Hi Bunny! Usually charges are based on the expenses associated with the instrument, i.e. service contracts, consumables, purchase price etc. It is also dependent on whether your facility is subsidized, for example, if the instrument was purchased through a shared instrument grant or a cancer center grant, then of course you would not include the cost of the instrument in your expenses. If the instrument is intended to be run by core facility personnel then salary becomes an expense unless this too is subsidized, then it that case only the portion which is not subsidized is the expense. Once you have calculated the annual expenses you would divide that over the number of hours it will be available for use (maximum billable time). It is also important to assess what the average charge is at other facilities to make sure you are in competitive range, especially if there are other facilities locally to which you could lose your business. It is rare that a facility will recoup 100% of its expenses (although it has been done!) but you should be able to set your pricing so as to minimize them as much as possible. The best way to reduce overhead is to maximize your billable time. Marketing efforts are invaluable in this regard. Make sure people are aware of the instruments capabilities and the type of experiments and applications that it can be used for, hold a seminar or open house to introduce people to it, offer first time trial discounts etc. If expenses are distributed over maximum available time on the instrument, then the more hours you can bill on the instrument the closer you will get to your break even point. It has been my experience that users tend to stick with what they know well and are comfortable with and will live with the limitations rather than taking the time to learn something new. Sometimes a little hand holding and getting people comfortable with the new technology can go a long way. Just my two cents! Joanne ----- Original Message ----- From: "BAC" <bunny@cotleur.com> To: cyto-inbox Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 10:38 PM Subject: multi-laser vs single laser charges > > We've recently added an LSR to our Flow stable, and I have a questions > about billing. Would you charge the same or more for samples run on an > LSR vs a Facscan? > (I'm leaning towards more since the additional laser life,,,,,,,,) > Thanks! >
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