PropTech Benefits Calculator

What is this tool?

The Digital Task Force for Planning (creator of the Digital Planning Directory) is interested in Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) feeling empowered to use innovative tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness across their different service areas. Our partners at MHCLG’s Digital Planning Programme found that a barrier to this happening more systematically is a challenging business case process within LPAs. One element of this is that planners – especially where this is the first time this type of tool is being used – do not always have figures to demonstrate the cost and time savings from property technology (PropTech) tools.

So, we developed this benefits calculator to help LPAs quantify the benefits from using specific PropTech services on citizen engagement and site focused projects. This tool is intended to be used alongside the Business Case Toolkit; it will output indicative figures that can help demonstrate potential value for money or support the economic case for investment.

We hope the calculator will enable planners to generate numbers that suggest the ‘art of the possible’ in their own LPAs. 

How did we create this? 

The Digital Planning Programme launched the PropTech Innovation Fund to support LPAs to work with innovative technology vendors at pace and scale. It has allocated funding across multiple ‘rounds’ focused on specific themes. 

In Round 4, the funding focused on land assessment (improving current approaches to identifying and evaluating sites, including viability and feasibility assessments and land assembly projects) as well as enhancing digital citizen engagement through visualising planning and development proposals. 

The pilots in Round 4 were able to track and quantify the benefits that accrued to participating LPAs from using digital tools compared to traditional or manual processes. With the permission of MHCLG, we have used this benefits data as the source for this tool to estimate potential Return on Investment (ROI). 

Get access to the tool here [available to .gov.uk email addresses only at this stage]

How to use the calculator

You can learn how to navigate the tool and generate your figures by watching the video walkthrough below. You can also use the step-by-step written guide below as a reference or an alternative to the video depending on your preference.

Before you start

• To note: The app is optimised for a light theme; if your browser forces dark mode, please refresh or adjust your settings for the best experience.

Step 1: Select tool type

Begin by answering the prompt: “What type of PropTech tool are you considering?”

• Site-based planning: Tools for tasks such as call for sites, capacity, and viability modelling.
• Consultation and engagement: Tools for online consultations, AI response analysis, and 3D visualisation.

Step 2: Select service area

Next, select the specific service area you want to support (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Community Engagement).

• Note: The tool filters the available data based on your selection. As you choose a service area, the tool identifies which specific pilot projects from Round 4 are relevant to your selection.

Step 3: Choose your data source

You must decide how you want to estimate benefits. You have two options:

Option A: Use benchmark figures
Select this if you do not have your own baseline data.

• The tool will populate benchmark figures (blended hours and costs) derived directly from the LPAs that participated in the Round 4 pilots.
• It provides transparency on the data source, showing the number of hours per site/consultation and the average staff cost.

Option B: Enter your own data
Select this if you have locally specific data regarding your current costs and time spent on tasks.

• You can enter your specific Hourly Rate and Staff Cost per Hour.
• Sub-task breakdown: You can break down the work into specific sub-tasks (e.g., validation, assessment). You can add or remove tasks and assign specific hours and hourly costs to each.
• Important: Whether you use benchmarks or your own data, the tool calculates benefits by applying the percentage savings (time and cost) observed in the pilots to the baseline figures you provide.

Step 4: Your activity volumes

Enter the annual volume for your specific activity (e.g., “Sites identified and assessed per year”).

• This scales the unit costs up to an annual figure for your authority.

Step 5: Investment assumptions

To generate a complete financial picture, input your estimated costs for the new tool:

• Annual licence & support cost (£): The recurring cost of the software.
• One-off implementation cost (£): Setup, training, and onboarding fees.
• Business case horizon: Use the slider to set the timeframe (e.g., 3 years) to model cumulative benefits over time.

If you are replacing an existing system, you can also add:

• Existing annual cost to be retired: Money saved by switching off legacy systems.
• Overlap during migration: The number of months you will pay for both systems simultaneously.
• Exit fees: Any one-off costs to terminate old contracts.

Tip: A “Reset” button is located at the top-left of the sidebar if you need to clear your inputs.

Understanding your results

The main pane updates in real time as you adjust your inputs.

1. Annual strategic impact
This section highlights the efficiency gains:

• Hours saved: Total officer time released back to the department.
• FTE capacity released: The equivalent full-time employees gained.
• Cost savings: The monetary value of the time saved.

2. Investment view
This provides the financial justification:

• Net Annual Benefit: The total savings minus the cost of the tool.
• Cumulative Benefit: The net benefit over the selected business case horizon (e.g., 3 years).
• Payback Period: An estimate of how long it will take for the tool to pay for itself, assuming costs stay the same.

3. Benefits by activity & transparency

• The table breaks down the calculations line-by-line.
• Click “How is the investment view calculated?” to see the specific formulas used.
• Click “Download detailed results (CSV)” to export the data. This file provides a granular breakdown, including the provenance of the pilot data, allowing you to perform further analysis or add optimism bias adjustments in Excel.

Disclaimer: This calculator is provided for illustrative planning purposes only. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Digital Task Force for Planning (DTFP) make no warranty as to accuracy or fitness for purpose, and the estimates do not constitute financial, legal, procurement, technical, or other professional advice. Users must verify all inputs and outputs and obtain appropriate professional advice before making decisions. The MHCLG, DTFP, and their representatives are not liable for any loss arising from use of the tool. Do not enter personal or confidential information; ensure use complies with your organisation’s governance policies.