The Economics.
How to judge the return, pay for the build, and prepare for possible R&D tax credits.
Does owning the software pay?
A subscription has a clear annual price. Owned software costs more up front, then returns value over time as the old contracts end. A useful comparison has three parts.
Start with hard savings
Add the annual license fees that will disappear, then subtract the yearly cost of hosting, maintenance, and support. The result is net annual savings.
Count the transition
Include the build, data migration, internal time, and any months when both bills overlap. Contract renewal dates determine when savings actually begin.
Keep other value separate
Faster work and better data may add real value. A future buyer may also value the higher earnings. Keep both outside the cash case unless you can measure them.
Savings from canceled subscriptions.
| Cumulative view | Year one | Year three |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription savings | $655,208 | $2,505,208 |
| Build and migration cost | -$500,000 | -$500,000 |
| Net cash return | $155,208 | $2,005,208 |
| Return multiple | 1.3x | 5.0x |
Add benefits you can measure.
This view adds your estimate for faster work, better data, or other measurable gains. It stays separate because the estimate is subjective.
| Cumulative view | Year one | Year three |
|---|---|---|
| Savings and other value | $938,542 | $3,588,542 |
| Build and migration cost | -$500,000 | -$500,000 |
| Net return | $438,542 | $3,088,542 |
| Return multiple | 1.9x | 7.2x |
Keep this separate from the project return.
If annual savings increase earnings, a buyer may apply its usual valuation multiple to that increase. This is possible company value, not cash returned by the project.
The calculator is illustrative. It assumes savings rise evenly until the final subscription ends. A real model should use each contract's renewal date and the expected cutover date for the system replacing it.
Find the numbers your ROI audit needs.
SaaSassin helps you list each subscription, its annual cost, and its renewal date. You leave with a downloadable report that supplies the savings and cancellation timing used above.
Play SaaSassinCan financing make the timing work?
Fora Financial can spread the build cost across fixed weekly payments. This can let work begin before the next budget cycle and align repayment with the subscriptions the new system replaces.
We assume your current SaaS bills run until the rebuild ships, then stop.
Held to full term: illustrative 31% fixed fee, no payoff check to write.
Three-year software spend
Illustrative math, not an offer. The model uses Fora's July 2026 quote: up to 18 months, fixed weekly drafts, a 10% effective rate in the first quarter of the term, and 15% in the first half. Later payoff rates are estimates toward the 31% full-term quote; actual terms depend on underwriting. The defer option finances up to six months of payments. Rebuild totals exclude hosting and maintenance, while SaaS totals assume no annual price increases.
Fora provides the financing. Your company owns what we build.
Your company signs directly with Fora. Runpoint's price stays the same whether you borrow or pay cash, and we receive no financing fees.
Apply
For $20,000 to $250,000, Fora asks for an application and four months of business bank statements. For $250,000 to $1.5 million, it also needs six months of statements, current financials, receivables and payables reports, a debt schedule, and the latest business tax return. For larger requests, we talk with Fora first.
Fora reviews it
Fora uses a soft credit check and a short call to understand the business. Requests over $400,000 go to a credit committee that meets daily. There is no fee to apply or be approved.
Funds arrive
Once approved, funds can arrive by wire within days. Fora can split a larger project into two installments, 30 to 60 days apart, to match Runpoint's billing schedule.
Repay on a fixed schedule
Terms run up to 18 months with equal weekly withdrawals. Paying the loan off early lowers the fee: 10% in the first quarter of the term and about 15% in the first half. Fora takes no equity and requires no restrictive covenants or warrants.
The questions a CFO asks first.
Can this be cash-flow neutral?
Sometimes. Fora can include up to the first six months of payments in the loan, giving many projects time to launch before cash leaves the company. This increases both the loan and its fee. The calculator includes that cost.
Who is likely to qualify?
Fora's current profile is a privately owned US business with $1 million to $50 million in annual revenue, at least six months of revenue-producing operations, and no open bankruptcies. It does not require a minimum profit. Its typical request is $500,000 to $1 million, and its client sheet lists loans up to $3 million.
What does it cost?
Fora sets a fixed fee during underwriting. Over the full 18-month term, that fee typically runs from 20% to 35% of the amount financed. Paying early lowers it. The calculator distinguishes Fora's stated early-payoff terms from our estimates.
Why finance if we have the cash?
Cash costs less, and most clients use it. Financing can make sense when the project is not in this year's budget and waiting would trigger another annual SaaS renewal.
Which parts may qualify for R&D tax credits?
The credit applies to specific technical work, not the project as a whole. A strong candidate starts with a genuine technical unknown and compares different ways to solve it. Using AI alone does not make the work qualified research.
Separate routine work from experimental work.
Routine configuration, data migration, known integrations, maintenance, bug fixes, and work done after launch. The IRS also excludes copying an existing business function or adapting an existing product to one customer's needs.
A defined part of the system where the team did not know which technical approach would work and tested alternatives. For example, an AI assistant may qualify when making it safe and reliable requires genuine technical experiments.
The work has to pass four tests.
Employing developers or using AI is not enough. The work generally has to meet all four requirements.
A permitted purpose
The work aims to create or improve a product, process, technique, formula, invention, or piece of software. Routine maintenance and cosmetic changes are weak candidates.
Based in hard science
The work relies on principles from computer science, engineering, or another hard science. A business goal by itself is not enough.
A real technical unknown
At the start, the team does not know whether or how it can achieve the result. The unknown can involve capability, method, or design.
A process of experimentation
The team compares possible solutions through prototypes, tests, trials, modeling, or another systematic process. Failed experiments can still count as evidence.
Software built for finance, HR, sales, or operations may have to clear a higher bar. The company may need to show a major and financially meaningful improvement, real financial risk caused by the technical unknown, and no suitable commercial software that could work without major changes.
The credit applies to qualified expenses, not the full budget.
Employee wages
The share of US employee wages spent on qualified research, direct supervision, or direct support may count.
Outside contractors
Federal rules generally include 65% of qualified contractor costs. The location of the work, who bears the financial risk, and which rights the company keeps all matter.
Supplies and computing
Some supplies and rented computing used directly in qualified research may count. Ordinary production and operating costs generally do not.
The podcast uses about 10% of qualified spending as a rough example, not a standard rate. The actual federal credit depends on current and prior research expenses, the calculation method, and applicable limits.
Set up the evidence before tax season.
- 01Name the part of the business being improved and the technical unknown before development begins.
- 02Keep design notes, prototypes, test results, rejected approaches, tickets, and release records.
- 03Track qualified time by project, including direct supervision and support, using one consistent method.
- 04Make contracts clear about ownership rights, payment terms, financial risk, and where each contractor works.
- 05Have the tax adviser review the project and contract early enough to correct gaps while the work is still happening.
The credit generally reduces income tax, subject to its final calculation and the broader rules for business tax credits.
Some startups may apply up to $500,000 of the credit against payroll taxes. Ask a tax adviser about eligibility and timing before filing the return.
For tax years beginning after 2025, Form 6765 generally requires more detail about each area of research, with exceptions for some smaller filers. This is educational, not tax or legal advice. A qualified tax adviser should decide what applies to your company and tax year.