The formula
- Delivery cost = Σ (logged hours × person’s loaded hourly cost) + direct expenses.
- Loaded hourly cost = (salary + employer taxes + benefits + a share of equipment) ÷ hours actually available for work in a year.
Use loaded cost, not the billing rate. The billing rate is what the client pays; the loaded cost is what the hour costs you. The hourly rate calculator shows what an hour costs and what to charge; for delivery cost, leave its overhead share out.
A worked example
An example. A designer costs $52,000 a year including taxes and benefits and is available for 1,480 working hours after leave and holidays: a loaded cost of about $35 an hour. On a project she logs 80 hours ($2,800), a developer logs 40 hours at $40 ($1,600), and a freelance copywriter invoices $600. Delivery cost: $5,000.
How PLYNTUM handles it
Each person’s hourly cost is derived from their salary and working hours and fixed on each time entry, so a later pay change does not rewrite past costs. Hours logged on a project’s tasks are multiplied by it, and expenses recorded against the project, including subcontractors, are added. From Core, project profitability shows the total against the project value. See what an hour of your team costs.
See also finance in PLYNTUM, contribution before overhead, approved time and all terms in the glossary.