Stacked Strategies · October 16, 2026
Write down the current process
Choose one job and a consistent measurement window. Record how many accepted outputs you get, how long they take, and what you pay to produce them. Include management and correction time if those are part of the work.
A comparison is useful only when the scope and quality are comparable. A draft script and a finished video are different outputs.
Count the full cost of the AI workflow
Include implementation, subscriptions, API usage, rendering, messaging, CRM costs, support, and human review. Keep ad spend separate so it does not disappear inside an automation estimate.
For month one, include the setup cost in that month. A steady-state monthly estimate may spread setup over a chosen period, but it should say so clearly.
Use two separate measures
Net cash savings: actual cash expenses removed, minus new service and tool expenses for the same period.
Time returned: previous human hours, minus the hours still spent operating, checking, and correcting the new workflow.
If your team keeps the same salary and uses freed hours for other work, that can create useful capacity. It does not automatically reduce payroll. The value of that capacity depends on what the team does with it.
Check your own numbers
This worksheet calculates only the amounts you enter. It is not a projection of our service results, and it does not estimate revenue or the value of your time. Figures stay in your browser.
Keep evidence with the claim
Save the invoices, time logs, dates, output samples, and calculation. If you later share a result, explain the scope, what changed, what other people contributed, and what is an estimate.
We use this approach to scope AI implementation. We do not promise a fixed monthly saving or first-month return. See our results and qualification information.