How soon does your AI agent pay for itself?

Often a few months, when the task takes several hours a week. A rare task never pays for itself: it is not a good candidate. To estimate it:

• put a figure on the time spent today: frequency, duration, and the fully loaded hourly cost of the person (gross salary and employer contributions, divided by the hours actually worked; if in doubt, a low estimate);
• take away what will stay human: review, special cases;
• compare the gain with the cost of setting up, running and, if you choose it, Monitoring.

Also count the gains that are not time: a quote sent the same day is signed more often, better-tracked stock avoids shortages.

Synergetik’s ROI calculator compares the time an AI agent saves you with its price, in two lines:

• hours handled per week × loaded hourly cost × 46 working weeks = gain per year;
• agent price ÷ gain per month = number of months to pay it back, rounded up to the next month.

You set the time spent each week (1 to 40 hours), the share handled and the loaded hourly cost (€15 to €100 an hour), then choose the agent: Task Automation, Process Agent or Business Agents, at their “from” price. Starting example: 10 hours handled out of 15, at €35 an hour, giving €16,100 of gain per year. Free, no sign-up, nothing is sent.

The ROI calculator leaves out everything that is neither the time saved nor the agent’s “from” price: it is an estimate excluding VAT, to be refined in your quote. It does not count:

• running costs (AI model usage, hosting, third-party tool licences), priced in your quote before you sign;
• Monitoring, optional, from €190 excl. VAT per month;
• the audit, when one is needed: the Domain Audit, always required before Business Agents, or the Process Audit for a complex process;
• extra tasks or processes, each at its own price, and, for the Process Agent and Business Agents, complexity, which can take the price above the base price;
• gains that are not time: cash flow, revenue, quality.

For a full calculation, deduct running and monitoring costs from the annual gain.

If the ROI calculator shows “more than 3 years”, this work is not a good candidate for the chosen agent: aim for a more frequent task, or a simpler agent.

• A more frequent task: the gain follows the number of hours handled each week.
• A simpler agent: Task Automation, from €1,490 excl. VAT for one task, rather than a Process Agent for the whole process.
• Gains that time does not measure: better cash flow, a deadline no longer missed.

The Scoping Meeting, free of charge, can also conclude that nothing justifies it today.

To calculate the ROI of an AI agent accurately in your company, start with the Scoping Meeting, free of charge, then an audit if your case calls for one:

• the Scoping Meeting puts figures on 3 to 5 leads in time saved, with an order of magnitude for the budget, in its written report within 72 hours;
• for a complex process, the Process Audit works out what handing it over would bring you, and delivers the quote for the Process Agent;
• the Domain Audit compares the processes of one business domain, with figures to back it up: gains, costs, return on investment;
• the Company Audit logs the time spent in each business domain over five working days, then costs the most time-consuming processes and the share AI can take on.

Then, two indicators at most, agreed before signing, are measured before go-live, and again 30 days later.