Two new software projects are proposed to a young, start-up company. The Alpha project will cost $530,000 to develop and is expected to have annual net cash flow of $60,000. The Beta project will cost $170,000 to develop and is expected to have annual net cash flow of $18,000. The company is very concerned about their cash flow. Calculate the payback period for each project. Which project is better from a cash flow standpoint

See Explanation

Explanation:

The payback period for both projects would be calculated as:

Alpha Project

Cost = $530,000

Annual net cash flow = $60,000

Payback period = Cash / Annual net cash flow

= $530,000 / $60,000

= 8.83

Beta Project

Cost = $170,000

Annual net cash flow = $18,000

Payback period = Cash / Annual net cash flow

= $170,000 / $18,000

= 9.4

We can see that Alpha Project is better as the payback period is lesser than Beta project

the third answer is correct.