How the calculation works
The calculator compares two versions of the same task: formatting a candidate CV by hand, and formatting it with a tool and then reviewing the result. The difference in minutes per CV, multiplied by your weekly volume, gives the hours saved each week. Multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12 turns that into a monthly figure, and multiplying by the cost of a recruiter hour gives the gross value of the time. Finally the tool’s monthly price is subtracted to give net savings. Every step is shown underneath the results with your numbers in it.
Gross versus net savings
Many recruitment ROI calculators stop at the gross figure: they treat the entire manual workload as saved and never deduct the price of the software or the time still spent checking its output. That makes every tool look profitable at any volume. This calculator does both. The “minutes with a tool” input is there because no responsible agency sends a CV without reading it, and the net line is there because a subscription is a real cost. If the net figure is negative, the tool does not pay for itself at that volume.
Choosing honest inputs
- CVs per week: count CVs that are actually reformatted and sent, not every application received.
- Minutes by hand: time the full job on a few typical CVs: opening the template, copying sections, fixing formatting, removing contact details, proofreading and saving as Word and PDF.
- Minutes with a tool: include checking facts against the original, correcting anything wrong and approving. The software’s processing time matters less than your review time.
- Hourly cost: use salary plus employer costs divided by working hours, or the value of a billable hour if the saved time goes to sourcing and client work.
- Tool price: the monthly plan you would need at your volume.
The breakeven volume
Breakeven is the number of CVs per week at which the time value equals the tool’s price. Below it, the tool costs more than it saves; above it, each extra CV adds to the net saving. If the tool does not save time per CV, or if you enter a zero hourly cost, there is no breakeven and the calculator says so instead of inventing one. Zero is allowed in every field, so you can test quiet months and worst cases.
A worked example
Take a desk that formats 25 CVs a week. By hand each one takes 30 minutes; with a tool, checking and approving takes 10. That saves 20 minutes per CV, or about 8.3 hours a week and 36 hours a month. At £30 an hour the time is worth roughly £1,083 a month. Subtract a £49 subscription and the net figure is about £1,034 a month. The breakeven volume is just over one CV a week, so at this volume the price matters far less than whether the review really takes 10 minutes. Change the review time to 28 minutes and the picture changes completely, which is why it is worth measuring.
What the numbers leave out
Time value is not profit. Saved hours turn into money only when recruiters spend them on work that earns fees, or when the agency avoids overtime, temporary help or a hire. The calculator also leaves out one-off setup and training, and benefits that are real but hard to price: fewer typos and wrong dates in client submissions, contact details that no longer slip through, a consistent format across the desk and faster time to submit. Treat the result as a scenario built on your assumptions, not a forecast.
Measure it instead of guessing
The best input is a measured one. During a trial, time ten CVs end to end with the tool, including review, and compare with ten done by hand. CVPitch is built for exactly that cycle: upload, check each fact beside its source, apply your client template and contact policy, approve and export Word plus PDF. See monthly plans, or start with 10 free CVs. To compare cost per CV across plans, use the CV formatting cost calculator.