ROI calculator · 7 main inputs
AI automation ROI calculator
Hours saved, annual savings and payback for one workflow, from your own volumes and quote.
How AI automation pricing works
Scenox Studios prices AI automation in stages. The workflow audit is a fixed fee. The build is a fixed price for an agreed scope, quoted at the end of the audit. Managed operations is a monthly fee that covers hosting, monitoring, model costs and improvements. Agencies get the same structure at partner rates.
How a quote is laid out
Per workflowStagePriced asYou get the number
- Workflow auditFixed feeBefore work begins
- Build and rolloutFixed priceIn the audit report
- Managed operationsMonthly feeIn the audit report
- Model usagePer-task estimateBefore you commit
Each price is written down before its stage starts. No obligation to build.
AI automation agency pricing, stage by stage
You commit one stage at a time. Each stage ends with a written output, and the next price is on paper before you decide.
Workflow audit
1–2 weeksOne to two weeks to map one workflow, measure the opportunity and produce a build plan with a fixed price.
How it is priced
Fixed fee, quoted before you start and agreed in writing before any work begins. It depends on the size of the workflow and the number of systems involved.
What it includes
- A map of every step, owner, system and exception
- A measured baseline from a timed sample and your system data
- Which steps run on rules, which need a model and which stay with people, tested on your past cases
- Risks, and the control for each
- The thresholds the pilot has to hit
- A week-by-week build plan with a fixed build price and a quote for running costs
Pilot build
6–10 weeksOne workflow built, piloted on your real cases and rolled out in stages, measured against success metrics agreed up front.
How it is priced
Fixed price for the agreed scope, quoted in the audit report. It covers design, build, pilot and staged rollout.
What it includes
- System design: agents, data access and approval points
- The build, scored on your past cases
- Shadow running on live work next to your team
- A staged rollout to production
- Operator console, audit trail, documentation and runbooks
- Training for the people who supervise and approve
Managed operations
OngoingWe monitor, maintain and extend your systems after launch, with a monthly report against the agreed metrics.
How it is priced
Monthly fee, quoted in the audit report next to the build price. It covers hosting, monitoring, model costs and improvements.
What it includes
- Hosting and monitoring
- Model usage
- Drift alerts and a weekly sample of cases reviewed by a person
- Incident handling, with a written summary
- Improvements as your business changes
- A monthly report against the agreed metrics
White-label for agencies
Partner ratesAgencies offer the same systems to their clients under their own brand. We design, build and run them behind you; you keep the relationship and set the price.
How it is priced
A fixed price for each build and a monthly price for operations, at partner rates set out in the partner agreement. You add your margin.
What it includes
- A fixed build price and a monthly operations price for each client
- You set the client price and invoice the client; we invoice you
- Your brand on the console, emails, reports and voice agents
- An engineer on client calls when useful
- A monthly operations report under your brand
How the price is formed
A build price is mostly engineering and testing hours. These are the things the audit measures, because they move the hours most.
Integrations
- Raises the price
- Several systems, write access, a legacy ERP with no clean API
- Lowers it
- One system with a documented API, read-only first
Input variety
- Raises the price
- Dozens of document or email layouts, scans, handwriting
- Lowers it
- A few consistent templates, digital PDFs
Exceptions
- Raises the price
- Many approval paths, tolerance rules, special customers
- Lowers it
- Few rules, one approver tier
Accuracy bar
- Raises the price
- Payments or compliance actions with no room for error
- Lowers it
- Drafts a person reviews anyway
Review interface
- Raises the price
- A custom queue where people approve, edit and reject
- Lowers it
- Review inside a tool you already use
Security and deployment
- Raises the price
- Private deployment, SSO, data residency, reviews by your IT
- Lowers it
- A managed deployment with standard controls
Access and samples
- Raises the price
- Slow access to systems and sample data
- Lowers it
- A named owner who answers within a day
| Driver | Raises the price | Lowers it |
|---|---|---|
| Integrations | Several systems, write access, a legacy ERP with no clean API | One system with a documented API, read-only first |
| Input variety | Dozens of document or email layouts, scans, handwriting | A few consistent templates, digital PDFs |
| Exceptions | Many approval paths, tolerance rules, special customers | Few rules, one approver tier |
| Accuracy bar | Payments or compliance actions with no room for error | Drafts a person reviews anyway |
| Review interface | A custom queue where people approve, edit and reject | Review inside a tool you already use |
| Security and deployment | Private deployment, SSO, data residency, reviews by your IT | A managed deployment with standard controls |
| Access and samples | Slow access to systems and sample data | A named owner who answers within a day |
The last row surprises people. Waiting on credentials and sample files stretches the calendar, so a named owner on your side shortens the project. Volume matters more to running cost than to the build: a workflow handling ten times the items rarely needs ten times the engineering.
What is fixed, what varies and who pays
The audit and the build are fixed prices. Running cost has a fixed monthly fee and one line that moves with volume: model usage.
Workflow audit
- How it is charged
- Fixed fee
- When you see the number
- Agreed in writing before work begins
- Who pays
- Paid to Scenox
Build, pilot and rollout
- How it is charged
- Fixed price for the agreed scope
- When you see the number
- Quoted in the audit report
- Who pays
- Paid to Scenox
Managed operations
- How it is charged
- Monthly fee
- When you see the number
- Quoted in the audit report, next to the build price
- Who pays
- Paid to Scenox
Model and API usage
- How it is charged
- Usage-based: priced per token, so it scales with volume and document length
- When you see the number
- Estimated per task before you commit, then tracked per workflow
- Who pays
- Covered by the monthly fee, or billed to your own cloud subscription when models run there
Your team's review time
- How it is charged
- Staff time on assisted items and exceptions
- When you see the number
- Estimated in the audit from the prototype run on your past cases
- Who pays
- Your payroll, as today
| Cost line | How it is charged | When you see the number | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow audit | Fixed fee | Agreed in writing before work begins | Paid to Scenox |
| Build, pilot and rollout | Fixed price for the agreed scope | Quoted in the audit report | Paid to Scenox |
| Managed operations | Monthly fee | Quoted in the audit report, next to the build price | Paid to Scenox |
| Model and API usage | Usage-based: priced per token, so it scales with volume and document length | Estimated per task before you commit, then tracked per workflow | Covered by the monthly fee, or billed to your own cloud subscription when models run there |
| Your team's review time | Staff time on assisted items and exceptions | Estimated in the audit from the prototype run on your past cases | Your payroll, as today |
Review time is usually the largest running cost, and it sits on your side. We put it in the audit estimate for that reason. A quote that leaves it out makes automation look cheaper than it is.
Model the cost yourself
Two free calculators and four cost guides. None of them uses our prices: you enter the quote you have, from us or anyone else, and the arithmetic is on the page.
Cost calculator · 5 steps, 9 cost lines
Cost per invoice calculator
Your cost to process one supplier invoice, step by step, today and after automation.
Cost guide
AI automation cost: what drives the price and how to model it
How much does AI automation cost? The build and run cost drivers, public price points we verified, and a worked example with ranges you can rework.
Cost guide
AI agent development cost: what to budget to build and run an agent
The cost to build an AI agent depends on tools, autonomy, testing and token use. See the cost drivers, three complexity tiers and a worked per-run example.
Cost guide
AI voice agent cost: per-minute pricing, build costs and a worked example
AI voice agent cost per minute and per call: telephony, speech-to-text, LLM, voice and platform fees from public price pages, plus build and monitoring costs.
Cost guide
The ROI of AI automation: how to calculate it, step by step
How to calculate the ROI of AI automation: measure a baseline, count build and run costs, review time and ramp-up, and work out payback with a worked example.
Pricing questions
How much does AI automation cost with Scenox?
It depends on the workflow, the integrations and the volume, so we quote after looking at it. The workflow audit is a fixed fee agreed before any work begins. It ends with a fixed price for the build and a quote for the monthly running cost, so you decide on the next step with measured numbers.
How much does a workflow audit cost?
It is a fixed fee, quoted before you start. The fee depends on the size of the workflow and the number of systems involved, and it is agreed in writing before any work begins. The report ends with a fixed price for the build, so you decide on the next step with measured numbers.
What does the build price include?
The build is a fixed price for the scope agreed in the audit. It covers design, build, the pilot on your past cases, shadow running and the staged rollout to production. You receive the operator console, the audit trail, documentation and runbooks, and training for the people who supervise the system.
Who pays for model and API usage?
Managed operations is a monthly fee that covers hosting, monitoring, model costs and improvements. When model use has to be billed and governed inside your own cloud account, models are called through your own subscription, such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock or Vertex AI. Either way, cost per task is tracked for every workflow.
How do your fees compare with AI consulting rates?
Many AI consultancies bill day or hourly rates for open-ended advisory work. We price by stage instead: a fixed fee for the audit, a fixed price for an agreed build scope and a monthly fee for operations. You know the cost of each stage before it starts, and the audit tests a prototype on your past cases before you see a build price.
How does pricing work for agencies?
We quote you a fixed price for each build and a monthly price for operations, at partner rates. You decide what the client pays and invoice them yourself. Partner rates are set out in the partner agreement.
Get a fixed price for one workflow.
A 30-minute call with an engineer about the workflow you want to hand over. If an audit makes sense, you get a fixed fee for it before anything starts.
What happens next
- 1
Strategy call
We learn how the workflow runs today and what a good outcome would be.
- 2
Workflow audit
We map the process and measure where a system would save the most time.
- 3
Proposal
A written scope, timeline and fixed price for your first system. No obligation to build.