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Automation roadmap modelling

Task Automation Prioritisation Planner 2025

Analyse recurring workflows, quantify hard and soft savings, and build a prioritised automation backlog that aligns to budget, risk tolerance, and stakeholder coverage targets.

Benchmarked across scaleup ops peers Payback sensitivity and guardrails Stakeholder heatmap
Portfolio configuration

Portfolio snapshot

  • Total annual hours1,676
  • Total labour cost£61,700
  • Weighted priority score59.3
  • Portfolio coverage (best)0.0%
  • Average payback (best)0.0 months
Calculators/Task automation prioritisation

Plan automation sequencing with confidence

Stress-test where to deploy automation budget, surface quick wins, and align stakeholders on portfolio coverage targets before your next planning cycle.

Annual savings potential

£0.00

Portfolio coverage (best)

0.0%

Average payback

0.0 months

Weighted priority score

59.3

Scenario comparison

Contrast baseline backlog against curated automation portfolios.

Current backlog

Status quo prioritisation based on existing manual pipeline.

Automation coverage100.0%
Annual savings£54,079
Payback35.8 months
Hard vs soft savings£43,190 / £10,889
Average priority59.3

Highlights

  • Automates 100% of recurring hours in scope
  • Annual savings £54,079
  • Average payback 35.8 months

Top tasks

  • Invoice reconciliation & approvals

    workflow£17,375 savings • 26.2-month payback

  • Service desk ticket triage

    ai copilot£24,098 savings • 12.0-month payback

  • Quarterly compliance reporting

    integration£12,605 savings • 69.3-month payback

High-ROI focus

Concentrates investment on top ROI plays within risk tolerance.

Automation coverage84.5%
Annual savings£41,473
Payback19.1 months
Hard vs soft savings£33,180 / £8,293
Average priority70.2

Highlights

  • Automates 84% of recurring hours in scope
  • Annual savings £41,473
  • Average payback 19.1 months

Top tasks

  • Service desk ticket triage

    ai copilot£24,098 savings • 12.0-month payback

  • Invoice reconciliation & approvals

    workflow£17,375 savings • 26.2-month payback

Low-risk guardrail

Maximum coverage given strict payback and confidence thresholds.

Recommended
Automation coverage0.0%
Annual savings£0.00
Payback0.0 months
Hard vs soft savings£0.00 / £0.00
Average priority0.0

Highlights

  • Automates 0% of recurring hours in scope
  • Annual savings £0.00
  • Average payback 0.0 months

Top tasks

    Task portfolio explorer

    Review each task candidate, adjust assumptions, and update the prioritisation model in real time. Maintain clear audit trail across stakeholders and automation types.

    Invoice reconciliation & approvals

    Cross-referencing purchase orders, invoices, and receipts with manual checks and approvals.

    69.0workflow

    Annual hours

    456

    Labour cost £20,520

    Savings & payback

    £17,375

    Payback 26.2 months

    Risk & alignment

    Confidence 78.0%

    Stakeholders finance, operations

    Hard savings

    Labour reduction: £14,364

    Soft savings

    Error & compliance reduction: £3,011

    Cost exposure

    Total risk exposure: £26,543

    Service desk ticket triage

    Categorising inbound support tickets, routing, and knowledge lookup.

    93.7ai copilot

    Annual hours

    960

    Labour cost £26,880

    Savings & payback

    £24,098

    Payback 12.0 months

    Risk & alignment

    Confidence 84.0%

    Stakeholders support, product

    Hard savings

    Labour reduction: £18,816

    Soft savings

    Error & compliance reduction: £5,282

    Cost exposure

    Total risk exposure: £37,444

    Quarterly compliance reporting

    Aggregating KPIs across systems, formatting narrative decks, and stakeholder reviews.

    59.9integration

    Annual hours

    260

    Labour cost £14,300

    Savings & payback

    £12,605

    Payback 69.3 months

    Risk & alignment

    Confidence 66.0%

    Stakeholders finance, operations, executive

    Hard savings

    Labour reduction: £10,010

    Soft savings

    Error & compliance reduction: £2,595

    Cost exposure

    Total risk exposure: £19,491

    Benchmark scoreboard

    Compare your automation portfolio metrics against peer benchmarks to validate the investment story. Aim to graduate towards the top quartile over the next two planning cycles.

    Automation coverage

    Median 44.0%

    Top quartile 68.0%

    Share of recurring hours automated in high tempo growth orgs.

    Payback period

    Median 12.0%

    Top quartile 7.0%

    Months to recoup automation investment across finance & ops teams.

    Soft savings capture

    Median 20.0%

    Top quartile 35.0%

    Percentage of non-labour benefits (error reduction, faster cycle time).

    Delivery playbook

    • Stand up automation guild with shared backlog grooming rituals.
    • Track value realisation monthly using hours saved, cycle time, and quality.
    • Keep quick wins under 12-week payback to keep momentum with finance.

    Risk mitigations

    • • Validate data access and security scope before automation build.
    • • Run pilots for AI-led automations to hit confidence target 60.0%.
    • • Establish change management playbook per stakeholder group.

    Implementation checklist

    Discovery & mapping

    Document inputs, systems, and SLAs; align on ROI assumptions with finance.

    Pilot & validation

    Run proof-of-value builds for AI/RPA workflows to confirm confidence scores.

    Change management

    Plan training, communications, and support to lock in adoption metrics.

    Value tracking

    Instrument dashboards for hours saved, error reduction, and SLA uplift.

    Disclaimer

    This planner provides directional ROI modelling. Actual results will vary based on process design, vendor capability, data quality, and change management execution. Validate outputs with your finance team and automation leads before committing budgets. Some links may be affiliate links; see our affiliate disclosure for details.