A practical, plain-English guide from Evergreen for business people who carry the responsibility for IT and need to win over owners and management teams.
We get it: you can see the ROI… but you still have to persuade people.
You’re the person in the business who feels the day-to-day pain of clunky systems, manual workarounds, double-keying and “can someone export that to Excel?” – so you already know new software would pay for itself.
The challenge you have is convincing people who don’t live in those processes day-in, day-out. Owners and management teams are rightly focused on risk, cash flow, customer impact and growth. They don’t always have a deep IT background, but they shouldn’t need one to say “yes”.
This guide is for you: the commercial, pragmatic leader who holds the IT baton – Ops Directors, Finance leaders, COOs, Heads of IT in SMEs and mid-market firms – tasked with making a compelling, financially sound case for investing in new software.
We’ll help you turn insight into approval with a step-by-step method, calculators, templates, examples, and real Evergreen case studies showing measurable results (e.g., 50-75% time savings, 70% reduction in time and money, and an extra day reclaimed every week). These stories are here for one reason: to help you build confidence in your numbers and win the conversation.
Drawing on our decades of past experience this comprehensive guide gives you a step-by-step method for writing your business case for software investment.
CONTENTS
- What you’ll learn (and how to use this guide).
- Why do you need a Business Case for Software Development.
- The importance of empathy
Business Case Structure - Step by Step – How to write your
- Business Case
- What to include in each section
- Real Evergreen software project examples you can reference in your Business Case
- Build vs Buy vs Hybrid solutions
- Quantifying benefits
- Handling the hard questions
- Presenting your case in 10-15 minutes
- Common mistakes
- Templates and tools you can copy
- Why Evergreen is the ideal delivery partner
- Your next step
Appendices
A. One page Financials
B. Due diligence checklist
C. Example “do nothing” baseline
1. What you’ll learn (and how to use this guide)
- Why do you need a Business Case.
- How to shape a persuasive narrative for non-technical decision-makers.
- The exact document structure your board or expects to see.
- How to quantify benefits (hard and soft), model Return on Investment (ROI), Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), payback. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, do not worry as we go through each one of them.
- How to handle objections on cost, risk, disruption and “can’t we use off-the-shelf?”
- How to present your case in 10-15 minutes with board-ready slides.
- Real-world case studies from Evergreen you can use as proof points.
- A complete business-case template you can lift and adapt.
Following the steps in this document will turn what might seem like a daunting task into a logical flow. Just get started and start ticking items off and you will have a finished business case before you know it.
2. Why You Need a Business Case for Software Investment
A well-written business case transforms your software idea from “nice-to-have” to “essential”.
It translates technical benefits into business value, bridging the gap between IT insight and management priorities.
Without a business case:
- Decisions are all too often delayed, sometimes indefinitely.
- IT teams are left to struggle with outdated tools and un-realistic expectations.
- Costs mount through inefficiency – but all too often un-attributed to the problem you have identified.
With a strong business case:
- Leadership understands the ROI clearly – because you speak their language.
- The risks are considered and addressed upfront.
- Approval is faster, and you can move on to delivering results.
When should you create a business case?
Only when there’s a real near-term need, a plausible budget envelope, identified stakeholders, and the major functional/technical objections are addressed; otherwise the debate is too theoretical.
3. The importance of empathy
Key to the success of any business case for investment in software is conveying the information in a language that is understandable by whoever you are trying to persuade.
You must also ensure that the advantages will align to the organisation’s objectives and aims e.g. reducing costs and increasing profits.
Here are some pointers to keep in mind:
Write for the questions being asked by your board or management team.
Decision-makers don’t want a tour of the technology. They want clear, evidence-based answers to five questions:
- Why now? What problem or opportunity are we missing by waiting?
- What’s the outcome? In business terms – revenue, margin, risk, productivity, service.
- What’s the ROI? When do we break even? What’s the payback period?
- What could go wrong? How do we mitigate delivery, security, change-management and vendor risk?
- What’s the plan? Phasing, timeline, responsibilities, governance, and how you’ll measure success.
Don’t overload those who “don’t do detail”, but still provide it somewhere in your business case for those that do.
4. Business Case Structure
Below is a structure that aligns with what many boards, management teams and Chief Financial Officers expect:- Executive summary – crisp, non-technical snapshot of the what/why/ROI/ask.
- Current state and problem statement – the cost of today: bottlenecks, errors, missed revenue.
- Objectives & success criteria – business KPIs you will move.
- Solution options – build vs buy vs hybrid (and “do nothing”), with a clear recommendation.
- Proposed solution – scope, fit to objectives, and future-state process flow.
- Costs (TCO) – implementation, licences/subscription, internal time, support, hosting, training.
- Benefits – hard (Full Time Equivalent hours saved, error reduction, revenue uplift) and soft (compliance, agility).
- Don’t forget soft benefits. Boards may prioritise “hard savings”, but things like speed-to-market, security posture, talent attraction, and agility are real – and often decisive.
- Make them explicit alongside hard outcomes.
- Financial model – ROI %, payback; sensitivity analysis.
- Risks & mitigations – delivery, change, cybersecurity, vendor, data, compliance.
- Implementation plan – phased roadmap, resourcing, change enablement, training.
- Governance and ownership – roles, decision rights, and cadence.
- Recommendation and next steps – the funding ask and approval process.
6. What to include in each section (copy-ready language)
Use the following as draft copy you can paste and adapt.
a. Executive summary (150-250 words)
We recommend investing in [Project Name], a [bespoke/off-the-shelf/hybrid] solution to [solve problem]. Today, we incur [£X] in avoidable annual costs across [time, errors, revenue delay, risk]. The recommended solution reduces process time by [Y%], cuts errors by [Z%], and pays back in [N months] with a [Q%] ROI over [3/5] years.
We will deliver in [3] phases (Minimum Viable Product in [X weeks]), ensure adoption through training and champions, and manage risk through tight scope control, secure development and staged deployment.
We ask the board to approve £[budget] to deliver [outcomes] by [date].
b. Current situation & problem statement
- Manual [process] requires [X] touchpoints and [Y] systems.
- This creates [Z] errors/month, [A] days of delay and [B] lost productivity.
- Risk areas: [compliance, data accuracy, key-person dependency].
Objectives & success criteria:
- Reduce [metric] by [X%] within [N] months
- Increase [metric] from [baseline] to [target]
- Payback ≤ [N] months
Options analysis (one paragraph per option):
- Bespoke (Recommended): Best fit to [specific workflows], integrates with [systems], scales with [growth plan]. TCO £[x] over 3 years; payback [n] months.
- Off-the-shelf: Faster start, but gaps in [must-haves], customisation adds cost and risk.
- Hybrid: Commercial Off the Shelf core + bespoke modules where we differentiate.
- Do nothing: Cost of status quo estimated at £[x]/year in time and errors.
c. Proposed solution
- Scope, key features, integrations, data migration approach.
- Future-state process diagram and roles.
- Phases, timeline and resource plan.
d. Costs & benefits
- TCO summary (one-off vs recurring).
- Benefits table (conservative, base, upside).
- Sensitivity analysis on adoption rate and volume growth.
e. Risks & mitigations
- Short table with owners and actions, see section 6 above.
f. Implementation plan & governance
g. Phases, milestones, steering cadence.
h. Adoption plan, training and hypercare window.
i. Recommendation and ask
j. Funding request, approvals sought, and immediate next steps.
5. Step-by-Step: how to write your Business Case
Step 1: Document the current state in business terms. Resist tech speak. Translate today’s pain into cost, risk, and missed opportunity.
- Time cost: “Sales ops re-key orders across systems – 12 hours/week x 2 FTE = 1,248 hours/year. At £30/hour fully loaded, that’s – £37,440/year.”
- Error cost: “Data mismatches cause 15 mis-shipments/month at £80 each = £14,400/year.”
- Revenue delay: “Manual onboarding adds 3 days lead time; conversion impact conservatively 1-2%.”
- Risk/compliance: “Spreadsheet processes fail audit controls; single-user access creates key-person risk.”
Tip: interview end-users and customers, watch the process, and collect simple stopwatch timings. Screenshots and redacted examples land better than theory.
Step 2: Define the objectives and success criteria
Examples:
- Reduce order processing time by 60% within six months of go-live.
- Cut fulfilment errors by 50%.
- Improve customer onboarding NPS from +20 to +50.
- Achieve payback in <12 months.
Step 3: Outline solution options (and show your homework)
Always include at least three options: Build bespoke, Buy off-the-shelf/SaaS, Hybrid, plus Do nothing as a baseline.
Summarise each: fit/gaps, indicative cost, time-to-value, scalability, integration effort, vendor risk.
- Evaluation criteria to score options – see 13b for an example matrix.
- Strategic fit and scalability
- Feature fit vs must-haves
- Integration effort with current stack
- Security/compliance posture
- TCO over 3-5 years
- Time-to-value and delivery risk
- Change impact on teams
Step 4: Present the recommended solution clearly
Explain what changes for the business – a future-state process, not a feature list. Use a one-page process diagram: Lead → Quote → Order → Fulfill → Invoice, highlighting automation points.
Include a high-level roadmap: Discovery & design → Build/Configure → Pilot/MVP → Rollout → Hypercare → BAU. External resources often emphasise the value of phased delivery, pilots/MVPs and a realistic timeline with milestones.
Step 5: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and financial model
TCO components to include:
One-off: discovery, design, build/configure, integrations, data migration, testing, project management, training, change enablement.
Recurring: licences/subscriptions, hosting/infra, support & maintenance, security tooling, vendor success plans, small change budget.
Internal time: product owner, SMEs, super-users (assign an internal day rate).
Modelling ROI, payback
Use conservative assumptions – your CFO will sanity-check them.
Annual hard benefits (examples)
- FTE time released: hours saved × loaded hourly rate
Error reduction: incidents avoided × cost/incident
Inventory reduction: average stock × carrying cost %
Faster cash collection: Daily Sales Outstanding improvement × cost of capital
Soft (strategic) benefits (bring evidence, even if directional)
Shorter time-to-market, better security posture, improved analytics, higher staff retention.
Formulas
- ROI % = (Total benefits − Total costs) / Total costs × 100
- Payback period = Initial investment / Annual net benefit
Worked example (simplified)
- Investment (year 0): £30k
- Annual licence/hosting/support: £5k
- Benefits: 500 hours saved/year × £30/hr = £15k
- Error reduction: 60 incidents × £80 = £4.8k
- Total annual hard benefits = £19.8k
- Net annual benefit (benefits − recurring cost) £14.8k
- Payback = Just over 2 years and a strong recurring net annual benefit
Now adjust with realistic levers (automation scope, adoption, team size, revenue uplift) to reach your company’s target payback). Show a best/base/worst case.
Step 6: Risks & mitigations
Create a simple risk register:
- Scope Creep:
Likely, with high impact.
Mitigation: Strict change control, Minimum Viable Product, sprint reviews.
Owner: product owner. - Low User adoption:
Likely, with high impact.
Mitigation: Champions, training, phased rollout.
Owner: Change Lead. - Integration Delay:
Likely, with medium impact.
Mitigation: Early technical spike, vendor service level agreements.
Owner: Tech lead - Security/Compliance:
Not likely, but high impact.
Mitigation: Secure Software Development Life Cycle, Penetration testing, Data mapping, Data Protection Impact Assessment.
Owner: IT - Vendor Risk:
Not likely, and medium impact.
Mitigation: Due diligence.
Owner: IT / Procurement
Step 7: Implementation plan & governance
- Method: Agile/iterative with clear stage gates.
- Cadence: fortnightly sprint reviews + monthly steering committee.
- Roles: project sponsor, product owner, delivery manager, tech lead, data lead, Business Analyst/User experience, change manager, super-users.
- Change enablement: communications, training plan, cheat-sheets, “day-one” support, feedback loops.
Success tracking: adoption metrics (active users, task completion time), cycle times, error rates, Net Promoter Score, and business KPIs tied to your objectives.
7. Real Evergreen case studies you can reference in your business case
Use these proof points (and link to them in your appendix or slide notes) to show what similar organisations achieved with bespoke systems:
Nest General Insurance – Custom CRM
Outcome: 50-75% time saving; avoided hiring two additional people thanks to a fit-for-purpose CRM designed around their process.
What changed: Evergreen replaced a partner-inherited CRM with a simplified, “only what we need” solution that made lead handling faster and easier for internal teams.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/nest-general-insurance/
National Lock & Safe – Job & order management
Outcome: 70% saving in time and money from a bespoke online database that put real-time information in the hands of engineers and office staff, end-to-end.
What changed: Faster quoting and ordering, secure remote access, direct dispatch to mobile, and custom reporting gave NLS a tangible competitive edge.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/national-lock-and-safe/
UFH Services – CRM & Job Management
Outcome: 90-120 minutes saved per day – an entire day reclaimed each week – by replacing spreadsheets, Word and Outlook-based processes with one fast, purpose-built system.
What changed: Errors fell, admin shrank, and the team spent time on value-add rather than duplication.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/ufh-services-ltd/
Continuity West – Major Incident Management System (MIMS)
Outcome: A multi-user incident management platform has underpinned service quality and cost-effectiveness for clients since 2016, with Evergreen as long-term partner.
What changed: From fragmented tooling to a robust, scalable web application that supports emergency planning and live incident coordination.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/continuity-west/
Outsource Safety – Bespoke CRM with billing, templates and Xero integration
Outcome: A “fabulous return on investment” over 18 years, spending less than off-the-shelf licenses would have cost – in exchange for a system that fits precisely and grows with the business.
What changed: Consultant performance tracking, subscription invoicing, proposal templates, Kanban, letter/PDF automation and more – all in one place.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/outsource-safety/
Tornado Recycling – Compliance database for the scrap-metal industry
Outcome: Clients saved about £25,000/year in reduced overhead, with improved traceability and compliance under tighter regulations.
What changed: A flexible, secure online application delivered visibility and full auditability.
https://evergreencomputing.co.uk/case-study/scrap/Tornado-Recycling-Ltd/
Performance Properties – Investor portal rescue & enhancement
Outcome: Complex problems other developers said would take “a year” were solved in six days; the portal was stabilised and extended with modern tools and UX.
What changed: A backlog of defects and features was cleared; the investor experience now matches the brand’s quality.
https://evergreencomputing.com/case-studies/performance-properties/
How to use these in your business case
Add a one-slide “Proof this works” section with 2-3 stories that mirror your context (e.g., CRM/job management, compliance, portals).
Cite the metric (“70% time/money saved”) and the operational change (“engineers receive work orders on mobile”).
Offer to let approvers speak to a peer reference – Evergreen can arrange this where appropriate.
8. Build vs Buy vs Hybrid: choosing the right path (and explaining it to the board)
Off-the-shelf/SaaS is powerful and can seem an attractive option when you can adapt your processes to the tool’s model and you want fast time-to-value. Bespoke wins when your process is a source of competitive advantage, when integration is paramount, when licensing would balloon with user growth, or when total cost over several years favours owning the asset.
A few board-friendly points to include:
Fit vs force: If core workflows are unique or regulated, forcing them into a generic package can increase hidden costs (workarounds, export-and-Excel, manual audits).
Scalability of cost: Bespoke systems have predictable support and hosting costs; many SaaS tools price per seat, so growth can multiply licence spend.
IP ownership and control: With Evergreen bespoke, you own the IP with a royalty-free licence – no vendor lock-in on user counts, and freedom to enhance the codebase as you grow. That’s a meaningful board-level advantage.
Integration & data: Bespoke can be designed to be the “glue” in your stack; off-the-shelf may require additional middleware.
When you recommend a path, score the options transparently and show a TCO over 3-5 years, including people time, not just licence lines. External templates and guides emphasise this comparison step and cost transparency.
Also see our Option Scoring Matrix in section 13 (b).
9. Quantifying benefits: from “we believe” to “we can bank”
Time savings (Full Time Equivalent): Measure current task times with a small sample (5-10 instances), compute the median, and extrapolate cautiously (e.g., assume only 60-70% of the potential saving to keep estimates conservative).
Error reduction: Track rework, returns, credits, and support calls-these are quietly expensive. Tie each to a unit cost.
Revenue uplift:
- Faster cycle times → higher conversion (quote-to-order)
- Better cross-sell prompts → higher Average Order Value
- More accurate stock → fewer lost sales
Risk reduction: Compliance failures, data loss, and security incidents have expected costs. Even if you present these qualitatively, add incident likelihood bands and typical external benchmarks for scale.
Soft benefits with teeth: Time-to-market, agility, developer and user experience (DX/UX), data leverage, security posture, and talent retention-these are strategic levers modern boards recognise, especially when moving to composable or cloud-native stacks.
10. Handling the hard questions (with confident, factual answers)
“Can we really afford this?”
Show the status-quo cost with real numbers (time, errors, churn, missed revenue).
Present payback, sensitivity analysis, and what happens if we wait 12 months.
“Why not use a standard package?”
Walk through the gaps vs must-haves, the true integration effort, and 3-5 year TCO including seat growth.
Cite relevant proof: e.g., Nest and UFH gained outsized productivity from systems shaped precisely to their process.
“What if the project slips?”
Show your phased plan, MVP scope, and governance cadence.
Explain risk mitigations and your change-management plan. External advice highlights the importance of governance and adoption milestones.
“What about soft benefits-can we count those?”
Yes, frame them explicitly (agility, security, data leverage) and link to the strategy; industry guidance encourages widening the aperture beyond headcount reduction alone.
11. Presenting your case in 10-15 minutes (and the leave-behind)
Slide 1 – Title & recommendation
Project name, one-line problem, one-line outcome, funding ask.
Slide 2 – The cost of today
Three bullets with quantified pain (time, errors, revenue/risk).
Slide 3 – Options considered
Table with Build / Buy / Hybrid / Do nothing (scores + 1-line pros/cons).
Slide 4 – The recommended solution
Future-state process visual; what changes on Day 1.
Slide 5 – Costs & benefits summary
3-year TCO, benefits by category, ROI %, payback.
Slide 6 – Risks & mitigations
Top 5 risks with owners and actions.
Slide 7 – Roadmap & governance
Phases, key dates, steering cadence, roles.
Slide 8 – Proof this works
Two mini case studies (e.g., 70% saving at NLS; 50-75% time saving at Nest).
Leave-behind document: Your full business case with appendices (assumptions, cost breakdown, measurement plan, vendor due diligence).
12. Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
- Writing for IT, not business. Translate to outcomes and £.
- Only one option. Boards expect alternatives and a “do nothing” baseline.
- Underplaying change. Adoption is as important as code; show training and champions.
- Hiding costs. Internal time matters; show TCO transparently.
- No baseline metrics. Measure now, so you can prove impact later.
- Ignoring soft benefits. Call them out – agility, security, talent, composability.
13. Templates and tools you can copy – see also the tools in the Appendices to this document
A) One-page executive summary template (fill-in-the-blanks)
- Purpose: Approve investment in [project] to [solve problem]
- Today’s cost: £[x]/year across [time, errors, risk, missed revenue]
- Recommendation: [Bespoke/off-the-shelf/hybrid] solution delivered in [n] phases
- Benefits: [y%] time reduction, [z%] error reduction, [metric uplift]
- Financials (3 years): TCO £[x]; ROI [q%]; payback [n months]
- Risks & mitigations: [top 3] (owners in place)
- Plan: MVP [date]; full rollout [date]; governance: [cadence]
- Ask: Approve £[budget] capex/opex, proceed to phase [name]
B) Option scoring matrix (example criteria) where 5 is the best.
Criterion | Weight | Build | Buy | Hybrid |
Strategic fit | 25% | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Must have features | 20% | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Integration effort | 15% | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Time-to-value | 15% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
TCO (3-5 yr) | 15% | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Risk Profile | 10% | 4 | 3 | 4 |
C) Measurement plan (post-go-live)
- Adoption: active users, task completion time, help-desk tickets
- Process: lead time, throughput, first-time-right %
- Business: conversion rate, DSO, on-time delivery, NPS/CSAT
- Financial: variance vs business-case benefits, by month/quarter
D) Cost breakdown checklist (TCO)
- One-off: discovery, design, build/config, integrations, data migration, non-prod/prod environments, test automation, UAT, training, change enablement, go-live support.
- Recurring: licences/subscriptions, hosting, backups/DR, SOC/security tooling, monitoring, support SLAs, product backlog “continuous improvement” budget.
- Helpful external patterns: Several buyer-side guides propose a simple 3-step approach: gather key information, provide a complete cost/ROI breakdown, and involve stakeholders early (especially finance and affected departments), alongside a structured template so your approval process is smooth and predictable.
14. Why Evergreen is the ideal delivery partner
When you attach a partner to your business case, you attach the partner’s track record. Ours is simple: pragmatic, long-term, UK-based delivery that makes measurable improvements to operations – backed by case studies across insurance, property services, manufacturing, compliance, charities and more.
What makes Evergreen different for your board/management team?
You own the IP. We assign you the intellectual property and provide a royalty-free licence, so there’s no user-based lock-in and you can scale to 50, 500 or 5,000 users without renegotiating licence tiers. That’s a meaningful TCO and risk advantage.
Proven ROI in the field. From 50-75% time savings (Nest) to 70% saving in time and money (NLS), our systems earn their keep quickly and keep doing so for years.
Process-first, plain-English. We design around the way your business really works – no jargon, no “just change your process to fit the tool”.
Delivery you can trust. We de-risk projects with MVPs, early technical spikes, secure SDLC, and hands-on change support.
Rescue specialists. If your current vendor said “that’s not possible” or a project has stalled, we will evaluate, stabilise and move forward – Performance Properties is just one example.
Partnership, not just a project. Many clients have worked with us for a decade or more; Outsource Safety has expanded its platform with us over 18 years, spending less than off-the-shelf licences would have cost – and with a far better fit.
15. Your next step: send us your draft for a free review – or ask for an indicative costing
If you have a draft business case (even rough notes), send it to us and we’ll give you practical feedback: where to strengthen the ROI, where stakeholders might push back, and how to tighten your plan.
If you’re earlier in the journey, we can provide an indicative cost range and a simple TCO/benefit model to help you shape the numbers.
With Evergreen, you’ll get a partner who speaks finance as well as tech – one who designs around your process, proves value early, and helps you secure approval with confidence.
Appendices
Appendix A: One-page financials (board-ready)
Table 1 – Costs (3 years):
Build & migration | £ |
Integrations | £ |
Licences/hosting/support | £ |
Internal time | £ |
Contingency (10%) | £ |
TCO (3 years) | £ |
Table 2 – Benefits (annual, base case):
Time saved: [hours] × £[rate] | £ |
Errors avoided: [incidents] × £[cost] | £ |
Revenue uplift: [basis] × [rate] | £ |
Total annual benefits | £ |
Headline metrics
- Payback: [months]
- ROI: [ % ] (3-year)
Appendix B: Due-diligence checklist (partner & product)
- References & case studies (ideally sector-adjacent)
- IP terms and exit strategy (source control escrow, data export)
- Security: SDLC, pen test, access model, data residency, backups/DR
- Support SLAs and change budget
- Roadmap fit and customisation approach
- Team composition and cadence; on-site/remote mix
- Training and adoption plan
Appendix C: Example “Do Nothing” baseline (fill me in)
- Annual status-quo cost: £
- Time lost = revenue lost: £
- Errors/rework: £
- Missed revenue: £
- Compliance/risk: £
- Strategic impact: agility, security, talent, scalability.
Ready when you are
Evergreen – bespoke software that pays for itself, with you owning the IP and a delivery approach your board will trust.
