The numbers in the ROI calculator are only as credible as the methodology behind them. This page explains our inputs, assumptions, savings categories, and verification approach — so you can judge for yourself and defend the numbers internally.
Open the ROI calculatorProcureLabs tracks savings across four stages. Only Verified and Realised savings count in the headline ROI number — because only those stages involve an actual financial event.
Pala and the exception engine surface potential savings opportunities — price overcharges, duplicate payments, unclaimed rebates, off-contract spend, and others. At this stage, the value is potential: it has been identified but not yet confirmed.
Your team reviews the finding. Where the exception is confirmed — supplier overcharge is genuine, the rebate tier was missed, the duplicate payment cleared — it moves to addressable. The value is real but not yet recovered.
The supplier has agreed to a credit note, reissued the invoice at the correct price, or the process change that prevents the exception recurring has been implemented. The value is now bankable — a financial event has occurred.
The credit has cleared, the corrected payment has been applied, or the cost reduction is visible in the next period's actuals. Finance has confirmed the benefit. This is the only stage that goes into the verified savings total.
Different savings types have different measurement bases and counting rules.
Price overcharges, duplicate payments, unclaimed rebates, SLA penalty credits
Delta between contracted price/term and actual transaction. Verified at supplier agreement stage.
Credit note or corrected invoice received — one-time.
Maverick spend redirected to preferred suppliers, off-contract rate correction
Volume redirected to preferred contract × price differential between off-contract and on-contract rate.
Run-rate saving counted for 12 months post-implementation of control change.
Renegotiated rates at contract renewal, benchmarked savings on new awards
Prior rate × volume − new rate × volume. We use prior-period actuals as the baseline, not budget.
Run-rate saving counted for the contract term, or 12 months if term exceeds 3 years.
Analyst hours redirected from manual exception finding to higher-value work
Hours per period × fully-loaded cost rate. ProcureLabs does not default-include process savings in headline ROI — it is optional and must be explicitly agreed with finance.
Excluded from base ROI calculation. Reported separately as efficiency gain.
See also: how spend leakage detection works · contract intelligence and compliance
The five inputs used in the ROI calculator, and what each one means.
The portion of annual spend ProcureLabs analyses — typically indirect and tail spend connected to the platform. The calculator uses your input; we apply no automatic adjustment.
Industry research places spend leakage at 5–15% of addressable indirect spend. The calculator defaults to 8% as a mid-point. Your actual rate will be confirmed once data is connected.
Not every identified exception is recoverable. The calculator uses 60% as a conservative recovery rate — reflecting that some findings are too small to pursue, the supplier disputes, or the contract does not support recovery.
Your actual licence fee or the tier-based estimate from the pricing page. The ROI calculator uses list pricing by default; contact us for volume pricing.
Optional input. If you choose to include process efficiency savings, enter the number of analyst hours per week currently spent on manual exception finding, and an estimated fully-loaded cost rate.
Where we have made a judgment call, we explain it — so you can adjust for your context.
Organisations with immature P2P controls and poor contract compliance see rates at the high end (12–15%). Those with robust controls still see 3–5% — ProcureLabs typically finds leakage that existing controls miss.
The 60% default recovery rate is deliberately conservative. Teams with strong supplier relationships and clear contract language typically recover a higher proportion. We use 60% to avoid overstating returns.
For negotiated savings, we use prior-period actuals as the baseline — not budget. This avoids the common trap of counting savings against an aspirational number that was never actually spent.
Run-rate savings count for 12 months (or contract term). We do not double-count the same saving in year 2 unless a new event occurs. The 3-year ROI model shows incremental new savings each year.
Based on teams using ProcureLabs with meaningful connected spend (>$50M addressable). Individual results depend on spend volume, data quality, and team engagement.
Spend exceptions, price overcharges, and duplicate payment flags appear within the first week of connecting data. These are identified — not yet verified.
Your team works through the highest-confidence findings. Supplier credits and corrected invoices confirm the first tranche of verified savings.
Most teams with addressable spend above $50M recover the platform cost within the first quarter. The ROI calculator shows your projected payback date.
Verified savings require a financial event — a credit note, a corrected invoice, a confirmed cost reduction in actuals. Identified or pipeline savings are tracked separately in the value spine. The ProcureLabs savings number that goes to finance is always the Verified or Realised stage.
The calculator defaults to 8%, the mid-point of the 5–15% range cited in industry benchmarks. Your actual rate depends on the maturity of your contract compliance controls and P2P process discipline. Once your data is connected, ProcureLabs will show you your actual measured leakage rate within the first day.
Process efficiency savings (analyst time redirected from manual work) are tracked in the platform but excluded from the base ROI calculation by default. We report them separately so they can be included or excluded depending on your finance team's preference.
Most teams identify their first confirmed savings within the first week of connecting data. Initial payback on the platform investment is typically within the first quarter for teams with meaningful addressable spend. The ROI calculator provides a 3-year model; payback is usually visible in month 1–3.
Yes. The ROI calculator produces a shareable summary. For a more detailed model with your specific contract data and negotiated rates factored in, speak to our team — we can build a customised business case document.
Put your numbers in and get a defensible estimate you can take to finance. Then connect your data and replace the estimate with actuals.
Related: spend leakage detection · procurement intelligence software · CFO solutions