Price One AI Task in 15 Minutes: The Rent-or-Own Worksheet

Almost everyone paying for AI at work has no idea what it costs them per task, and the people selling it would rather keep it that way. This two-page worksheet fixes that for one task. You name a job you already do every week, price what a person costs to do it, run it once with the meter on, and walk the number up the four rungs: a chat subscription, an API with real accounting, a managed platform, and hardware you own. The ladder table has the typical cost, setup time, and who sees your data at each rung, with the numbers I use in class. You finish by picking the cheapest rung that still does the job and writing down a budget cap and a review date. It takes about fifteen minutes the first time, and it is the same sheet we fill in together during the one-day workshop.