Pricing

Pricing refers to the pricing of the services based on the cost of labor and resources (materials, equipment, subcontractors, etc.) required to perform the work. Service pricing is established in Aspire based on the following inputs:

1. Establish the cost for each item in the item catalog through the Items Search List screen.
2. Establish branch pricing for items in certain branches where necessary.
3. Establish markups and profit on the Pricing Settings screen that support Aspire’s price calculation based on cost.
4. For opportunities that will be invoiced based on time and materials (invoice type of T&M), pricing is specified on the services included in the estimate.

Multiple Overhead Recovery System (MORS)

Pricing in Aspire is driven by the Multiple Overhead Recovery System (MORS). MORS is based on the idea that prices charged for the services are based on cost plus appropriate markups and profit. Markups are intended to cover overhead.

In Aspire, there are five types of cost as represented by catalog item types: material, labor, rental equipment, subcontractor, and others. Using the MORS approach, one seeks to determine appropriate markups for each item type so that the company recovers cost and covers overhead. They also establish appropriate profit levels. The most essential item types on which to focus when setting up the pricing model are labor and materials. Aspire uses the following formula to calculate the price:

Price = (Labor Cost * Markup Percent) + Labor Cost +
(Material Cost * Markup Percent) + Material Cost +
(Subcontractor Cost * Markup Percent) + Subcontractor Cost +
Other and Rental Equipment cost +
Profit

Setting up Branch Pricing

Standard item pricing that companies pay third-party vendors for materials or services is established in the item catalog. Standard item pricing can be overridden by the branch for specific items. For example, override pricing can be established if one or more branches have access to a vendor providing certain materials at a reduced price compared to what is available to all other branches. The steps to establish this override pricing are:

1. Create a named Catalog Price List in the Admin Lists screen.
2. In the Item Catalog (from the Item Screen), go to each item and associate the named Catalog Price List with the item (Manage Price List and specify the overriding cost per allocation unit and purchase unit.
3. For each branch to which the pricing override applies, associate the branch with the Catalog Price List (Catalog List field on the Branch screen)