Costs

Costs is for the spend that is not salary: software seats, equipment, subscriptions, bonuses, training. You record a cost once, then split it across the people who use it, so it shows up in their margin instead of sitting in a general overhead line. Anything you do not split stays as company overhead, where you can still see it.

What the Costs page shows

The page lists each cost with how it is priced and how much of it is allocated.

The columns cover the Cost and its Vendor, the Cadence (one-off, monthly, quarterly, or yearly) and Category, the Pricing mode, the Amount, the Total for the period, and the Allocations status, so you can see at a glance what is still sitting in overhead.

Adding a cost

Add a cost from + Add, then Add cost. Give it a label, pick a category and how often it recurs, and set the amount and currency.

The Pricing mode is the choice that matters most. It decides what the amount means and how the cost splits.

• Fixed total (split): the amount is one total you divide across people. Whatever you do not allocate is company overhead.
• Per person: the amount is a per-seat price. Each person you assign adds that price to the total, so the cost grows with headcount.

A cost also takes an effective date, an optional vendor, and, for a taxable cash cost like a bonus, an optional gross-up rule. Attach a payroll rule there and StaffMargin grosses the bonus up to its real employer cost, the same engine that handles salaries.

Allocating a cost

A cost on its own is just spend. Manage allocations is where you turn it into margin by assigning it to people.

For a fixed-total cost, you split it by a percentage of the remainder or a fixed amount per person. For a per-person cost, you set a quantity of seats per person. The view always shows two running totals: the amount allocated to people, and the company overhead left over. Allocations are effective-dated, so a seat someone gave up last quarter stops counting from the day it ended.

How costs reach margin

Every cost becomes a monthly run-rate first: a recurring cost spreads its yearly occurrences across twelve months, a one-off spreads across its own dates.

It then splits two ways. Allocating a cost to a person adds it to their loaded cost, alongside salary, and lowers their loaded margin. Anything left unallocated stays as company overhead and appears only in operating margin, never pushed onto an individual. The more you allocate, the less sits in overhead. See how margin is calculated.

Related

• How margin is calculated
• Quickstart
• Employees
• Payroll rules
• Your dashboard
• Multi-currency and historical rates

FAQ

What counts as a cost in StaffMargin?

Any non-salary spend: software seats, subscriptions, equipment, benefits, bonuses, travel, training. Salary is handled separately under salaries.

What is the difference between Fixed total and Per person pricing?

Fixed total is one amount you split across people, with the rest as overhead. Per person is a per-seat price, so each person you assign adds that price to the total and the cost grows with headcount.

What happens to a cost I do not allocate?

It stays as company overhead and appears only in operating margin on the dashboard. It is never pushed onto an individual. Allocate it to people and it moves onto their loaded margin instead.

How does a cost affect margin?

The share you allocate to a person joins their loaded cost next to salary and lowers their loaded margin. See how margin is calculated.

How are recurring and one-off costs counted?

Each cost is turned into a monthly run-rate. A recurring cost spreads its yearly occurrences across twelve months. A one-off spreads evenly across its own effective dates.

Can I gross up a taxable cost like a bonus?

Yes. Attach a gross-up rule (a payroll rule) to the cost, and StaffMargin grosses it up to its real employer cost, the same engine that handles salaries.