Perspective
What an AI project costs in a mid-sized business
You rarely get a number in answer to this question, and there is a real reason for that: the effort hangs on things nobody knows before the first inspection. It is still possible to say what range this moves in and what it is down to when it gets more expensive.
Last updated: July 2026
01
The numbers
The "from" is meant seriously. It is there because the scope decides, not as a negotiating position. After the audit a fixed amount goes into the quotation, and it holds.
02
What drives the price up
- The number of systems involved
- A process that reads one system and writes back into the same one is a different project from one that touches ERP, mailbox, file store and a portal. Every connection is effort, and it is the most reliable cost driver.
- Missing interfaces
- If a legacy system has no way out, we build one. That is almost always possible but it costs - and it is the point at which a project can eat up its own benefit.
- The number of formats
- Four suppliers with four invoice layouts is routine. Forty is a work package of its own.
- How expensive an error is
- A process with high error costs needs more checks, more test cases and a tighter acceptance. That is right, but it costs.
- How clear the rules are
- Where the business disagrees about how a case should be handled, the project settles that question too. That is valuable and was rarely budgeted for.
03
What brings the price down
The strongest effect comes from the scope. A process limited to the recurring core, deliberately leaving the special cases to a person, costs a fraction and often delivers the larger share of the saving. The last fifteen per cent of coverage regularly cost more than the first eighty-five.
The second lever is the order. Starting with a process whose data has to be opened up anyway lowers the cost of every subsequent process in the same business - which is why the price from the second one on is lower.
The cheapest route into an AI project is a smaller first process, not a cheaper provider.
04
When it pays
Do not calculate with headcount saved. That is rarely the effect and it is a poor start with the workforce. Calculate with the time that flows back into the work currently left undone: quotations that go out faster, enquiries that do not go unanswered, analyses that arrive while they can still change a decision.
For scale: a process that ties up one person-day a month costs you a mid four-figure sum a year in working time. If it ties up three, the payback on a single process project sits in the range of one to two years - before any of the softer effects.
Frequently asked
What does an AI project cost in a mid-sized business?
A single automated process starts at €6,900, each further one in the same project at €4,900. Before that comes the audit at €2,500, credited against the implementation. A system spanning departments starts at €45,000 and is only quoted after an audit.
Are there running costs?
Yes, and they are not an add-on business but a precondition: models change, interfaces disappear, processes move. Care starts at €290 per month and process, Managed sits at €1,490 per month. On top come the costs of the models used, which fall directly to you.
Why is the second process cheaper than the first?
Because the most expensive part - access, opening up the data, connecting systems - is done once with the first process and then stands. The second process uses the same foundation.
Can we start with a small project?
That is the recommended route. A system integration or the sorting of a shared mailbox sits at the lower end of the range, is productive in two to four weeks and shows an effect in daily work immediately.
Where it gets concrete
Use cases on this topic
Tell us where your time goes.
In the audit we record the process, work out what is worth automating, and you get a plan with fixed prices - credited against the build if you go ahead.