Print management software ROI: how to calculate it for your own shop
Every print management software vendor promises a return. None of them knows your shop. Here is the formula to work it out yourself, with your own hours, your own error rate and your own reorders, before you sign anything.
Print management software ROI = (hours saved per month x loaded hourly cost + errors avoided x average cost of an error + extra reorders x average margin) minus the full monthly cost of the software, divided by that cost. Use your own numbers, measured over one normal month.
The return on print management software does not come from the software. It comes from the work it removes. So the calculation starts with your own shop: where the hours go today, what a mistake costs you, and how many orders you lose because reordering is a chore for the client.
Gain 1: hours saved
List every task the software would remove or shorten: retyping orders, chasing artwork approvals, building quotes by hand, answering 'where is my order', and moving data between your store, your production board and your accounting.
- Time each task for one normal week, then multiply by four.
- Use the loaded hourly cost, not the wage: wage plus payroll taxes, benefits and paid time off.
- Count only the hours the software actually removes. A task that still needs a person stays in.
Most owners use the hourly wage. The real cost of an hour is higher once payroll taxes, benefits and time off are added. The free True Cost of an Employee tool works it out from your own figures.
Gain 2: errors avoided
Every reprint, wrong size, wrong colour or missed deadline has a cost: blanks, ink, press time, shipping and sometimes the client. Count last quarter's errors that came from a handoff, such as an order retyped wrong or an outdated artwork file. Multiply by the average cost of one error. Only those count: software removes handoffs, not every mistake.
Gain 3: reorders you keep
This is the gain most calculators leave out. When a client can log in, see the last order and reorder in one click, more of them come back on their own. Estimate it carefully: how many clients ordered once last year and never again, and how many of those would reorder if it took one click. Multiply by your average margin per order, not the sale price.
The cost side: count all of it
- The monthly fee, and any per-user or per-order charges.
- Setup and data entry: products, prices, decoration rules, clients.
- Training time for your team, at the same loaded hourly cost.
- The months before it pays: the first month of any new system is slower, not faster.
Put it together
Monthly gain = hours saved x loaded hourly cost + errors avoided x cost per error + extra reorders x margin per order. ROI = (monthly gain minus monthly cost) divided by monthly cost. Payback in months = setup cost divided by (monthly gain minus monthly cost).
If the payback is longer than your contract, or the gain depends mostly on reorders you are not sure of, the software is not ready to pay for itself in your shop yet. That is a useful answer too.
Measure, do not guess
Write the before numbers down now. Three months after the switch, time the same tasks and count the same errors again. The return you can show is the one you measured, and it tells you which part of the system to use more.
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How do you calculate the ROI of print management software?
Add the monthly value of hours saved, errors avoided and extra reorders, subtract the full monthly cost of the software, and divide by that cost. Payback in months is the setup cost divided by the net monthly gain.
What hourly cost should I use for hours saved?
The loaded cost: wage plus payroll taxes, benefits and paid time off. It is higher than the wage, and using the wage understates the return.
Which costs do people forget?
Setup and data entry, training time, and the slower first month while the team learns the new system.
Do reorders really count in the ROI?
Yes, if clients can reorder on their own. Count only the margin on reorders you would otherwise lose, and estimate them conservatively.
How long should I measure before deciding?
Time the tasks for one normal week before the switch, then again about three months after. Compare the same tasks with the same method.
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