ROI calculator

Cooking Automation ROI Calculator

Compare Robby One with adding another cook, including purchase, leasing, and operator training costs.

Illustrative assumptions only — not a quote or an expected outcome. Released staff time is not automatically a payroll saving. Use measured operating data; avoid counting the same benefit twice.

Core inputs

Labor assumptions

Average hourly wage($/hr)

Benefits load(%)

Payroll tax load(%)

Hours supported per cook, per week(hrs)

Cooks supported by Robby One(count)

Annual turnover rate(%)

Cost to replace one cook, excluding training($)

Investment assumptions

Purchase price per unit($)

Useful life(years)

Number of units(count)

Startup and installation per unit($)

Electrical / utility upgrades per unit($)

Annual maintenance(% of purchase price)

Other annual operating cost per unit($)

Training cost assumptions

Conventional cook training(days)

Training hours per day(hrs)

Operators to train(count)

Trainer cost per trainee-hour($/hr)

One-time Robby One training fee($)

Robby One: 4 training days

Planning assumption for proficient operation. Actual readiness depends on the operator, recipes, and site.

Conventional cook training cost: $1,768
Robby One initial training cost: $707
Annual replacement-training savings: $849

Additional cost savings

Annual food spend($)

Current food waste(%)

Expected food waste with Robby One(%)

Annual injury-related cost($)

Expected injury-cost reduction(%)

Your estimate · Purchase

Fully burdened hourly cost: $22
Annual labor savings: $45,968
Turnover cost avoided: $4,691
Replacement-training savings: $849
Food waste savings: $6,000
Injury-cost savings: $3,750
Total annual impact: $61,258
Annualized robot cost: $11,591

Net annual benefit after annualized costs

$49,666

Estimated upfront cash payback

9.8 months

Net benefit over 60 months

$248,332

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Show calculation details

Labor = wage × (1 + benefits + payroll tax) × weekly hours × 52 × cooks supported. Turnover = turnover rate × cooks × replacement cost, excluding training.

Training = days × hours/day × operators × (burdened wage + trainer cost). Robby One uses four days, plus any one-time fee. Annual replacement-training savings use the turnover rate; initial Robby One training is included in upfront cost.

Purchase annual cost = total upfront cost ÷ useful life + annual operating costs. Lease annual cost = 12 monthly payments + annual operating costs + upfront cost spread over the lease term.

Cash payback uses annual impact minus recurring cash costs, not depreciation. Lease payback must fall within the lease term.

No taxes, discounting, financing interest beyond quoted lease payments, residual value, refundable deposits, or buyout are included. Training and replacement cost must not overlap.

How we calculate ROI

The model estimates annual operating benefits, subtracts equipment costs, and estimates upfront cash payback. All amounts are in US dollars. The initial selection is Labor-only and Purchase. These are illustrative planning assumptions, not a quote or a promised result; released staff time is not automatically a payroll saving.

Labor, training and other savings

Fully burdened hourly cost is hourly wage multiplied by one plus the benefits percentage divided by 100 plus the payroll-tax percentage divided by 100. Annual labor savings are that hourly cost multiplied by weekly hours, 52 weeks and cooks supported. Turnover savings are annual turnover rate multiplied by cooks supported and replacement cost, excluding training.

Training cost is training days multiplied by hours per day, trainees and the sum of burdened wage and trainer cost per trainee-hour. Robby One uses 4 days, plus a one-time training fee. Annual replacement-training savings are the difference between conventional and Robby One training labor costs multiplied by turnover rate; the one-time fee is not a recurring training cost. Initial Robby One training is included in upfront investment.

Food savings equal annual food spend multiplied by the difference between current and expected waste rates. Injury-cost savings equal annual injury-related cost multiplied by the expected reduction rate. Annual impact adds labor, turnover, replacement-training, food and injury savings, plus incremental revenue contribution in Dining or QSR mode.

Throughput and incremental revenue

Labor-only includes no revenue gains. Dining capacity revenue is the positive increase in turns per peak window (peak hours multiplied by 60, divided by expected turn minutes, minus the same calculation for current turn minutes), multiplied by tables, check per party, peak services per week and 52. QSR capacity revenue is the positive increase in orders per hour multiplied by operating hours per day, operating days per year and average order value. These are input assumptions, not product throughput specifications.

Upsell revenue is existing daily orders multiplied by days open and the sum of each dessert or drink attachment-rate increase multiplied by its price. Recovered revenue is additional recovered daily orders multiplied by days open and order value; Dining uses check per party divided by party size for individual recovered orders. Recovered orders must exclude orders already counted in capacity gains. Capacity, upsell and recovered revenue are combined, multiplied by revenue realization percentage, then by incremental contribution margin percentage before entering annual impact.

Investment, payback and net benefit

Equipment cost is unit price multiplied by units. Setup is installation plus utility upgrades, multiplied by units, plus initial Robby One training. Annual operating cost is maintenance percentage of unit purchase price plus other annual operating cost per unit, multiplied by units. Purchase upfront cost is equipment plus setup. Lease upfront cost is upfront lease fees multiplied by units plus setup; annual lease payments are monthly payment multiplied by units and 12.

Purchase annualized cost is purchase upfront cost divided by useful life, plus annual operating cost. Lease annualized cost is annual lease payments plus annual operating cost plus lease upfront cost divided by the lease term in years. Net annual benefit is annual impact minus the selected annualized cost. The widget reports dollar benefits rather than a percentage ROI.

Cash payback in months is upfront cost divided by annual cash savings, multiplied by 12. Purchase cash savings are annual impact minus annual operating cost; Lease also subtracts annual lease payments. Payback is unavailable when upfront cost or cash savings are not positive; Lease payback must fall within the lease term. Net benefit over the comparison term is annual impact multiplied by term years minus upfront cost and recurring operating costs, also subtracting all lease payments for Lease. No taxes, discounting, financing interest beyond lease payments, residual value, refundable deposits or buyout are included.

Current default assumptions

Labor: Wage $17/hour; benefits 20%; payroll tax 10%; 40 hours per cook per week; 1 cook supported; annual turnover 80%; replacement cost $5,864 per cook, excluding training.
Investment: 1 unit; purchase price $39,000; installation $3,500 and utility upgrades $5,000 per unit; useful life 5 years; annual maintenance 5% of purchase price; other operating costs $0/year per unit. Lease: $1,500/month per unit for 60 months; upfront fee $0 per unit.
Training: Conventional cook 10 days; Robby One 4 days; 8 hours/day; 1 trainee; trainer $0 per trainee-hour; one-time training fee $0.
Other savings: Food spend $300,000/year; waste 5% to 3%; injury-related costs $15,000/year; reduction 25%.
Dining: Party size 3; check $75/party; 20 tables; 2-hour peak window; 14 peak services/week; table turn time 60 to 50 minutes.
QSR: Throughput 15 to 20 orders/hour; 12 operating hours/day; 240 operating days/year; $25 average order value.
Revenue opportunities: 200 existing orders/day; 360 days open/year; 0 recovered orders/day; dessert attachment 8% to 12% at $8; drink attachment 25% to 30% at $5; revenue realization 65%; contribution margin 30%.

Using the defaults in Labor-only/Purchase mode: burdened wage is $22.10/hour, annual impact is $61,257.84, purchase upfront cost is $48,207.20, annual operating cost is $1,950.00, annualized cost is $11,591.44, and net annual benefit is $49,666.40. Estimated cash payback is 9.8 months. This is an illustrative calculation, not a typical payback claim.