier to maintain (no UI dependency)
  • • Future-proof
Detailed comparison

How We Prioritize Automation

We start with process mining or value stream analysis, evaluate impact vs. effort, and define governance (permissions, logging, maintenance). Result: a prioritized pipeline with an ROI profile for each step.

1

Discover

Identify and document processes

2

Assess

Evaluate automation potential and ROI

3

Prioritize

Sort pipeline by impact/effort

4

Build

Start pilots, scale, optimize

ROI Calculation: A Practical Example

How RPA pays off in practice – a typical example from accounts payable:

Starting Situation

  • • 2,000 invoices/month processed manually
  • • 8 minutes per invoice (entry, review, booking)
  • • 267 hours/month working time
  • • Error rate: 3% (rework, reminders)

After RPA Implementation

  • • 85% processed automatically
  • • 40 hours/month for exceptions
  • • Time saved: 227 hours/month
  • • Error rate: 0.5%
Annual Savings:approx. €80,000 – 120,000 plus VAT
ROI:6–12 months

When RPA Is Not the Best Choice

Unstable Processes: Process changes frequently or is not documented
Low Volumes: Fewer than 100 transactions/month – often cheaper manually
Complex Decisions: High discretion, unstructured data
Frequent UI Changes: Applications are updated often – high maintenance

Implement Automation Projects with Funding

RPA and automation projects are supported by government funding programs. Calculate your potential subsidies with our funding calculator.

Calculate funding

Next Steps

Let's work together to determine which processes are suitable for automation and create a realistic business case.

Service: AutomationStart workshopBook initial consultation

FAQ: RPA Costs & ROI

What does a typical RPA project cost?
A simple bot for a structured process costs €5,000–15,000 plus VAT. Complex automations with exception handling, multi-system integration, and governance range from €20,000–80,000 plus VAT. The biggest cost factor is often not the development, but process analysis, testing, and change management.
When does RPA pay off?
RPA typically pays off from 500+ transactions per month with time savings of at least 5 minutes per transaction. For error-prone processes with high correction costs, RPA can be worthwhile even at lower volumes. We create a concrete business case before project start.
What ongoing costs are involved?
Ongoing costs include: license fees (depending on the RPA tool, approx. €5,000–20,000/year plus VAT), maintenance (approx. 15–20% of development costs annually), infrastructure (server/cloud), and governance (monitoring, change management). With cloud RPA solutions, infrastructure costs are eliminated.
RPA or API integration – which is better?
RPA is suited for legacy systems without APIs, quick bridging solutions, and processes with frequent UI changes. API integration is more sustainable, performant, and easier to maintain. Often the best strategy is: RPA as a bridge while APIs are developed in parallel.
How do you measure ROI?
We measure: time savings (FTE equivalent), error reduction (rework, compliance costs), throughput time reduction (time-to-value), and scalability (peaks without additional staff). ROI is defined before project start and validated after go-live.
Which processes are suitable for RPA?
Ideal candidates are: rule-based processes with clear decision logic, high transaction volumes, structured data (forms, tables), stable applications without frequent UI changes, and processes with high manual effort and low value creation.
How long does an RPA project take?
A simple bot: 2–4 weeks. Medium complexity with exception handling: 4–8 weeks. Enterprise RPA with governance and multiple bots: 3–6 months. Process analysis and testing often take more time than the actual development.
What is an RPA Center of Excellence?
A CoE is a central team that defines RPA standards, best practices, and governance. It coordinates bot development, monitors performance, manages licenses, and drives scaling. Recommended from 5+ bots or for enterprise-wide strategies.
Which RPA tools do you recommend?
UiPath and Automation Anywhere for enterprise requirements, Microsoft Power Automate for Microsoft-centric environments, WorkFusion for AI-powered automation. The choice depends on existing infrastructure, budget, and scaling plans.
What happens with system updates?
UI changes can break bots – this is the most common maintenance reason. Robust bots use stable selectors, fallback mechanisms, and error handling. Regular monitoring detects problems early. Budget for maintenance: 15–20% annually.

Next Step

Need a custom cost estimate for your project?

We provide a realistic effort estimate based on your specific requirements.

Start Project CheckSchedule Consultation

30 min strategy call – 100% free & non-binding

RPA Costs & ROI | Automation