1. PM 2
Costing in consortia and sub-
contracts
Chair: Fiona Sheil, Public Services Officer, NCVO
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Sustainable Funding Project
3. John O’Brien
Chief Executive, Community
Accounting Plus
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Sustainable Funding Project
4. Costing in consortia and sub-
contracts
London
28th November, 2012
John O’Brien
Community Accounting Plus
www.caplus.org.uk
5. Costs or price
In the old ‘voluntary sector’ we work out
the costs and ask people to cover them.
In the ‘commercial sector’ we set a price
and drive down costs to make profits.
In the new voluntary sector commissioning
world of consortia, we need to set a price
that covers our costs…. most of the time.
www.caplus.org.uk
6. Setting the price
“‘My other piece of advice, Copperfield,’
said Mr. Micawber, ‘you know. Annual
income twenty pounds, annual
expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen
and six, result happiness. Annual income
twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty
pounds nought and six, result misery.”
David Copperfield (1850)
www.caplus.org.uk
7. Setting the price
The price decision is complex – it can be
quite painful if you get it wrong, ask Mr
Micawber
3 types of pasta
Price confusion – size of the bag, gas bills,
special offers, 10% free.
www.caplus.org.uk
8. Setting the price – even more
complex in a consortium
How open should you be with your
partners?
Are your real costs relevant to others
Who decides who is invited to the party?
Often there is no neat link to the price per
unit – it’s not like selling pasta
www.caplus.org.uk
9. Is your price sustainable?
Know your direct costs and your
overheads (support, shared, core, indirect)
Think about fixed and variable costs
Don’t forget non-cash items –
redecoration every 5 years
Beware marginal costing and pricing
Be prepared for expansion and
contraction of services
www.caplus.org.uk
10. Today
Project A B C Total
Costs
direct 10 10 10 30
shared 4 4 4 12
14 14 14 42
Grants 14 14 14 42
Net result 0 0 0 0
www.caplus.org.uk
11. A new project
Project A B C D Total
Costs
direct 10 10 10 10 40
shared 4 4 4 12
14 14 14 10 52
Grants 14 14 14 10 52
Net result 0 0 0 0 0
www.caplus.org.uk
12. Project B comes to an end
Project A B C D Total
Costs
direct 10 0 10 10 30
shared 4 0 4 4 12
14 0 14 14 42
Grants 14 0 14 10 38
Net result 0 0 0 (4) (4)
www.caplus.org.uk
13. What should you have charged D?
D has only paid for ‘marginal’ cost
Total support costs were £12 before project D.
They didn’t go up.
The ‘average’ cost of project D could, and
should, have included an amount for support
costs.
At £4, with project D, the group wins. When B
closes, the group survives.
At £3, with project D, the group wins, but when B
closes, the group still dies.
www.caplus.org.uk
