ROI & NPV Calculator

How to read the numbers this calculator gives you

ROI answers the simplest question — what did I get back per rupee put in — but it ignores when the money comes back. Ten lakh returned next year and ten lakh returned in year five are the same ROI and very different investments. That is why the tool also computes NPV (net present value): every future cash flow is discounted back to today at your chosen rate, so money that arrives later counts for less. A positive NPV means the option beats your discount rate; between two options, the higher NPV wins even when the ROI percentages say otherwise.

The discount rate is where judgement enters. For a business comparing internal projects, the honest rate is what your capital actually costs — a working-capital loan at 11-12%, or the return your money earns in its current use. Set it too low and everything looks attractive; that is how expansion decisions go wrong. The payback period alongside tells you how long your capital is locked away — a number banks ask about before NPV ever comes up.

We built this tool because these are the same workings we run for clients weighing a machine purchase, a new branch, a rental property against a business reinvestment, or a buy-vs-lease decision — usually with tax effects layered on top: depreciation under Section 32, interest deductibility and the capital-gains cost of an exit all, change the after-tax answer. The calculator gives you the pre-tax skeleton; if the decision involves real money, our advisory desk adds the tax layer before you commit. See also the capital gains tax calculator and the advance tax calculator for the after-effects of a profitable exit.