 ##  [Payback Period Method](/index.php/payback-period-method) 

  ##  [Payback Period Method](https://social.quantumdictionary.io/payback-period-method-0) 

  

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**Social Sciences Dictionary**

 







 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Definition

A capital appraisal technique that measures the time required for cumulative undiscounted cash inflows to equal the initial investment; the payback period is the smallest t such that Σ_{i=1..t} CF_i ≥ Initial Investment (a discounted payback variant applies discounting before cumulation).