1. Define one workflow
Choose a recurring activity: assembling a report, triaging support requests or researching sales accounts. Measure time across several occurrences. Include irregular work and exceptions in the sample.
2. Separate what AI takes on from the checking
Multiply weekly hours by people and working weeks. Apply the share of the work AI takes on, then actual adoption: that is the time AI takes off the work. Then count the time people will spend checking and correcting its output, at the same adoption. Time recovered is the difference.
Leave the checking out and the estimate comes out half as high again as it should. Checking grows with volume and the people doing it become the bottleneck, so the design of the checks is often worth more than a better model.
3. Value the capacity, then deduct running costs
At a fully loaded hourly cost of €45, 368 hours represent €16,560 a year. With €150 a month of running costs, or €1,800 a year, €14,760 remains. That is the build budget: a system that costs less than €14,760 to set up pays for itself within a year.
4. Work out ROI and payback against a quote
With a setup quote of €10,000, year one costs €11,800 and the net value is €4,760.
Payback divides the setup cost by the monthly value after running costs: 10,000 ÷ (14,760 ÷ 12), or about 8.1 months. If the monthly value cannot cover running costs, payback is not reached. These figures are an educational example, not a performance promise or Above pricing.
5. Check what the model leaves out
The calculation assumes a steady run rate from month one. It excludes ramp-up, taxes, discounting and changes in volume. It does not value extra revenue, avoided errors or customer satisfaction. Measure these effects separately before adding them.
Available time becomes a cash saving only when actual spending falls. It can also help a team serve more customers or improve its work without reducing payroll.
Workflows to measure separately
| Workflow | Baseline measure | What the checking covers |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting | Time collecting and preparing material | Source and number accuracy |
| Customer support | Triage and first-response time | Exceptions and response approval |
| Sales research | Account research and preparation time | Account and message relevance |
Turn the scenario into a decision
Document conservative, central and ambitious assumptions. Vary the share AI takes on, the checking time and adoption in the calculator. Before committing, agree on an owner, a quality threshold and a before-and-after time measurement.