The three numbers we need before we quote a project

Every automation or security conversation eventually turns into a budget conversation, and most of the time both sides are guessing. The client does not know what the problem is actually costing them. We do not know what the fix will cost to deliver. Guessing in both directions produces bad decisions.

So before we quote anything, we build the same three-line model we would want if we were the client.

Line one: what it is costing you now. Current spend, revenue lost to delay or error, and the hours a team burns on work that should not need a human. Most businesses can find this number within a day of actually looking for it, and most have never written it down.

Line two: what fixing it is worth. Not a vague productivity claim — a specific number, tied to the process we would actually touch. If we cannot tie the fix to a number the client already tracks internally, we say so, and we do not proceed on vibes.

Line three: when it pays for itself. Budget required, divided into the return, gives a payback date — not a percentage that sounds good in a slide. We would rather tell a client "this pays back in five months" than "this delivers 340% ROI", because only one of those numbers changes a real decision.

The honest part: sometimes the model says no. We have turned down engagements where the math did not support the spend, and told the client exactly why. A financial model that only ever says yes is not a model — it is a sales pitch wearing a spreadsheet.