Cost centers, allocation and cost per OS
Some labs have sold an analysis at a loss for years and never noticed, because the price was a guess. When you don't know what each service costs, that's how it ends. Here cost drops down to the work order level, shared expense allocates across departments with real rules, and you price by the number, not by feel.
Know what each unit spends and bills.
Classify revenue and expense by lab unit, with hierarchical P&L categories. Stop looking only at the lump sum and see where money comes in and goes out.
Shared expense splits fairly across departments.
Allocate a bill by percentage (sums to 100%), by fixed value (sums to the total) or line by line from the invoice, with at least two departments. Each area carries the share it actually consumed.
Build the split once, repeat it with a click.
Save the standard allocation and apply it on future bills without redoing the math each time. Recurring expenses stop eating your time.
Find out which service makes money and which drains the cash.
Cost per work order shows revenue, cost, margin and margin percentage for each order. You adjust the price or cut what is bleeding, with the number in hand.
Find the revenue that was slipping away.
Lists every completed work order that has not yet become an invoice. The work already delivered and forgotten to bill shows in plain sight, ready to invoice.
The hierarchical P&L category organizes the result.
Revenue and expense hang on a tree structure, so the P&L comes out grouped the way you read it, without rebuilding it every month.
Compare unit against unit.
Each branch or department shows what it spends and bills separately. The unit that drags the result shows up, instead of being diluted in the consolidated view.
Why pricing without cost is selling in the dark
Analysis prices usually come from an old table or whatever the competitor charges. Here's what changes once the work order's number joins the conversation.
The average hides the service that bleeds.
In the lump sum the department looks healthy. Broken out per work order, the analysis that sells well but burns more reagent and equipment time than it charges shows up, the one that was quietly dragging the margin down.
The price bump stops being a guess.
With each order's real margin percentage on the table, you raise the price of what's in the red or decline the money-losing service with a number, not with the fear of losing the client.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know what each analysis costs?
Cost per work order shows revenue, cost, margin and margin percentage for each order, because finance and operations live on the same base. You price by the order's number, not an average.
How do I allocate an expense that serves several departments?
You allocate the bill by percentage (sums to 100%), by fixed value (sums to the total) or line by line from the invoice, with at least two departments. Each area carries the share it actually consumed.
Do I have to redo the split every time?
No. You save the standard allocation and apply it on future bills with one click. The recurring expense stops eating finance's time.
Can I see revenue we delivered and forgot to bill?
Yes. The system lists every completed work order that hasn't become an invoice yet. The delivered, forgotten work shows in plain sight, ready to invoice.
Stop running your LIMS and ERP as two systems.
See the work order become an invoice, the P&L update and the electronic invoice go out, live, with your lab's routine. Book a demo and find out how much time and revenue you leave on the table running two systems.