Business case
Estimate the capacity automation could free
Enter the numbers for one process. You get a range, not a promise, of the hours and FTE-equivalent capacity it could free. Every assumption is visible and editable.
Automation business case estimate
Prepared with the SabanaTech calculator
Inputs
- Process
- Accounts payable
- Monthly volume
- 5,000
- Handling time today
- 8 min
- Fully loaded cost per FTE
- USD 4,000
- Transactions with exceptions today
- 15%
Assumptions
- Share of volume that could be automated
- 50%
- Handling time reduction on the automated share
- 70%
- Exceptions still handled by people
- 15% of the automated share
- Productive hours per FTE per month
- 140
Your process
The starting values are illustrative. Replace them with your own figures.
Pick the closest fit. It only labels your summary.
Invoices, cases, tickets or entries handled in a typical month.
Average active minutes per transaction, including rework.
Salary, benefits, tools and overhead for one full-time person.
Share that needs a person to judge, fix or approve.
Currency: USD. All amounts are shown in US dollars.
AssumptionsAssumptions, not SabanaTech results
Conservative starting points. These are assumptions, not SabanaTech results. Change them to match how your process really runs.
Transactions with a clear, repeatable path. Not every transaction qualifies.
How much of the handling time disappears when a transaction is automated.
Hours one person spends on process work after leave, meetings and other time.
Exceptions still handled by people
15%
Taken from the exception share above. Those transactions stay with your team and are left out of the estimate.
The range is fixed at plus or minus 20% around the central estimate.
Your estimate
For internal discussionEstimate updated: 160-240 hours freed per month, 1.1-1.7 FTE, USD 54,000-82,000 a year in capacity value.
- Hours freed per month
- 160-240hoursCentral estimate: about 200 hours
- FTE-equivalent capacity
- 1.1-1.7FTECentral estimate: about 1.4 FTE
- Annual capacity value
- USD54,000-82,000Central estimate: about USD 68,000
Freed capacity valued at your loaded cost. It is time your team can redirect, not cash.
Monthly hours on this process
After = today minus the central estimate. Exceptions and the share you did not mark as automatable stay with your team.
Based on 50% of volume automatable, 70% handling time reduction, 15% exceptions kept with people and 140 productive hours per FTE.
Estimates for internal discussion, not a quote or a promise. Capacity is time your team can redirect, not a headcount plan.
Our published cases show what this looked like in practice
- Regional manufacturerAn AP agent that reads invoices, posts to SAP, and escalates only what it can't resolve: 92% straight-through by month 2.Read the case
- LATAM shared-services center40% faster month-end close with process redesign, RPA, and a close cockpit refreshed every 15 minutes.Read the case
- CoopecajaFrom 14 business days to same day for 87% of cases: automating member onboarding across three legacy systems.Read the case
Each case is one client's result, measured in its own context. Yours will differ, which is why the ranges above are deliberately cautious.
Frequently asked questions
How does the estimate work?
We take your monthly volume and handling time, keep only the share you say could be automated, remove the exceptions people still handle, and apply the time reduction you choose. The hours freed are divided by the productive hours of one FTE, then valued at your fully loaded cost. Every step uses the inputs and assumptions on this page, and nothing else.
Why do you show ranges instead of one number?
A single figure implies precision the inputs do not have. Handling times, exception rates and the automatable share are all estimates. The range is plus or minus 20% around the central figure, so you can test a lower and a higher case before you take the numbers to finance, or to us.
What is the next step?
Use the result to choose a process worth a closer look. If you want a second view, send the estimate or start a conversation: we review the process with you, check the assumptions against how the work is actually done, and tell you plainly whether it is a fit. These numbers are for internal discussion, not a quote or a promise.