Voice AI ROI: a worksheet using your actual costs
Calculate first-year voice AI return from verified savings and contribution, including implementation, usage and ongoing review costs.
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Voice AI does not automatically pay for itself. A useful calculation compares a defined business outcome with the full cost of delivering it, using observed values where available and labeling estimates explicitly.
Collect the inputs
| Input | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Current workload | Calls by purpose, duration and staff follow-up time |
| Addressable work | Tasks the tested assistant can actually complete |
| Avoided cost | Expense that will genuinely stop, not merely time reassigned |
| Added contribution | Incremental revenue less its delivery costs, attributable to the change |
| Setup cost | Configuration, integration, review and training effort |
| Ongoing cost | Platform, providers, carrier, numbers, storage, support and staff review |
Do not value every answered call as a sale. Do not count staff time as both a payroll saving and increased capacity revenue unless those benefits are independently realized.
Calculate first-year return
First-year benefit = verified avoided costs + attributable added contribution
First-year cost = setup cost + 12 × expected monthly operating cost
Net benefit = first-year benefit − first-year cost
ROI = net benefit ÷ first-year cost × 100%An illustrative example, not a Burki price or forecast: setup costs $1,200, monthly operation costs $150, and verified monthly benefit is $400. First-year cost is $3,000; benefit is $4,800; net benefit is $1,800; ROI is 60%. If monthly benefit is only $200, the same project produces a $600 first-year loss. The outcome assumption matters more than a persuasive headline.
Model uncertainty
Calculate a low, expected and high case for useful outcomes and staff rework. Include failed calls and recurring number rental. Show provider charges that remain pending, and account for BYO provider bills separately from the platform wallet.
Use pricing and the current configuration's quote for usage assumptions. A reservation is not a final charge, and a platform fee alone is not the total cost.
Decide after a measured pilot
Keep the existing baseline and compare the same task over a defined period. Report the sample size, limitations and any unrelated changes that could explain the result. If the project frees staff time without reducing expense, describe that as capacity gained rather than cash saved.
Use the testing guide to establish that the proposed outcome works before multiplying it across a year.
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