ROI Calculator Methodology and Assumptions

Methodology

The Return on Investment (ROI) calculator was designed to show government offices how much they could save in terms of real dollars and staff hours. The formula for the calculator was developed by CivicPlus agenda and meeting management experts, including former clerks. Drawing on their experience, they established estimates of average time spent on building an agenda, as well as the associated costs. They also laid out the assumptions their estimates were based on. You can find those listed below.

Once an initial formula had been established, CivicPlus distributed a customer survey to finetune the estimates with data. The survey asked customers how much time they had been spending on agenda preparation and finalization. The formula and its underlying assumptions were adjusted based on the answers we received from the survey, including answers from respondents that had existing software or managed the process manually. We also used their answers to calculate an associated savings in dollars, which is included in our related blog.

Assumptions

To create this calculator, we started with the assumption that the CivicPlus Agenda and Meeting Management software saves all customers time and money.

All printing cost savings were estimated based on laser printers printing in black and white only. The average cost of a standard yield black and white laser cartridge is $75 and yields 1,350 pages. We used this and the estimated price of a single piece of paper ($0.01) to establish a printing cost per page of $0.07.

Qualifications

Your calculator results represent important savings from the agenda preparation process and do not include savings you may experience from our additional tools for minutes taking, live meeting management, and post-meeting tasks. The results also do not include savings other members of your organization may experience from the CivicPlus tools designed to speed up the review and collaboration process, or the cost of the software.

These results are not intended to be exact and are subject to change. Your results may fluctuate depending on how many hours you are currently spending, the number of people contributing to the agenda, and more.