Price the work around automation.
Automation payback and reliable workflow guides
Estimate time returned, allow for review and maintenance, and design recovery before handing a repeated task to software.
Automation time savings and payback calculator →Make the next decision clearer.
More automation guides
How to calculate automation ROI
Count review and maintenance before calling time saved a return.
Read the guide →AUTOMATION GUIDEDesigning recovery into automations
Plan for failure, retry, and a human path back.
Read the guide →AUTOMATION GUIDEWhen not to automate
Keep unstable work in human hands until the process is clear.
Read the guide →AUTOMATION GUIDEAutomation maintenance checklist
Keep owners, alerts, and review dates visible.
Read the guide →Begin with your own evidence
Model recurring labor time separately from cash savings. Time returned only becomes a cash saving if spending actually falls.
Hours returned = runs × (manual minutes − review minutes) ÷ 60. Modeled monthly value = hours returned × hourly value − recurring cost. The example returns 13.33 hours and models $350 net monthly value, with 1.14 months simple payback on $400 setup.
Hourly value is an assumption, not money automatically received. Exceptions, outages and review can erase the estimated benefit. The model excludes revenue growth, taxes and financing; do not add speculative sales to the labor estimate.
How we prepare these resources →