Growth ROI calculator

How to use the growth ROI calculator

The calculator answers one question: will this growth move earn back everything it costs, inside the time you're borrowing for? It compares two piles of money. On one side is the amount you borrow plus the total cost of finance. On the other is the extra gross profit the move produces, month by month, after any new running costs and allowing for a slow start.

1. Pick the move. The hint under the menu gives typical ramp-up behaviour for that kind of growth.
2. Enter the finance in dollars. Use the amount you need and the total cost of finance from a quote — all interest and fees over the term, added up. If you don't have a quote yet, try a few figures to see how sensitive the result is.
3. Enter what the move earns. Extra monthly revenue at full speed, your gross margin on that revenue, and any new fixed costs the move brings with it.
4. Set the ramp-up. The number of months before the move reaches full speed. Revenue builds in steps across those months while running costs start straight away.

What the results mean

Result	What it tells you
Pays for itself in	The month your cumulative extra gross profit first covers the amount borrowed plus the total cost of finance.
Repayment coverage	Monthly boost at full speed divided by the average monthly repayment. Above 1.5× leaves breathing room; below 1× means the business tops up repayments from elsewhere even at full speed.
Ramp-up cash gap	The most cash you'd need from other sources while the move is still building. Plan a buffer at least this size.
Net boost after repaying everything	What's left over the term once the loan and all finance costs are covered. This is the real prize.

A worked example (illustrative)

An engineering workshop is considering a second CNC machine. It would borrow $80,000 over 24 months, and the quote shows a total cost of finance of $16,000. The owner expects the extra capacity to bring in $15,000 a month once the machine is fully booked, at a 45% gross margin, with $1,500 a month in extra wages and power. Full bookings should take about three months.

At full speed the machine adds $5,250 a month of boost ($6,750 of gross profit less $1,500 of running costs). The average repayment is $4,000, so coverage is about 1.3×. The slow first quarter creates a cash gap of roughly $6,400, and cumulative profit overtakes the $96,000 outlay in month 21 — inside the term, but not by much. That's a "pays for itself, watch the early months" result. A longer term, a smaller machine or a pre-booked customer would widen the margin for error.

Getting the inputs right

• Revenue: build it from something real — enquiries you're turning away, a signed contract, the output of the new machine at realistic utilisation, the conversion rate on past campaigns.
• Gross margin: use the margin on the extra work, not the business average, if they differ. The gross margin guide shows how to work it out.
• Running costs: include super on new wages, extra insurance, rent, subscriptions and maintenance.
• Ramp-up: be honest. See planning for the slow start for typical patterns by move.

Want to pressure-test the plan? Halve the revenue, add three months to the ramp-up and see whether the business still copes. Our stress-testing guide walks through it, and the growth readiness check flags anything a lender will ask about.

Turn the numbers into a funding conversation

If the move pays for itself, the next step is finding finance shaped around that payback. Unsecured and cash-flow options typically run from $5,000 to $500,000 for trading businesses; property-secured growth loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000. Past credit issues and ATO debt are considered case by case.

The enquiry takes about 60 seconds and doesn't involve a credit check. Your details aren't handed around a crowd of lenders — a real person reads your plan and calls you. Put the same honest figures you used here into the form, and we can match the right structure first time. Check what your growth plan qualifies for →