Payback period

How long it takes for savings or extra revenue from an investment to cover what it cost.

For automation it is simple arithmetic: the build cost divided by the monthly hours saved times their cost, minus running costs. It ignores what happens after the break-even month and the risk that the savings never fully arrive, so it is a first filter, not the whole decision. A short payback is a good reason to start; a long one is a reason to start smaller.

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Related terms

Build vs buy: The choice between paying for a ready-made product and building your own software, including what each costs over time.
RFQ automation (quote automation): An agent that reads requests for quotation, asks suppliers for prices and drafts a quote for a person to approve.
MVP (minimum viable product): The smallest version of a product that tests whether people want it enough to use or pay.

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