# What a workflow costs and what it saves

> A worked example — and the cases where the numbers do not add up.

- Kategorie: Method
- Autor: Robert Schröder
- Letzte Prüfung: 2026-09-20
- Basis: SAITS-Eigentext · Preisliste SAITS Stand 09.2026
- URL: https://saits.ai/wissen/was-ein-workflow-kostet

The figures in the example vary from client to client. They are shown openly so you can replace them with your own.

## 01 Why most calculations are wrong

They compare the price of the software with a feeling instead of with measured hours.

## 02 The three cost blocks

One-off build, ongoing operation, and your own internal effort — the third is usually forgotten.

## 03 Cost block 1: the build

The price of the first workflow is fixed before anything is built.

## 04 Cost block 2: operation

Ongoing support covers monitoring, adjustment and the cases the workflow does not know yet; it costs from CHF 800 · from 800 € per month, depending on scope.

## 05 Cost block 3: your own effort

Time in conversation, example documents, access and approval — a few days in total, spread over four weeks.

## 06 The saving: only measured hours count

How many hours a week does the process bind today? Without that baseline there is no calculation, only a hope.

## 07 What an hour of work costs

Not the gross wage but the fully loaded cost per hour — and your finance team knows it.

## 08 The worked example

See the box below: incoming invoices, calculated through, every figure open.

## 09 When the numbers do not add up

When the process happens rarely, the inputs look different every time, or nobody can name the hours it takes today.

## 10 The second benefit that is not in the calculation

Errors that no longer happen, and cases that no longer sit waiting — both are real but not cleanly quantifiable, so we do not count them in.

## 11 What we commit to and what we do not

What we promise has to be measurable. What we cannot measure, we do not promise.

## Worked example · incoming invoices

Example process: recognise incoming invoices, match them to the project, put them forward for approval and file them.

**The inputs**

| Figure | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices per month | 360 | varies from client to client |
| Handling time per invoice today | 5 minutes | varies from client to client |
| Hours per month today | 30 hours | 360 × 5 minutes ÷ 60 |
| Fully loaded cost per hour | CHF 80 | varies from client to client |
| Share that runs automatically | 60 % | varies from client to client, established during the pilot |
| One-off build of the first workflow | CHF 2'410 | CHF 4'900 less CHF 2'490 for the analysis · SAITS price list, as of 09.2026 |
| Ongoing support per month | CHF 800 | the minimum, from CHF 800 · from 800 € · SAITS price list, as of 09.2026 |

**The calculation**

| Line | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of the process today, per month | 30 hours × CHF 80 | CHF 2'400 |
| Hours saved per month | 30 hours × 60 % | 18 hours |
| Saving per month | 18 hours × CHF 80 | CHF 1'440 |
| Running cost per month | Support | CHF 800 |
| Net per month | CHF 1'440 − CHF 800 | CHF 640 |
| Payback | CHF 2'410 ÷ CHF 640 | about four months |

The figures vary from client to client. Put your own in.

If payback is beyond twelve months it is the wrong first process — then we look for another one. That is our rule of thumb, not an industry benchmark.

---

The calculation stands or falls on one number: how many hours the process binds today.

**See also:** [How to tell whether a process is worth automating](/wissen/lohnt-sich-diese-automatisierung) · [What the company analysis delivers](/wissen/was-die-unternehmensanalyse-liefert)