The RFID workbench

Turn a promising idea into a testable decision.

Four practical tools for project teams. Every result comes with its assumptions. Calculations run in your browser; entries are not submitted to RFIDWire.

01 / Project planning

RFID pilot economics

Estimate recurring value and simple payback. Use one currency throughout and include integration, training, replacement tags, software and exception handling.

Currency label

Example inputs are illustrative. No exchange rate conversion, tax, financing, discounting or ramp time is included. Time released is not necessarily a cash saving.

Initial project costMonthly labor hours beforeMonthly labor hours afterLoaded labor cost per hourOther monthly costs avoidedNew tags needed per yearCost per tagOther monthly operating costs

Annual net benefit: USD 29,600
Simple payback: 10.1 months
First year net after initial cost: USD 4,600
First year ROI: 18.4%

With benefits 25% lower: USD 19,700 annual net. With benefits 25% higher: USD 39,500. Costs are held constant.

Formula and interpretation

Annual benefit = (monthly hours before − monthly hours after) × hourly cost × 12 + other monthly costs avoided × 12. Annual recurring cost = annual tags × tag cost + other monthly operating costs × 12. Annual net = benefit − recurring cost. Payback months = initial cost ÷ annual net × 12 when annual net is positive. First year ROI = (annual net − initial cost) ÷ initial cost × 100. Zero initial cost has no defined ROI percentage.

Read the pilot evaluation guide

02 / Identifier quality

GTIN check digit

Validate a complete GTIN of 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits, or calculate the final digit from its body. Leading zeros are preserved.

A matching checksum does not establish that GS1 assigned the identifier or that a product is authentic.

OperationComplete GTIN

Check digit matches.

Starting at the rightmost body digit, alternate weights 3 and 1. The check digit brings the weighted sum to a multiple of ten. GS1 method ↗

03 / Pilot evidence

Read test confidence

A perfect sample does not prove perfect performance. Estimate uncertainty around a read success rate using a 95% Wilson interval.

Count independent test opportunities with a consistent pass rule. Repeated reads of one stationary tag are not independent trials. The interval does not correct for an unrepresentative sample.

Independent test opportunitiesSuccessful identifications

Observed success: 99%
95% Wilson interval: 98.169% to 99.456%
Missed opportunities: 10

Method and source

For p = successes / trials, n = trials and z = 1.959964, center = (p + z²/2n) / (1 + z²/n). Half width = z × √(p(1 − p)/n + z²/4n²) / (1 + z²/n). NIST discussion of proportion intervals ↗

04 / RF engineering

Power and EIRP

Convert reader output from dBm to watts and include antenna gain and feed losses. This is a power budget calculation, not a prediction of tag read range.

Use gain in dBi, not dBd. Regulatory limits depend on region, frequency and operating mode. The tool does not certify compliance.

Output power (dBm)Antenna gain (dBi)Feed loss (dB)

Reader output: 1 W
EIRP: 34 dBm / 2.5119 W

Watts = 10^((dBm − 30) / 10). EIRP in dBm = output dBm + antenna dBi − feed loss dB. Include cable, connector and splitter losses.

Need chip specifications? Open RFID Datasheet ↗ · Look up a term · Editorial standards