# AI automation ROI worksheet

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/ai-automation-roi-worksheet
- Hub: AI & Business Automation

Fill baseline minutes, volume, rework, review rate, model cost, and platform cost for one loop. Payback is a date, not a slogan.

One loop only. Copy the row for a second loop. Do not average three processes into one heroic payback.
Use last-30-day counts you can show, not hoped hours. If a cell is a guess, write GUESSED next to it.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    B["Baseline minutes"] --> N["Net minutes after"]
    C["Model plus platform"] --> P["Payback months"]
    N --> P
    R["Rework plus review"] --> N
```
*Minutes you still spend plus money you now spend. If review ate the hours, there is no payback.*

## Name the loop

- [ ] Loop name (one sentence, one owner)
- [ ] Measurement window (start date, end date, usually 30 days)
- [ ] Done means (the output a human currently produces)

## Baseline (before the model)

| Cell | What to write | Do not write |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Volume | Count of jobs in the window | A yearly hope divided by 12 |
| Human minutes each | Timed, or a sampled average | “It feels like an hour” |
| Rework rate | % of jobs that come back | Zero because you are optimistic |
| Minutes to fix a rework | Clocked | Ignored |

- [ ] Volume in the window
- [ ] Human minutes per job (baseline)
- [ ] Rework rate and minutes to fix

## After (with a model in the loop)

- [ ] Human minutes per job now (include review)
- [ ] Share of jobs a human still opens
- [ ] Model cost for the window (invoices, not a blog round number)
- [ ] Platform seat or runtime for the window
- [ ] Rework rate after (can go up)

## Payback (framework, not a promise)

Net minutes saved × your loaded minute cost, minus model and platform cost. If that is negative, you bought a demo. Write the month you recoup build time, or write NEVER.

- [ ] Loaded cost per human minute (salary + overhead / minutes worked). Guessed is allowed if labeled.
- [ ] Hours to build and evaluate (once)
- [ ] Monthly net (minutes saved value minus run cost)
- [ ] Payback month, or NEVER

## Related guides

- [How to measure AI automation ROI without fooling yourself](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/how-to-measure-ai-automation-roi)
- [Which business processes to automate with AI](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/which-business-processes-to-automate-with-ai)
- [Evaluate an AI workflow before production](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/evaluate-ai-workflow-before-production)
- [AI process scorecard](https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/process-scorecard)