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Economics

Check the arithmetic.

Enter your own numbers. The calculator keeps capacity separate from cash, charges for the fleet and for human review, and shows every formula. Repeat any line by hand and you get the same figure.

Illustrative

Every figure on this page is illustrative: a calculation from your inputs and the assumptions stated below. None is a quote, a forecast or a result achieved for a client.All amounts are in US dollars.

The calculator

Three steps: describe the organization, choose the missions, then test the assumptions.

Your organization

Whole numbers only.

The people whose work includes the missions you select.

Salary, benefits, payroll taxes and overhead.

Reconciling, compiling, drafting, checking, answering. Cannot exceed the paid-hours basis.

Turns annual cost into cost per hour. 2,080 is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.

Missions

Choose the missions the fleet will run.

Missions that return hours

Each addresses a share of the repeatable hours pool. Shares add up and are capped at 100%, so no hour is counted twice.

  • Before: a 100-day integration plan takes 6 weeks and 30 consultants.

  • Before: an 8-day close with 60 accountants.

  • Before: a 600-question RFP takes 5 weeks and 40 subject experts.

  • Before: a new rule takes a quarter to map.

  • Before: a 9-month IT backlog.

  • Before: an incident or recall triggers 72 hours of chaos.

  • Before: a 3-week scramble for each board meeting.

Missions previously out of reach

Work no realistic team attempts in full today. They add agents and cost to the fleet. They are given no savings figure.

  • Every contract read, not a sample. Before: 4,000 contracts nobody has read in full.

  • Every at-risk account scored, with a save plan for each. Before: churn is found at renewal.

  • Every answer traced to its source passages. Before: decisions are lost when people leave.

  • 50,000 SKUs repriced, not a yearly review. Before: pricing is reviewed once a year by a small team.

  • Every role mapped by task, not 200 interviews. Before: consultants interview 200 managers.

Pool share addressed54%

Agents in fleet552

Mission Zero, the impossible morning, belongs to this class. It is a one-off event, not repeatable work, so it is not in the calculator. Watch Mission Zero

Assumptions you can change

The defaults are illustrative starting points, not benchmarks. Replace them with your own.

Of the hours the selected missions address, the part agents actually do. The rest stays with people.

Illustrative default

Redeployed hours do not reduce payroll on their own. Only this share counts as cash savings.

Illustrative default

Time people spend reviewing and approving agent output. It is subtracted from savings.

Illustrative default

An illustrative assumption so the fleet has a cost. It is not a Solstice price and not a quote.

Illustrative default

Integration, data access, training and change management. Used for payback and the 36-month view.

Results

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Hours returned

Illustrative

518,400 hours

Per year, at run rate

939 hours returned per agent per year.

How this is computed

Hours returned

= Repeatable hours pool × Pool share addressed × Share agents take on

= 1,600,000 hours × 54% × 60%

= 518,400 hours

Repeatable hours pool

= Headcount in scope × Repeatable hours per person

= 2,000 × 800 hours

= 1,600,000 hours

Pool share addressed

= the lower of 100% and Pool share selected

= the lower of 100% and 54%

= 54%

Pool share selected

= Sum of the pool shares of the selected missions

= 26% + 16% + 12%

= 54%

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Run-rate savings

Illustrative

$18,693,504

Per year, before fleet and review costs

Capacity value$37,387,008

What the returned hours cost today. It is capacity, not cash, until it is converted.

How this is computed

Run-rate savings

= Hours returned × Share converted to cost reduction × Cost per hour

= 518,400 hours × 50% × $72.12 per hour

= $18,693,504

Cost per hour

= Fully loaded cost per person ÷ Paid-hours basis

= $150,000 ÷ 2,080 hours

= $72.12 per hour

Capacity value

= Hours returned × Cost per hour

= 518,400 hours × $72.12 per hour

= $37,387,008

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Agent fleet cost

Illustrative

$6,624,000

Per year, 552 agents at your assumed unit cost

How this is computed

Agent fleet cost

= Agents in fleet × Cost per agent per month × 12

= 552 × $1,000 × 12

= $6,624,000

Agents in fleet

= Sum of the fleet sizes of the selected missions

= 96 + 144 + 96 + 156 + 60

= 552

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Net savings

Illustrative

$6,461,453

Per year, at run rate, after fleet and review costs

How this is computed

Net savings

= Run-rate savings − Agent fleet cost − Human review cost

= $18,693,504 − $6,624,000 − $5,608,051

= $6,461,453

Human review cost

= Review hours × Cost per hour

= 77,760 hours × $72.12 per hour

= $5,608,051

Review hours

= Hours returned × Share spent on review

= 518,400 hours × 15%

= 77,760 hours

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Payback period

Illustrative

5.6 months

Setup cost recovered at run-rate net savings

How this is computed

Payback period

= Setup and transition cost ÷ Monthly net savings

= $3,000,000 ÷ $538,454

= 5.6 months

Monthly net savings

= Net savings ÷ 12

= $6,461,453 ÷ 12

= $538,454

Each line is rounded before the next line uses it.

Missions previously out of reach

Illustrative

2

A count and a list, not dollars

  • Vendor spend teardown
  • Pricing reset

How this is computed

Missions previously out of reach

= Number of selected missions marked previously out of reach

= 1 + 1

= 2

The number of selected missions that no realistic human team attempts in full today. They are listed, not valued.

No savings figure is assigned to these missions. Their agents are in the fleet cost.

Solstice economics: Scenario summary

Net savings of $6.46M a year at run rate; cumulative break-even in month 20

Illustrative
Inputs, as the model used them
Headcount in scope2,000
Fully loaded cost per person, per year$150,000
Hours per person per year on repeatable knowledge work800 hours
Annual paid-hours basis2,080 hours
Share of addressed hours that agents take on60%
Share of returned hours converted to cost reduction50%
Share of returned hours spent on human review15%
Cost per agent per month$1,000
One-time setup and transition cost$3,000,000

Missions selectedClose the quarter, Vendor spend teardown, Regulatory change, Pricing reset, Board readiness. Pool share addressed: 54%. Agents in fleet: 552.

Outputs at run rate, per year
Hours returned518,400 hours
Capacity value$37,387,008
Run-rate savings$18,693,504
Agent fleet cost$6,624,000
Net savingsPer year, at run rate, after fleet and review costs$6,461,453
Payback periodSetup cost recovered at run-rate net savings5.6 months
Missions previously out of reachVendor spend teardown, Pricing reset2
Staged path, setup included
First-year net−$2,224,509
36-month cumulative net$8,872,323
Break-even on the staged pathDifferent from payback, which assumes the full fleet from day oneMonth 20

Every figure is illustrative: a calculation from the inputs above, in US dollars, each line rounded before the next line uses it. The cost per agent is the reader's assumption; no Solstice price is published. Not a quote, a forecast or a result achieved for a client.

Of $37.4M in capacity value a year, $6.46M is left as net savings

From capacity to cash, per year at run rate

Illustrative
LineAmount
Capacity valueHow it is computed: 518,400 hours × $72.12 per hour$37,387,008
Less: hours redeployed, not removedHow it is computed: $37,387,008 − $18,693,504−$18,693,504
Run-rate savingsHow it is computed: 518,400 hours × 50% × $72.12 per hour$18,693,504
Less: agent fleet costHow it is computed: 552 × $1,000 × 12−$6,624,000
Less: human review costHow it is computed: 77,760 hours × $72.12 per hour−$5,608,051
Net savingsHow it is computed: $18,693,504 − $6,624,000 − $5,608,051$6,461,453

Run rate means a full year with the selected fleet fully live. It excludes the one-time setup cost. First-year figures are in Exhibit 2.

Monthly cost drops below traditional in month 13; cumulative break-even comes in month 20

Monthly cost of the repeatable work in scope over 36 months, traditional and with Solstice

Illustrative
Monthly cost of the repeatable work in scope over 36 months, traditional and with SolsticeStep chart of cost per month over 36 months. Traditional cost is flat at $9,616,000. With Solstice, cost is $9,865,025 in month 1 and $9,077,546 in month 36. Cumulative break-even is in month 20.US dollars per monthAgent One1 liveTeam12 liveFleet240 liveEnterprise552 live$9.0M$9.2M$9.4M$9.6M$9.8M061218243036Months from startCumulative break-even, month 20Traditional $9,616,000With Solstice $9,077,546Monthly cost of the repeatable work in scope over 36 months, traditional and with SolsticeStep chart of cost per month over 36 months. Traditional cost is flat at $9,616,000. With Solstice, cost is $9,865,025 in month 1 and $9,077,546 in month 36. Cumulative break-even is in month 20.US dollars per month1234$9.0M$9.2M$9.4M$9.6M$9.8M061218243036Months from startCumulative break-even, month 20Traditional $9.62MWith Solstice $9.08MMonthly cost of the repeatable work in scope over 36 months, traditional and with SolsticeStep chart of cost per month over 36 months. Traditional cost is flat at $9,616,000. With Solstice, cost is $9,865,025 in month 1 and $9,077,546 in month 36. Cumulative break-even is in month 20.US dollars per monthAgent One1 liveTeam12 liveFleet240 liveEnterprise552 live$9.0M$9.2M$9.4M$9.6M$9.8M061218243036Months from startCumulative break-even, month 20Traditional $9,616,000With Solstice $9,077,546
  • The vertical axis does not start at zero.
  • Stages across the top: 1 Agent One, 2 Team, 3 Fleet, 4 Enterprise. Agents live in each stage are in the table below.
  • Shaded gold: months in which the cost with Solstice is below traditional. Shaded red: months in which it is above.
  • For months 1 to 12 the Solstice line carries the setup and transition cost, in equal monthly amounts.
Source: illustrative assumptions and the inputs above. Not a forecast, a benchmark or a quote.

First-year net

Illustrative

−$2,224,509

Months 1 to 12 on the staged path, setup included

How this is computed

First-year net

= Months in each stage × net savings per month, added up, less setup cost in the period

= (3 × $975 + 6 × $11,706 + 3 × $234,110) − $3,000,000

= −$2,224,509

The sum, for months 1 to 12, of the stage's monthly net savings less the setup cost that falls in the month. Stage figures are in the table below.

36-month cumulative net

Illustrative

$8,872,323

Months 1 to 36 on the staged path, setup included

How this is computed

36-month cumulative net

= Months in each stage × net savings per month, added up, less setup cost in the period

= (3 × $975 + 6 × $11,706 + 9 × $234,110 + 18 × $538,454) − $3,000,000

= $8,872,323

The sum, for months 1 to 36, of the stage's monthly net savings less the setup cost that falls in the month. Stage figures are in the table below.

Break-even on the staged path

Illustrative

Month 20

Different from payback, which assumes the full fleet from day one

How this is computed

The first month from which the running total of monthly net savings less setup cost stays at or above zero through month 36.

Running total after month 19: −$281,395. After month 20: $257,059.

The staged path behind Exhibit 2
StageMonthsAgents liveNet savings per monthSetup cost in stage
Agent One1 agent, 1 missionMonths 1 to 31 to 31$975$750,000
Team12 agents, 1 functionMonths 4 to 94 to 912$11,706$1,500,000
Fleet240 agents, 5 functionsMonths 10 to 1810 to 18240$234,110$750,000
Enterprise1,200+ agents, every functionMonths 19 to 3619 to 36552$538,454$0
Total$3,000,000
  1. Agents live is the lower of the stage size and your selected fleet (552 agents).
  2. Net savings per month is the run-rate monthly net savings ($538,454) multiplied by agents live and divided by the selected fleet.
  3. The setup and transition cost ($3,000,000) is booked in equal monthly amounts over months 1 to 12 ($250,000 a month; month 12 carries any rounding difference). Setup cost in stage is the sum for the months in that stage.
  4. Traditional cost per month is the annual cost of the pool ($115,392,000) divided by 12, held flat.

Assumptions and methodHow every figure above is calculated, and what the model leaves out.

Replace the assumptions with measurements.

A pilot runs one mission on your own data with your own reviewers. The hours, the review time and the cost are then measured, not assumed.

See how a pilot works