IPMA 99 A Time For Change

"If you don't know what your actual costs are, there's no way to benchmark yourself against an outside vendor," remarked Joe Parker, of Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D., in Houston. Having such figures handy can also help you tremendously if you're ever faced with an outsourcing challenge.

Mike Renn, of Mellon Bank, in Philadelphia, is on a full chargeback system. He explained how he gathers data on all of his costs, including operating expenses and equipment run rates, then factors in productive hours, and uses this to create his rates.