Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R. and Nacke, L. (2011a) âFrom Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining âGamificationââ, Envisioning Future Media Environments - Conference proceedings, MindTrekâ11, Tampere, pp. 9â15.
The payback method is a simple way to evaluate the number of years or months it takes to return the initial investment. The payback period is usually expressed in years. Start by calculating net cash flow for each year: net cash flow year one = cash inflow year one - cash outflow year one.
Disadvantages of payback period are: 1  Payback period does not take into account the time value of money which is a serious drawback since it can lead to wrong decisions. A variation of payback method that attempts to remove this drawback is called discounted payback period method.