“How often should I update my budgeted hourly cost rates?"
The industry best practice is to update your estimating cost rates at least every 6-12 months or anytime there are notable changes in your expenses, equipment, staffing, or productivity. After a company closes their financial year or creates their annual expense budget is always a good time to update cost rates. Your rates may increase or decrease, depending on what changes have taken place since the last time you updated them.
Considering the industry’s competitive environment, rates that are off just a few dollars can have a substantial impact on whether or not you win orders or make a profit. As a matter of policy, an organization should continually update their rates to maintain a competitive edge and sustain profits.
The major challenges faced by companies that don’t keep their cost rates updated includes:
- Inability to make accurate pricing, sales, and investment decisions
- Overpricing and losing valuable and profitable work, and potentially customers
- Selling orders below costs, resulting in lost profits and deteriorated productivity
- Being misled by inaccurate estimating and costing figures
The Cost Rates Advisor budgeted hourly rates software makes it easy for organizations to keep their rates updated. It gives shops a more accurate picture of their out-of-pocket manufacturing and overhead costs so they can strategically estimate and price jobs. You can import data from spreadsheets, accounting software, and print management MIS software - making setup and updates fast and simple.
Cost Rates Advisor is used and proven by offset, digital, large format, flexographic, screen, and in-plant printing organizations throughout North America. Three tiered pricing starting at just $228 makes it affordable for companies of all sizes.
With Cost Rates Advisor, calculating and updating your estimating cost rates no longer needs to be a time consuming and demanding task. So update your 2014 BHRs today and start estimating better, pricing smarter, increasing revenue, and maximizing your profits.
Try it for FREE now by clicking here www.costratesadvisor.com
About CostRatesAdvisor
CostRatesAdvisor.com was designed by Profectus Inc., industry experts in the printing and packaging industry. It has been engineered based on proven industry best practices used by experts such as the Printing Industries of America (PIA)©, National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL)©, Specialty Imaging Graphics Association (SGIA)©, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)©. The software has built-in "best of breed" formulas, intelligence, and functionality that make it the industry's most superior product for developing budgeted hourly cost rates.
About Profectus Inc.
Profectus is a national consultancy that helps printing and packaging organizations improve their business by implementing best business practices and maximizing the value of their information technology investments. The company was founded in 1993 and has contributed to the success of hundreds of printing and packaging organizations throughout the United States and Canada spanning all industry segments.
