# AI toolkit and budget worksheet

Prepared by Astraeus Business Solutions, 1 October 2026. Copy this into a document or spreadsheet. This is a planning aid, not a quote or a claim about typical business spending.

## 1. What do you already pay for?

| Tool and plan | Regular job | Owner | Users | Monthly bill and currency | AI already included? | Renewal |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |

Check Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace before adding a general assistant. Compare ChatGPT and Claude on the same task. Consider Fathom or Fireflies for meeting notes, Canva for design work, and Make or Zapier for moving information between apps. You do not need every category.

For a voice-agent pilot, compare Grok Voice and ElevenLabs against a defined call-handling job. Record expected minutes, simultaneous calls, model usage, telephone-provider fees, setup, maintenance and human handover. Keep this budget separate from the starter software ceilings below.

Before another subscription, check whether a reusable skill could capture your process or an existing integration could supply the missing information. Budget for creating and testing skills. For a custom MCP connection, include development, permissions, testing and maintenance. See the [ABS skills examples](https://astraeus.ie/insights/ai-skills-for-business-workflows) and [MCP service](https://astraeus.ie/services/custom-mcp-server-development).

## 2. Choose a trial

- Task and current problem:
- Tool/plan and why it fits:
- Person responsible:
- Information permitted in the tool:
- Trial start and review date:
- Maximum extra software spend:
- Users who actually need access:
- Monthly or annual commitment, tax and currency:
- Usage allowance and busy-month estimate:
- Setup cash cost and internal setup hours:
- External support fee and who fixes failures:
- Condition for keeping, changing or cancelling:

Suggested initial software ceilings from the article: €30/month extra for an owner, €100–€200/month extra for a small-team trial. These are editorial starting points, not market averages. Setup, training and support are separate. Use actual local checkout figures; do not add dollars and euros together without a dated exchange-rate assumption.

## 3. Compare the task with staff time

Use the same time period for every line. Include review, corrections and exceptions.

| Input | Your monthly figure | Fictional example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time on task before | | 20 hours |
| Time remaining after automation | | 5 hours |
| Net hours recovered | | 15 hours |
| Hourly employment cost including overheads | | €30 |
| Capacity value: net hours × hourly cost | | €450 |
| Software and usage | | €100 |
| Setup cash cost / comparison period | | €600 / 12 months = €50 |
| External support | | €0 assumed |
| Internal setup time / comparison period | | Add your own |
| Capacity value less software, allocated setup and support | | €300 before internal setup time |

Example software and setup exclude VAT. These are invented inputs, not ABS fees, salary benchmarks or client results. The setup bill is paid upfront; allocation does not change cash flow. At these inputs, €150 / €30 = 5 net hours needed each month. At 3 net hours, capacity value is €90 and falls below costs. Add support and internal setup time before using the calculation for a decision.

For context, a fictional €36,000 gross annual salary is €3,000/month before employer costs. The €30 hourly rate above is a separate planning assumption, not derived from that salary. Compare the tasks being improved; do not treat a software bill as the cost of replacing the whole employee.

## 4. What will you do with the time?

- Client work, faster follow-up, avoided overtime or another specific use:
- Evidence the trial actually freed these hours:
- Any errors, missed work or extra checking:
- Does the result change a cash expense, or free existing capacity?
- Final decision and next review date:

## Sources and discussion

Vendor facts and price snapshots are linked in the [article](https://astraeus.ie/insights/ai-cost-small-business-ireland). Recheck prices and terms before purchase. [Talk through your tools and setup with ABS](https://astraeus.ie/services/free-ai-consultation).