Custom automation has a cost. Manual work has a cost. Here is how to calculate which is higher — and when the build makes financial sense.
Automation ROI comes from three sources: time recovered (hours of manual work eliminated multiplied by hourly cost of the person doing it); tool consolidation (SaaS subscriptions replaced by the custom system); and error reduction (cost of mistakes in the manual process). Sum these monthly. Divide the build cost by the monthly saving. That is your break-even in months.
Example: a team member spends 8 hours per week on a manual process. At a fully-loaded cost of £40 per hour, that is £1,280 per month. Plus £180 per month in SaaS tools that would be replaced. Total monthly saving: £1,460. Custom automation build cost: £5,000. Break-even: 3.4 months. Annual saving after break-even: £17,520.
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