01
Current cost
What the existing process, equipment or workaround costs to run now.
Economics and payback
Does it actually pay for itself?
A useful business case compares the full cost of doing nothing with the full cost of changing the operation. The assumptions should be visible before a system is recommended.
Build the business caseSimple payback check
Complete implementation cost ÷ verified monthly benefit = indicative payback period
This is a decision aid, not a promise of return. The quality of the result depends on the evidence and assumptions used.
The six inputs
Make the whole commercial picture visible.
02
Failure cost
Revenue, service or operating capacity lost when the current setup fails.
03
Labour cost
Paid time spent checking, reconciling, responding or doing repeatable manual work.
04
Opportunity cost
The value of customers, capacity or decisions the current setup cannot capture.
05
Implementation cost
The complete scoped cost of supply, configuration, integration, training and change.
06
Payback
How long verified savings or protected margin would take to recover the implementation cost.
Evidence to collect
Use operating facts, not a made-up return.
Estimates can be useful, but they should be labelled and replaced with observed data as the case develops.
How often the problem occurs and how long it lasts
Revenue, capacity or service affected when it occurs
Staff time spent checking, responding or working around it
Recurring software, energy, consumable or callout cost
The expected life and operating cost of the proposed change
The operating measure that would show whether it worked
Before
Agree the current baseline and the assumptions behind the decision.
During
Track scope and implementation cost against the approved case.
After
Measure the operating result against the baseline without rewriting the target.
Build the business case before choosing the system.
Share the operating problem, the available evidence and the constraints that matter.