Business case for a new initiative

Write a persuasive but honest business case with costs, benefits, ROI, payback, risks and a clear ask for approval.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

Write a business case that I can submit to {{approver}} for this initiative: {{initiative}}.

Problem or opportunity: {{problem}}
Proposed solution: {{solution}}
Costs I know (one-off and ongoing): {{costs}}
Benefits I expect (savings, revenue, risk reduced): {{benefits}}
Time horizon for evaluation: {{horizon}}

Include these sections:
1. **Summary and ask** (under 100 words): what we want approved, the total cost, and the headline return.
2. **Problem and urgency**: the cost of doing nothing, quantified where possible.
3. **Options considered**: do nothing, the proposed option and one alternative. Explain why the proposed option wins.
4. **Financials**: a table by year for costs, benefits, net benefit and cumulative cash flow; then ROI, payback period and a simple NPV if I gave enough information. Show formulas in words. Where I gave no number, use a clearly marked assumption.
5. **Benefits not in the numbers**: strategic, customer and morale benefits, written without exaggeration.
6. **Risks and mitigations** and a downside scenario at 30% lower benefits.
7. **Implementation outline**: phases, owners and milestones.
8. **Success measures**: how we will know after 6 months whether it is working.

Tone: confident, concrete and transparent about uncertainty. Avoid buzzwords. Highlight the two numbers the approver is most likely to challenge.

Variables

• {{approver}}Approvertextrequired

  Default: the CFO and finance leadership team

• {{initiative}}Initiativetextrequired

  Default: Replace manual invoice processing with an automated accounts-payable system

• {{problem}}Problem or opportunitylongrequired

  Default: The team of 4 processes 1,800 invoices a month by hand. Late payments cost about $2,500 monthly in fees. Month-end close takes 9 days.

• {{solution}}Proposed solutionlongrequired

  Default: Buy an AP automation tool with OCR capture and approval workflows; integrate with the ERP.

• {{costs}}Costslongrequired

  Default: Licence $24k per year, implementation $30k one-off, internal time about 120 hours.

• {{benefits}}Expected benefitslongrequired

  Default: Save about 60% of processing time (equal to 1.5 FTE at $60k each), eliminate late fees, shorten close to 6 days.

• {{horizon}}Time horizonselectrequired

  Options: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years

  Default: 3 years

Example output

**Summary and ask:** Approve $54k in year 1 ($30k implementation + $24k licence) for automated AP. Expected net benefit over 3 years: about $252k, payback in roughly 10 months.

**Problem:** Four people process 1,800 invoices monthly. Late fees cost about $30k a year; close takes 9 days.

**Options:** do nothing (cost keeps rising with volume); automate (proposed); hire two clerks (higher cost, same errors).

| | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costs | $54k | $24k | $24k |
| Benefits | $90k + $30k fees = $120k | $120k | $120k |
| Net | $66k | $96k | $96k |
| Cumulative | $66k | $162k | $258k |

Assumption: benefits are 1.5 FTE x $60k = $90k plus $30k avoided fees. Three-year net is $258k; after about $6k of internal time, roughly $252k. Payback is around month 10.

**Risks:** adoption, ERP integration delays. Downside at 30% lower benefits: still positive by month 14.

**Challenged numbers:** the 60% time saving and the fee elimination.

**Success measures:** invoices per person per month; late-payment fees; days to close.

Notes

Listing the two numbers the approver will challenge, and showing a downside case, builds trust. Replace every assumption with a figure from your finance team before submitting.