Start with measurable work
Pick a repeated task whose input, output and baseline time are actually known. Exclude broad promises like "AI will improve productivity" until a buyer can point to a real process. Confirm the decision-maker, budget, current tool costs and deadline.
Calculate the gross monthly benefit
Hours potentially saved = executions per month x minutes saved per execution / 60. Multiply by the fully loaded hourly rate, then add a carefully supported estimate for avoided rework or errors. Do not count hypothetical saved hours as bank cash unless they actually replace a cost or increase valuable capacity.
Discount optimism
Few tools deliver 100% of theoretical gains. Multiply the gross benefit by a measured or conservative realization rate. Record time spent checking AI mistakes, re-running failed tasks, reviewing customer outputs and maintaining integrations.
Worked synthetic example (CZK)
| 80 runs x 12 minutes | 16 h/mo possible |
|---|---|
| 16 h x 400 Kč + 1,000 Kč rework | 7,400 Kč gross |
| 60% realization | 4,440 Kč adjusted |
| Vendor 700 Kč + oversight 800 Kč | 1,500 Kč cost/mo |
| Net modeled benefit | 2,940 Kč/mo |
| One-time setup 18,000 Kč | ~6.1 months payback |
Synthetic scenario only; not a forecast, an offer, a contract or bank-verified saving.
Hold the compliance gates
Check whether the process uses personal data, sends outbound messages, changes payments, or makes decisions affecting people. In those cases require appropriate authority, privacy review, permissions, monitoring and a human stop switch before any paid implementation.
Turn an estimate into an accountable paid pilot
A usable order states one bounded workflow, price, acceptance criteria, actual baseline, approved sample data, deliverables, responsible person, review hours, and rollback route. A pilot should create verifiable evidence, not just demo traffic.
Use the offline calculator
The AI Workflow ROI & Readiness Toolkit packages the conservative model as an offline browser app. It can export a decision brief and includes original scope templates without calling external AI APIs.