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Subject: [APG] True Cost of Copies (was: Re: client expenses)
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 23:17:33 EDT

The one item of depreciation that does have to be figured into copy costs is
for the printer itself.

If you have a $250 printer with an average life (with luck) of 50,000 copies,
then you have to allocate to each copy its share of the printer's
deptreciation--$250.00 cost divided by 50,000 copies = 0.5 cents per copy.

I'm not sure how to allocate depreciation on the computer that drives the
printer <g>, but it, too, is a real cost, although more problematic on a
per-copy basis. One way or another, the professional must recover costs to
avoid working at a loss, either through fees or cost reimbursements. When
direct costs can be reasonably ascertained, it seems fairer to me to recover
them as an expense from the client for whom the cost was incurred, rather
than spread the recovery among all clients in the form of higher fees.

Donn Devine, CG, CGI
2004 Kentmere Pkwy, Wilmington DE 19806-2014, USA
Phone 302/656-7233 FAX 302/656-0315

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGI, and Certified Genealogical Instructor are
service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under
license by board-certified associates after periodic competency evaluations,
and the board name is registered in the USP&TO.

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