Free template

Finance automation business case template

Turn “the team is overwhelmed” into numbers your CFO can sign off. Work through six steps, from what manual work costs today to a one-page case with payback and three-year return worked out for you.
Excel workbook · 6 steps plus a one-page summary · No sign-up needed

At a glance

Your numbers, your assumptions, one page for the board

  1. 01Start with what manual work costs. Hours, people and money leaking out, in figures leadership can act on.
  2. 02Set your own assumptions. Conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, so nobody has to take a single number on trust.
  3. 03Finish with one page. A summary and a 60-second pitch, ready to print or paste into a board paper.

1. What’s in the workbook

Eight tabs. Fill in the sand-coloured cells and the formulas do the rest.

  1. Start here: how the workbook works, and who the case is for.
  2. Baseline: invoice volumes, processing time, exceptions, late fees and missed discounts, turned into an annual cost and a cost per invoice.
  3. Objectives: each benefit linked to something the CFO is already measured on, from working capital to governance.
  4. Scope: purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash pain points, prioritised, so you can choose what goes in the first phase.
  5. Costs and returns: three years of costs against three scenarios, with payback and return on investment calculated for you.
  6. Risks: ERP disruption, adoption, security, data quality and more, rated, with how you’ll manage each one.
  7. First phase: a contained first phase with success measures, a review date and the decision you’ll ask for.
  8. Summary: a one-page case and a 60-second pitch, built from everything above.

2. How the numbers work

The workbook is built to hold up when the CFO starts asking questions:

  • You set every assumption. Nothing is pre-loaded with a benchmark.
  • Example figures appear in grey to show the format. They’re made up and don’t feed any calculation.
  • Not every hour freed is cash saved. You decide how much freed time becomes a real saving.
  • Year 1 allows for ramp-up, so you’re not claiming the full benefit from day one.
  • Discount capture is capped, so it can never pass 100%.

3. Before you share it

All figures are in pounds and annual unless a label says otherwise. Be conservative. A cautious number you hit is worth more than an ambitious one you miss.

Want a second pair of eyes? Book a 20-minute discovery call and we’ll help you pressure-test your numbers.

This template is a guide, not financial or professional advice. The outputs depend entirely on the figures and assumptions you enter.

A business case is easier to sign when the risk is low. Webexpenses, Powered by Zudello, connects POs, invoices and approvals to your ERP.

Written for the people who build the case and the people who sign it off

For the decision-maker

CFO, Finance Director, Financial Controller

A case laid out the way you’d want to read it: today’s cost, three scenarios, the risks, and a contained first phase with a review date.

For the team doing the work

AP, finance and operations managers

A step-by-step workbook that does the maths, so you can spend your time on the argument, not the formulas.

See it on your own process

Book a discovery call and we’ll talk through how your team works today. Then we’ll tailor a demo to what matters to you.