An hour recovered is a choice. Cash saved is a transaction.
How to read an automation business case without counting the same benefit twice.
Measure the baseline
Use observed time for a defined workflow and period. Record volume, exceptions, rework, and review time. An estimate can begin the discussion, but it should remain labeled as an estimate.
Value the capacity
Recovered hours multiplied by a loaded hourly rate estimates the value of time available for other work. If payroll stays the same, that amount has not become cash savings. Name the work that the team will do with the capacity.
Put each kind of money on its own line
A contract or invoice establishes a commitment or billing state, not that cash has been paid or received. Realized cash requires payment or settlement records, or evidence of actual reduced outflows, plus a documented comparison with the baseline that includes incremental costs. A cancellation agreement can support an estimated subscription saving; verify that the payments actually stop and account for replacement costs before calling it realized. Keep contracted or invoiced value, avoided cost, revenue and margin on separate lines, labeled as estimated, committed, billed or observed as the evidence supports. Do not add them to hours or count the same benefit twice.
Include the costs of making it work
Include discovery, implementation, recurring tools, maintenance, review time, and transition effort. The audit is one cost in the decision, not the total cost of implementation.
Test the result after release
Compare observed results with the original baseline. Keep capacity, cash, quality, and risk measures separate. If results miss the estimate, change the workflow or the forecast using the evidence.
Bring this discipline to your own workflows.
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