Measure it in EBIT and cash, not hours saved. Put every benefit into one of four boxes: cost out, cost avoided, leakage stopped or cash accelerated. Agree the baseline before anything is built, give each number a business owner, and check the case still works if only half the benefit arrives.
George McKenna, Chairman and CTO, ETT Group. Updated 15 October 2026.
Hours saved is the most common AI metric and the least convincing. Hours only become money if something happens next: fewer people or contractors, growth absorbed without hiring, or time redirected to work that earns revenue.
A business case a board will sign has these parts:
- A measured baseline. What the process costs today, including errors, rework and delay. Measured from system data where possible, not estimated in a workshop.
- Four benefit boxes. Cost out, cost avoided, leakage stopped (overpayments, under-billing, missed rebates, duplicate handling) and cash accelerated (invoicing sooner, disputes resolved faster). Anything that doesn't fit a box comes out.
- An owner for every number. Someone in the business who agrees to it and will be asked about it later.
- A stress test. Show the version where only half the benefit comes true. If it still works, it's a case.
In my experience the labour saving gets a project started, and the leakage and cash pay for it.
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