Uniprint Job Costing Overview

Job Costing Overview

Costing is the process of working out how much a print or copy job is worth, based on factors like the number of pages in the job and special job attributes. This is a separate process from charging, which involves working out where to extract this cost from and then doing so, and which may include other factors like Discount Rate Schedules.

Pharos determines the cost of print or copy jobs by:

1. Standard Costing - The default method of costing (and charging for) print jobs. Under Standard costing, two costs are defined: an one-time cost per job, and a cost per page. Standard costing cannot be used for copy jobs.

2. Job Cost Methods - A more sophisticated method of costing (and charging for) jobs. Different variables are used to determine the cost of a print/copy job:

A cost per print job, which can vary according to the job's attributes

A cost per page, which can vary according to the job's paper size and attributes

A cost per inch, for devices such as plotters that spool paper continuously

Job Cost Methods calculate job costs by:

Attribute Costing - This type of costing calculates the cost of a job based on the number of pages in the job and any special attributes such as Color, Staple or Duplex (double-sided) printing. A one off per job cost can also be charged. Separate Per Job Costs and Per Page Costs are defined for the various page sizes and attributes that you want to charge for. Using Attribute Costing, the cost of a job is calculated as follows:

Base Job Cost + Job Attribute Costs + (Per Page Cost × number of pages)

Area Costing - This type of costing calculates the cost of a job based on the area of paper printed on (this is useful for devices such as plotters where paper feeds through continuously). A one off per job cost can also be charged. Using Area Costing, the cost of a job is calculated as follows:

Base Job Cost + (Per Inch Cost × number of inches printed)