The ROI of good project management and CRM software

In today’s fast-paced business environment, the right tools can make or break your operations. For organisations looking to stay competitive and efficient, investing in high-quality project management and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. With platforms like monday.com, businesses can optimise their workflows, improve collaboration, and unlock significant returns on investment (ROI). To bring this to life, let’s follow the journey of a rapidly growing company, SunnySide Ventures.

SunnySide Ventures is a family-run business specialising in eco-friendly, custom-designed chicken coops. With a team of 15 employees and a growing client base, their operations were chaotic, their follow-ups inconsistent, and their spreadsheets messy. They also relied on multiple costly software tools that didn’t integrate with one another, further complicating their workflow and creating inefficiencies—until they discovered monday.com.

1. Time Savings

Manual processes, fragmented tools, and disorganised workflows can cost your team hours every week. With good project management and CRM software, these inefficiencies are replaced with streamlined processes and automations.

Example: SunnySide Ventures' Operations Team

Before implementing Monday.com, SunnySide’s operations team followed a tedious daily workflow to track customer orders:

• Updating spreadsheets with new orders: 60 minutes

• Replying to customer enquiries: 45 minutes

• Sending dispatch orders: 115 minutes

• Waiting to receive order status and updates: 30 minutes

Total time spent: 250 minutes per day per team member.

After implementing Monday.com, the workflow became significantly more efficient:

• Order data automatically synced into monday.com: 5 minutes

• Customer enquiries handled with pre-set email templates and automations: 15 minutes

• Automated orders sent to the dispatch team: 5 minutes

• Automated notifications for order updates: 5 minutes

Total time spent: 30 minutes per day per team member.

Results:

Old time spent per day: 250 minutes (4.17 hours)

New time spent per day: 30 minutes (0.5 hours)

Time saved per employee per day: 3.67 hours.

The ROI Formula

1. Time Saved per Employee (annually)

Time Saved per Employee = (Old Time Spent − New Time Spent) × Workdays 
per Year

= (3.67hours/day) × 230 workdays (approx. depending on location).

= 844.1hours per employee annually.

2. Total Annual Time Saved

Total Annual Time Saved = Time Saved per Employee × Number of Employees

= 844.1hours × 3 employees

= 2,532.3 hours annually.

3. Annual Cost Savings

Annual Cost Savings = Total Annual Time Saved × Average Hourly Wage

= 2,532.3 hours × $40/hour

= $101,292.

SunnySide Ventures saved $101,292 annually by automating repetitive tasks and centralising communication. This could reduce employee count or re-allocate time for high-value, revenue generating tasks. This example highlights the significant impact of optimising just one workflow for one team.

Now imagine applying this formula to all workflows across your business: Business Development, Accounting, Dispatch and Logistics, Manufacturing, and more. The cumulative savings could be transformative for your organisation!

2. Improved Collaboration and Accountability

When teams don’t have a clear view of tasks and responsibilities, projects can derail quickly. CRM and project management tools provide transparency and accountability, ensuring everyone knows who is responsible for what and when it’s due.

Example with Monday.com at SunnySide Ventures:

Before Monday.com, the marketing team missed 40% of deadlines due to unclear task ownership and transparency. Using monday.com’s boards, dashboards and notifications, their on-time task completion improved to 70%.

The ROI Formula:

• Increased Efficiency = (New Completion Rate - Old Completion Rate) × Total Tasks

• Revenue Impact = Increased Efficiency × Average Task Value

Calculation:

• Increased Efficiency: (0.70 - 0.40) × 100 tasks = 30 additional tasks completed

• Revenue Impact: 30 tasks × $3,000/task = $90,000

SunnySide Ventures generated an additional $90,000 in revenue by improving task management.

3. Revenue Growth Through Better Customer Management

A good CRM doesn’t just organise your customer data—it helps you drive sales and retain clients. By tracking leads, follow-ups, and customer interactions, teams can focus on building stronger relationships and closing deals.

Example with Monday.com at SunnySide Ventures:

SunnySide’s sales team struggled to convert leads, achieving only a 20% conversion rate. They lacked a centralised system for tracking inbound leads, relied on scattered notes, and often missed follow-ups, causing potential opportunities to go cold. After implementing monday.com, they transformed their process:

• Centralised all lead data in one place, enabling them to track inbound leads efficiently.

• Maintained clean, detailed notes on each lead, allowing the team to review the history and tailor interactions.

• Automated follow-up responses to keep leads warm and engaged without manual intervention.

• Assigned leads to specific sales managers, ensuring accountability and organised workflows.

• Created clear stages for their sales process, providing a visible pipeline to track where each lead was at every stage.

• Automated reminders for follow-ups, ensuring no opportunities were ever lost.

As a result of these changes, their conversion rate jumped from 20% to 35%.

Assuming the average sale of a custom chicken coop is $3,000;

The ROI Formula:

• Additional Revenue = (New Conversion Rate - Old Conversion Rate) × Total Leads × Average Deal Value

Calculation:

• Additional Revenue: (0.35 - 0.20) × 3,000 leads × $3,000 = $1,350,000

SunnySide Ventures increased their revenue by 1,350,000 by improving their sales process.

4. Cost Reduction

While implementing a new tool may seem like an upfront cost, the savings it generates often outweigh the initial investment. Project management and CRM tools help businesses reduce errors, inefficiencies, and duplication of work.

Example with monday.com at SunnySide Ventures:

SunnySide Ventures previously relied on three separate tools to manage sales, inventory, and orders, including a 20-year-old outdated system that lacked flexibility and could not be customised. These tools were costing approximately $1,350 per month to cover all staff, equating to $16,200 annually. The disconnected systems required duplicate manual data entry, increasing the risk of costly errors and wasting valuable time.

By switching to monday.com, SunnySide was able to consolidate all these processes into a single, modern platform at an annual cost of just $4,680 per year. This transition not only reduced their software expenses by $11,520 annually but also eliminated redundancies, improved accuracy, and streamlined operations, delivering significant cost savings and operational efficiency.

The ROI Formula:

• Annual Savings = (Old Tool Costs - New Tool Costs) × 12 months

Calculation:

• Annual Savings: ($16,200- $4,680) × 12 = $11,520.

SunnySide Ventures saved $11,520 annually by consolidating tools.

5. Enhanced Decision-Making

Data-driven decisions are more effective than gut instincts. A good CRM and project management tool provides analytics and reports that give you insights into your operations.

Example with Monday.com at SunnySide Ventures:

SunnySide’s leadership used Monday.com dashboards and visual charts to gain real-time insights into their manufacturing output. By centralising data, they could track production levels in real-time, ensuring they maintained optimal productivity. For example, during high-demand periods, they scaled up resources by reallocating staff and adjusting production schedules. Conversely, during slower periods, they reduced resource usage to save costs.

The dashboards also enabled SunnySide to pinpoint bottlenecks in the production process, such as delays in material procurement or assembly, allowing the team to address these issues proactively. Automated alerts notified managers whenever production slowed down, ensuring swift intervention to keep operations on track.

By leveraging these tools, SunnySide improved their ability to meet demand efficiently, reducing production delays by 25% and enabling them to take on an additional 250 orders annually. This streamlined approach significantly enhanced their operational efficiency and increased overall revenue.

The ROI Formula:

• Additional Revenue = Additional Orders Produced × Average Order Value

Calculation:

• Additional Revenue: 250 Additional Orders × $3,000/average order = $750,000

SunnySide Ventures generated an additional $750,000 by leveraging data for better decision-making.

Total Financial Impact: SunnySide Ventures achieved a total annual benefit of $2,302,812 through their adoption of monday.com. consolidating their tools, automating workflows, improving collaboration, and leveraging real-time data, they achieved incredible results:

• Saved $101,292 annually by streamlining operations and reducing manual tasks.

• Gained an additional $90,000 by increasing project productivity through accountability and visibility.

• Generated an additional $1,350,000 in revenue by improving their sales process.

• Reduced software expenses by $11,520 annually by replacing outdated systems.

• Boosted production efficiency, enabling them to generate an additional $750,000 annually through better resource management.

With monday.com, SunnySide not only solved their operational challenges but also unlocked significant financial and strategic benefits. If you’re ready to achieve similar results and transform your business, get started with monday.com today or get in touch with us for an obligation free monday.com suitability assessment.