Executive Summary
AI technologies have become deeply integrated into business processes. Due to the introduction of AI, organizations are experiencing enhancements in employee efficiency, causing decision-makers to continue to invest in tools to increase employee productivity while streamlining costs. With these tools and solutions, organizations aim to maximize visibility and communication and make operations more efficient while scaling growth.
Monday brings people, workflows, and AI agents together on one platform to help teams plan, execute, and deliver. The platform integrates use case accelerators, such as work management, CRM, development, service, and campaigns, into a single connected, context-aware platform.
Monday commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying monday.1 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of monday on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed Bill Ekstrand, a decision-maker at Horizon Media who has experience using monday at his organization. Forrester used this experience to project a three-year financial analysis.
The interviewee said that prior to using monday, teams across Horizon Media utilized disparate project management tools that ranged from simple homegrown tools to well-established enterprise platforms. These tools were disconnected and primarily ran on manual processes, which led to high inefficiencies for diverse project teams. Employees often worked in isolation using these tools and this siloed behavior led to limited visibility and cross-team collaboration. For Horizon Media, these challenges led to high-risk mistakes in media placements, which impacted business scalability and growth.
After the investment in monday, Horizon Media embedded intelligent, connected workflows across departments and teams. The platform provided the interviewee’s organization with a single source of truth with real-time visibility across all data. It also eliminated costly errors through smart guardrails and automatically surfacing risks. The interviewee also reported the increased adoption of AI-powered features within monday which his employees valued for its integration with boards and action tracking. Key results from the investment include high productivity gains for different types of users as well as substantial cost savings due to the retirement of legacy work management tools.
Key Findings
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for Horizon Media include:
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Productivity gains for power users worth $3.1 million. Horizon Media’s power users improved the efficiency of their day-to-day work due to functionalities that enable time savings, such as automated project management. It also improved team alignment, enhanced collaboration, and increased standardization. This revenue increase is worth $3.1 million to Horizon Media over three years.
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Productivity gains for regular users worth $1.8 million. Horizon Media’s regular users also improve the efficiency of their day-to-day with low to medium usage of the monday platform. The interviewee said regular users reported efficiency gains from built-in reporting and data visualizations, faster collaboration, improved communication efficiency, automated alerts and reminders, and better capacity and resource planning. This revenue increase is worth $1.8 million to Horizon Media over three years.
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Legacy software cost savings worth $1.1 million. The interviewee reported that with monday, his company no longer needed to use various disjointed tools for project and portfolio management. Horizon Media was able to consolidate tools and retire legacy solutions, resulting in cost savings worth $1.1 million to Horizon Media over three years.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that are not quantified for this study include:
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Risk reduction and error prevention. The interviewee said a significant benefit his organization experienced was the reduction of errors and associated risks, such as avoiding costly mistakes in media placements. The monday platform served as a source of truth and approval process, which, while hard to quantify, was considered valuable for his marketing agency.
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Better client collaboration. monday enabled direct collaboration with clients, allowing shared accountability and reducing communication issues. The interviewee said that several clients were active on the monday platform, and joint training events were organized to enhance collaboration. The platform facilitated the standardization of critical processes, while allowing customization for individual client needs.
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Faster employee onboarding. The interviewee highlighted the use of recorded training, enterprise support, and the role of the customer success manager in facilitating faster adoption of monday platform. He also noted that recorded virtual training, group training sessions, and customer success support were instrumental in driving adoption and reducing the burden on internal resources.
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Leadership adoption and strategic impact. The gradual adoption of monday by leadership along with the use of dashboards and reporting showed evidence of faster and more effective decision-making with limited strategic impact.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for Horizon Media include:
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License fees for monday. The cost of monday for Horizon Media in Year 1 is based on 1,000 users at a monthly cost of $32 per seat. This increases to $38.72 for 1,500 users at the end of Year 3. This amounts to a risk-adjusted total of $1.5 million over three years.
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Planning, testing and implementation costs. Horizon Media also allocated internal resources to plan and implement the monday platform and employees spent time training on the platform. This led to further costs of $74,000 over three years.
The financial analysis that is based on the interview found that Horizon Media experiences benefits of $6.0 million over three years versus costs of $1.6 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $4.4 million and an ROI of 284%.
Key Statistics
284%
Return on investment (ROI)
$6.0M
Benefits PV
$4.4M
Net present value (NPV)
<6 months
Payback
Benefits (Three-Year)
The Monday Customer Journey
Drivers leading to the monday investment
Interviewee’s Organization
Forrester interviewed Bill Ekstarnd, a key decision-maker who has experience using monday at Horizon Media. The organization has the following characteristics:
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Advertising and marketing agency
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2,300 employees
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US headquarters with global operations
Key Challenges
Bill Ekstarnd noted how Horizon Media struggled with challenges, including:
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Disparate project management tools. The interviewee said that his organization’s disconnected solutions didn’t meet organizational needs. The use of multiple platforms led to inefficient or manual projects, requests, and resource management. This resulted in a lack of visibility and collaboration between and across teams.
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Manual processes. Task updates and reporting were time-consuming at the interviewee’s organization, and teams were overwhelmed with manual processes. Client experience suffered due to individual employees choosing different solutions to suit their clients’ unique workflows, which led to errors and problems with version control.
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Siloed information. The interviewee said multiple teams worked in isolation using different tools. There was no centralized source of information or access to documents, which led to challenges to keep projects on track.
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The high risk of mistakes in media placements. The usage of legacy tools created severe financial and reputational risks in media placement by causing budget overruns, fragmented communication, and data-tracking failures. Disjointed platforms and manual spreadsheets lacked automated safeguards, leading to costly accidental spending and misplaced ad assets.
Solution Requirements/Investment Objectives
Horizon Media searched for a solution that could enhance the efficiency of diverse departments and teams, without drastically changing the way they work and collaborate.
Use Case Description
The journey of adopting monday at Horizon Media started with initial rollout to 1,000 users and the slow expansion to 1,500 licenses over three years. This approach was to allow organic growth rather than mandating usage. It targeted key users and teams and focused on setting up policies and support structures in Year 1.
Currently, monday covers about 60% of the firm, with a focus on maximizing current user engagement rather than further expansion. Horizon Media manages license allocation by monitoring user activity and downgrading inactive users, ensuring efficient use of resources. For this study, users are categorized as either power users or regular users based on their usage of the monday platform. These definitions are as follows:
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Power users experience high efficiency gains from the use of the monday platform. They have a wide range of technical abilities and include a range of employees, from media buyers to advanced coders and technical project managers.
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Regular users experience low to medium efficiency gains from the monday platform and include program managers as well as middle and higher management teams.
For this use case, Forrester has modeled benefits and costs over three years.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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Advertising and marketing
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2,300 employees
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US headquarters with global operations
Analysis Of Benefits
Quantified benefit data
Total Benefits
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Productivity gains for power users | $921,600 | $1,306,368 | $1,524,096 | $3,752,064 | $3,062,537 |
| Btr | Productivity gains for regular users | $537,600 | $762,048 | $889,056 | $2,188,704 | $1,786,480 |
| Ctr | Legacy software cost savings | $336,000 | $476,280 | $555,660 | $1,367,940 | $1,116,550 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $1,795,200 | $2,544,696 | $2,968,812 | $7,308,708 | $5,965,567 |
Productivity Gains For Power Users
Evidence and data. The interviewee reported that power users at Horizon Media experienced high efficiency gains from the use of the monday platform. These power users used the platform aggressively in their day-to-day tasks, including project management, team alignment, collaboration, and standardization.
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The interviewee noted that working with the monday platform led to faster collaboration on both internally and externally shared documents. The client-facing teams were able to build and share status updates much faster compared to prior work management tools. This led to rapid coordination with team members and clients.
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Employees experienced higher visibility of their individual and team tasks, which enabled better prioritization and communication. The reports and dashboards within the monday platform improved work clarity and visibility for project managers. As a result, they were able to prioritize other high-value tasks and reduced the time spent in time in daily meetings.
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Furthermore, the interviewee said employees reported how easy it was to find information as they transitioned to the monday platform. They were able to create, find, and share customizable templates for their projects. The interviewee noted this resulted in significant time gains for finding shared information and led to substantial time savings for these power users mainly through reduced email volume, centralized communication, and streamlined workflows.
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Horizon Media also invested in AI training for staff, making power users comfortable with monday’s agent-based tools. Adoption was widely supported by internal communications and ongoing evaluation of effectiveness of AI features.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
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Total number of employees using the monday platform increased from 1,000 in Year 1 to 1,500 by the end of Year 3.
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Thirty percent of these employees are power users who use the platform extensively.
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Each power user saves 8 hours per month on an average as they use the monday platform to perform their daily tasks.
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The fully burdened hourly rate for a power user is $40 in Year 1, $42 in Year 2, and $44.10 in Year 3.
Risks. The expected financial impact is subject to risks and variation based on the following factors:
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Monday use cases and scope of utilization across an organization.
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The number of ongoing projects and split between client-facing and non-client-facing teams.
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Average amount of employee hours spent on project management tasks.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $3.1 million.
8 hours
Saved per power user per month
Productivity Gains For Power Users
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Employees using the monday platform | Interview | 1,000 | 1,350 | 1,500 | |
| A2 | Percentage of employees who are power users | Interview | 30% | 30% | 30% | |
| A3 | Power users | A1*A2 | 300 | 405 | 450 | |
| A4 | Time saved per power user each month (hours) | Interview | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| A5 | Annual time power users save (hours) | A3*A4*12 | 28,800 | 38,880 | 43,200 | |
| A6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a power user | Composite | $40.00 | $42.00 | $44.10 | |
| At | Productivity gains for power users | A5*A6 | $1,152,000 | $1,632,960 | $1,905,120 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓20% | |||||
| Atr | Productivity gains for power users (risk-adjusted) | $921,600 | $1,306,368 | $1,524,096 | ||
| Three-year total: $3,752,064 | Three-year present value: $3,062,537 | |||||
Productivity Gains For Regular Users
Evidence and data. The interviewee reported that regular users at Horizon Media also experienced low to medium efficiency gains from the usage of the monday platform. These regular users did not used the platform as aggressively as power users but used the platform for limited collaboration with their peers and clients.
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The interviewee said regular users received actionable insights much faster with the monday platform than with legacy solutions due to the in-built reporting and data visualizations it provided. This enabled regular users to make decisions faster.
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Furthermore, the interviewee said employees reported faster collaboration and improved communication efficiency. Monday helped the regular employees eliminate wasted effort through better visibility and communication and optimize the management of projects and resources. Automated alerts and reminders ensured that all project steps were completed on time, which prevented delays and errors. The platform also supported better capacity and resource planning, which led to further efficiency gains.
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The regular users used the monday platform extensively for task management, ingestion pipelines, and tracking hundreds of deliverables for client teams, moving away from spreadsheet-based processes to a more centralized and transparent system.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
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Seventy percent of total employees are regular users.
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Each regular user saves 2 hours per month on an average as they use the monday platform to perform their managerial tasks.
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The fully burdened hourly rate of a regular user is $40 in Year 1, $42 in Year 2, and $44.10 in Year 3.
Risks. The expected financial impact is subject to risks and variation based on the following factors:
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Monday use cases and scope of utilization across an organization.
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The number of ongoing projects and split between client-facing and non-client-facing teams.
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Average amount of employee hours spent on project management tasks.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.8 million.
2 hours
Saved per power user per month
Productivity Gains For Regular Users
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Employees using the monday platform | Interview | 1,000 | 1,350 | 1,500 | |
| B2 | Percentage of employees who are regular users | Interview | 70% | 70% | 70% | |
| B3 | Regular users | Interview | 700 | 945 | 1,050 | |
| B4 | Time saved per regular user each month (hours) | Interview | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| B5 | Annual time regular users save (hours) | B3*B4*12 | 16,800 | 22,680 | 25,200 | |
| B6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a regular user | Composite | $40.00 | $42.00 | $44.10 | |
| Bt | Productivity gains for regular users | B5*B6 | $672,000 | $952,560 | $1,111,320 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓20% | |||||
| Btr | Productivity gains for regular users (risk-adjusted) | $537,600 | $762,048 | $889,056 | ||
| Three-year total: $2,188,704 | Three-year present value: $1,786,480 | |||||
Legacy Software Cost Savings
Evidence and data. Interviewee said that his company no longer needed to use various disjointed tools for project and portfolio management after implementing monday. Horizon Media was able to consolidate tools and retire legacy project management office (PMO) and work management solutions, which resulted in cost savings.
In the past, Horizon Media paid for three to five licenses for single individuals working across teams. Consolidating onto monday helped reduce costs and streamline workflows.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
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Prior to using monday, employees used work management tools that cost an average of $35 per seat per month in Year 1, $36.65 in Year 2, and $38.59 in Year 3.
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In Year 1, 1,000 legacy solution seats are retired. An additional 350 seats are retired in Year 2 and 150 more seats in Year 3.
Risks. The expected financial impact is subject to risks and variation based on the following factors:
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Previous expenditure on work management software at an organization and its associated maintenance.
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The number of users and change in an organization’s needs.
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A change in contractual terms and conditions.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.1 million.
1.1M
Legacy software cost savings
Legacy Software Cost Savings
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Monthly subscription costs for legacy PMO and work management software | Interview | $35.00 | $36.65 | $38.59 | |
| C2 | Retired subscriptions after monday implementation | Interview | 1,000 | 1,350 | 1,500 | |
| Ct | Legacy software cost savings | C1*C2*12 | $420,000 | $595,350 | $694,575 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓20% | |||||
| Ctr | Legacy software cost savings (risk-adjusted) | $336,000 | $476,280 | $555,660 | ||
| Three-year total: $1,367,940 | Three-year present value: $1,116,550 | |||||
Unquantified Benefits
The interviewee mentioned the following additional benefits that Horizon Media experienced but was not able to quantify:
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Risk reduction and error prevention. The interviewee said a significant benefit his organization experienced was the reduction of errors and associated risks, such as avoiding costly mistakes in media placements. The monday platform served as a source of truth and approval process, which, while hard to quantify, was considered valuable for his marketing agency.
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Better client collaboration. Monday enabled direct collaboration with clients, allowing shared accountability and reducing communication issues. The interviewee said that several clients were active on the monday platform, and joint training events were organized to enhance collaboration. The platform facilitated the standardization of critical processes, while allowing customization for individual client needs. This balance supported both agencywide controls and the flexibility required for diverse client requirements.
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Faster employee onboarding. The interviewee highlighted the use of recorded training, enterprise support, and the role of the customer success manager in facilitating faster adoption of the monday platform. New users receive immediate access to the platform, a recorded 45-minute navigation training, and were directed to monday’s enterprise support resources. Teams were also offered group training sessions, and the customer success manager provided hands-on support, assisting teams with workflow setup and collaboration, which was instrumental in driving adoption and reducing the burden on internal resources.
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Leadership adoption and strategic impact. The gradual adoption of monday by leadership along with the use of dashboards and reporting showed evidence of faster and more effective decision-making with limited strategic impact.
Flexibility
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement monday and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
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AI tools and advanced features adoption. The interviewee described the cautious but growing adoption of AI-powered features within monday, such as Sidekick and the meeting note taker. These AI agents are receiving positive initial feedback for their ability to assist with employee led board creation, queries, integration and action tracking. Horizon Media anticipates further integration of AI tools, particularly as system-level controls improve and as the organization assesses the potential for replacing or augmenting existing processes with AI-driven solutions.
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PMO tool integration. The interviewee suggested that the strong technical capabilities of monday’s platform allowed seamless integration with other tools with very little to no coding.
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).
Analysis Of Costs
Quantified cost data
Total Costs
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dtr | Monday licensing costs | $0 | $422,400 | $627,264 | $766,656 | $1,816,320 | $1,478,400 |
| Etr | Planning, testing, and training costs | $352 | $22,176 | $31,370 | $36,577 | $90,474 | $73,918 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $352 | $444,576 | $658,634 | $803,233 | $1,906,794 | $1,552,318 |
Monday Licensing Costs
Evidence and data. The interviewee said the main cost that Horizon Media incurred when adopting monday was the subscription/license fees. These are calculated according to an annual license fee model.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
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Horizon Media has 1,000 monday users across departments in Year 1, with a 50% increase by the end of Year 3.
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The license fee per user per month is $32 in Year 1, with a 5% increase in Years 2 and 3.
Risks. The expected investment is subject to risks and variation based on the following factors:
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The number of users.
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A change in an organization’s needs.
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A change in contractual terms and conditions.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.5 million.
Monday Licensing Costs
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Monday licensing cost per user per month | Interview | $32.00 | $35.20 | $38.72 | |
| D2 | Employees using the monday platform | Interview | 1,000 | 1,350 | 1,500 | |
| Dt | Monday licensing costs | D1*D2*12 | $0 | $384,000 | $570,240 | $696,960 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Dtr | Monday licensing costs (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $422,400 | $627,264 | $766,656 | |
| Three-year total: $1,816,320 | Three-year present value: $1,478,400 | |||||
Planning, Testing, And Training Costs
Evidence and data. The interviewee reported that on top of licensing costs, Horizon Media also allocated internal resources to plan and implement the monday platform. This led to further costs for the for planning, implementation, and rollout of the platform.
Also, to realize the most value from the monday platform, employees at the Horizon Media spent time understanding the platform, its functionality, and how to manage the use of the monday platform across the organization.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
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IT team employees spend 8 hours initially planning, implementation, and rollout labor. This reduced to 4 hours each year.
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Employees spent 30 minutes on average getting an overview of and trained on the monday platform.
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The fully burdened hourly rate per user is $40 with a 5% increase each year.
Risks. The expected investment is subject to risks and variation based on the following factors:
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The scope of deployment and implementation complexity.
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The number of monday platform users and the extent of facilitated training and program education for them.
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The number of existing technical and business user resources and internal deployment teams, along with their expertise and skill sets.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $74,000.
Planning, Testing, And Training Costs
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Employee time spent planning, implementation, and rollout labor (hours) | Interview | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| E2 | Employee time spent on platform overview and training (hours per employee) | Interview | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| E3 | Employes using the monday platform | Interview | 0 | 1,000 | 1,350 | 1,500 |
| E4 | Employee time spent for platform overview and training | E2*E3 | 0 | 500 | 675 | 750 |
| E5 | Total employee time spent on planning, testing, and training | E1+E3 | 8 | 504 | 679 | 754 |
| E6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a monday user | Composite | $40.00 | $40.00 | $42.00 | $44.10 |
| Et | Planning, testing, and training costs | E4*E5 | $320 | $20,160 | $28,518 | $33,251 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Etr | Planning, testing, and training costs (risk-adjusted) | $352 | $22,176 | $31,370 | $36,577 | |
| Three-year total: $90,474 | Three-year present value: $73,918 | |||||
Financial Summary
Consolidated Three-Year, Risk-Adjusted Metrics
Cash Flow Chart (Risk-Adjusted)
Cash Flow Analysis (Risk-Adjusted)
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($352) | ($444,576) | ($658,634) | ($803,233) | ($1,906,794) | ($1,552,318) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $1,795,200 | $2,544,696 | $2,968,812 | $7,308,708 | $5,965,567 |
| Net benefits | ($352) | $1,350,624 | $1,886,062 | $2,165,579 | $5,401,914 | $4,413,249 |
| ROI | 284% | |||||
| Payback | <6 months |
Please Note
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interview, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in monday.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that monday can have on an organization.
Due Diligence
Interviewed monday stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to monday.
Interview
Interviewed a decision-maker with experience using monday at their organization to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Financial Model Framework
Constructed a financial model representative of the interview using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewee.
Case Study
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Total Economic Impact Approach
Benefits
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
Financial Terminology
Present value (PV)
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PVs of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
Net present value (NPV)
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
Return on investment (ROI)
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
Discount rate
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
Payback
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Appendix A
Total Economic Impact
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Appendix B
Endnotes
1 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Disclosures
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by monday and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in monday.
Monday reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
Monday provided the customer name for the interview but did not participate in the interview.
Consulting Team:
Aashish Sharma
Published
September 2026
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