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Cost-benefit analysis template

A cost-benefit analysis compares what a change will cost with what it will return, so a team can decide whether it is worth doing and which way of doing it is best. On the shop floor it is usually a one-page comparison of two or three options for the same problem, one of them often doing nothing or the cheapest fix, using yearly figures. The results most people look at are the net benefit per year, the payback in months, the net present value (NPV) over the years compared, and the benefit-cost ratio: the present value of the benefits divided by the present value of the costs. Page 1 of this template has the options side by side with one-time costs, running costs per year, hard benefits per year (spending that goes down) and soft benefits per year (cost avoided, time freed), and a results block. Page 2 explains each formula and has a worked example. The Excel version works out every result for each option, NPV on hard benefits alone and with soft benefits added, and names the option with the best NPV on hard benefits.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the cost-benefit analysis templateFields for the decision, years and discount rate, and a table with options A, B and C for one-time costs, running costs, hard and soft benefits per year, and results for net benefit, payback, NPV and benefit-cost ratio.
Up to three optionsOne-time costsRunning costsHard and soft benefitsPaybackNPVBenefit-cost ratio
Filled-in Cost-benefit analysis template: long changeovers compared over 3 years at 10%
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a cost-benefit analysis template

  • When there is more than one way to fix a problem and they cost very different amounts.
  • Before asking for money, to check the idea pays back.
  • When a kaizen team has to choose between a quick fix and a bigger change.
  • To explain to management why the cheaper option was chosen, or why it was not.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Name the options

    Two or three ways to solve the same problem. Include doing nothing or the cheapest fix as a baseline.

  2. 2

    List one-time costs

    Equipment, installation, training and project time for each option, from quotes or estimates.

  3. 3

    Add running costs per year

    Maintenance, energy, licenses and consumables each option adds.

  4. 4

    Estimate the benefits per year

    Hard benefits where spending goes down, soft benefits where a cost is avoided or time freed. Keep them on separate lines.

  5. 5

    Work out the results

    Net benefit per year, payback, net benefit over the years compared, NPV and the benefit-cost ratio, using Finance's discount rate.

  6. 6

    Decide, and write down what the numbers miss

    Choose on the hard numbers first. Note safety, quality and customer points that have no reliable dollar value.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a cell that misses shipments because of long changeovers, compared over 3 years at 10% (illustrative numbers).

The example's two options over the 3 years compared

  1. A: quick-change fixture, $24,00020.6 monthsBCR 1.41
  2. B: second machine, $180,00050.2 monthsBCR 0.64

Option A, the quick-change fixture, pays back in 20.6 months with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.41. Option B, a second machine, pays back in 50.2 months, after the 36 months compared, with a ratio of 0.64.

B brings more benefit a year, but it pays back after the 3-year horizon and its NPV on hard benefits is negative (−$73,065 against A's $10,816).
  • Option A, a quick-change fixture: $24,000 one-time, $1,000 a year to run, $15,000 a year hard benefit in overtime, $6,000 soft.
  • Option B, a second machine: $180,000 one-time, $9,000 a year to run, $52,000 a year hard benefit.
  • Net benefit per year: A $14,000, B $43,000. Payback: A 20.6 months, B 50.2 months.
  • NPV on hard benefits: A $10,816, B −$73,065. Benefit-cost ratio: A 1.41, B 0.64.

The team chose option A. Option B added more capacity than the cell needed and did not pay back within the 3 years compared; with demand growth the comparison would change, so the assumptions were written down.

Common mistakes

  • Comparing different time spans

    Use the same number of years and the same discount rate for every option, or the comparison means nothing.

  • Adding soft benefits to hard

    Decide on the hard numbers. Show the soft benefits beside them as a second figure.

  • Leaving out doing nothing

    Without a baseline nobody can see what the change adds over the cost of carrying on as now.

  • Hiding the assumptions

    Volumes, rates and prices drive the answer. Write them down so others can check and update them.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite the Loss and Cost Management System ranks each loss by what it costs, KPI Builder tracks your cost KPIs against targets, and the Glidepath report shows closed, projected and carried-over savings against target month by month.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Cost-benefit analysis template: common questions

  1. A comparison of what a change will cost with what it will return, over the same period and in the same money terms, to decide whether it is worth doing and which option is best.

  2. Divide the present value of the benefits by the present value of the costs, including the one-time cost. A ratio above 1 means the benefits are bigger than the costs over the years compared.

  3. Payback is how long it takes for the net benefit to repay the one-time cost, ignoring what happens after and the time value of money. NPV discounts every year's net benefit at a rate set by Finance and subtracts the one-time cost, so it shows the value over the whole period.

  4. Yes, but on their own line and as a second result. Decide on the hard benefits first, because soft benefits such as freed hours do not lower spending unless something else changes.

  5. As long as the change will be used, often 3 to 5 years for equipment and fixtures. Use the same number of years for every option.

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