AI Implementation

AI payback calculator

Enter your own hours and costs. See the month an AI project breaks even, and the return over 12, 24 and 36 months.

How to use it

Enter your figures. See when it pays back.

  1. Change only the figures in the boxes. The results update as you type, and nothing you enter leaves this page.
  2. Start with your team: how many people do the repeatable work, and how many hours each spends on it a week. If your AI readiness score gave a range for the whole team, divide it by the number of people.
  3. The costs of the change (one-off, running and management) are placeholders. Replace them with real quotes before you rely on the result.
  4. Read the payback month and the three time horizons. The scenarios show what happens if the saving comes in lower or higher than you expect.

A planning model built on the figures you enter. Your hours are an estimate until you measure them. It does not predict results, and the revenue and error figures stay at zero unless you can evidence them. It is not financial advice.

Payback month
Month 0
Hours saved a month
0 hours
Gross benefit a month
£0
at full benefit
Return after 12 months
0%
Net £0

Your figures

The starting figures are the example in our payback workbook. Replace them with yours.

Your team

Employees who do the repeatable work.
Your own estimate until you measure it.
%
Cautious start: 40% for assistance, 70% for full automation.
£
Gross, before on-costs.
1.25 covers employer National Insurance, pension and overhead.
Per person. 1,650 is typical for full time after leave and bank holidays.
£
0 means calculate it. Use it if you know your fully loaded hourly cost.

Other savings

Leave these at zero unless you can evidence them.

£
Errors and rework. 0 if unknown. Do not guess.
%
Only counts if the error cost above is more than 0.
£
0 unless you can show where it comes from.
£
Per month. Subscriptions the project replaces.

Costs of the change

£
Implementation: discovery, set-up, integration and training.
£
AI and tool licences and usage.
£
Ongoing support, monitoring and improvement.

Timing

Months to reach full benefit. It builds in a straight line over this period.
%
Used for net present value.

Return over time

12 months24 months36 months

Hours are your estimate until measured. Treat the figures as a plan, not a forecast.

If the saving is different

12-month view. Only the time saving changes. Costs, errors and revenue stay as entered.

CautiousExpectedOptimistic

Cumulative position

Net benefit month by month, after the one-off cost. The line crosses zero at payback.

Show every month
MonthBenefitCostsNetCumulative
Get in touch

Want your real figures worked out?

A short conversation is the quickest way to replace these placeholders with numbers you can stand behind.

Speak to us →