A Proof of Value (PoV) is a structured, time-bound pilot that demonstrates the measurable impact of a solution on a company's real data and processes, before any long-term commitment is made. Unlike a product demo, which shows what a tool can do, a PoV shows what it actually delivers in your specific operational context.
In B2B software, and particularly in AI finance tools, the PoV has become the critical step between interest and signature. Procurement teams, DAFs, and finance ops managers rarely commit to a platform based on a presentation. They need to see anomalies detected on their own invoices, time saved on their own reconciliations, errors flagged in their own supplier data, with numbers they can bring to a decision-maker.
A well-structured PoV answers three questions: What does the solution find that we were missing? How much time does it save? What is the projected annual ROI if deployed at full scale?
At Phacet, the PoV is designed to run in two weeks on a defined scope, typically a single use case such as supplier price control, 3-way matching, or bank reconciliation. The output is concrete: a summary of anomalies detected, time recovered, and overcharges identified, all on the client's real data. One customer was live within 3 days.
This approach directly addresses the two most common objections in AI finance control deployments: setup complexity and internal validation requirements. The PoV eliminates both, it's fast to run, low-risk to approve, and generates the business case needed to secure internal buy-in.
The ROI of AI in finance doesn't need to be theoretical. With a PoV, it's calculated on your own numbers, in under two weeks.