Understanding Analysis Costs

If your lab bills customers for its services, you can maintain analysis costs (i.e. prices) within LIMS and generate sample invoices using one of the example Excel invoice templates. Understanding when and how analysis costs are assigned to a sample is important to properly configure LIMS. The final cost assigned to an individual sample analysis may originate in the configuration data for the customer, project, requirement, or analysis and it may be altered by the sample’s status as the following diagram illustrates.

Let’s look at each of the labeled paths in the diagram above to understand how costs are assigned to a sample. Note that the diagram’s paths also define the order of precedence. For example, a customer-specific analysis cost will be assigned bypassing a project, requirement, or analysis configured cost. In all screens where costs are configured, separate options exist to specify the cost when the analysis is performed in-house or when the analysis is sent out to a contract lab.

1. Customer. A customer’s assigned analysis costs take precedence over any other configured costs. Use the Costs tab of the Customers setup screen to assign specific costs for any analysis for a customer. If a sample has an associated customer, LIMS will first check if any of the sample’s analyses have a cost defined for the sample’s customer when it assigns a sample’s analysis costs. Use the Default Analysis Cost Multiplier field to apply discounts or premiums to all analysis costs not obtained from the customer’s costs. That is, the multiplier is applied to any sample costs obtained from the project, requirement, or analysis.
2. Project. Use the Costs tab of the Projects setup screen to assign a specific cost for any of the project’s analyses thereby overriding the analysis’ default cost. If a sample analysis does not have either a customer or a customer-specific analysis cost, LIMS will check the sample’s project for a cost. This process occurs in two phases. First, if an analysis cost exists in the sample’s project for the sample’s location this location-specific analysis cost is assigned. Otherwise, if a default analysis (i.e. a project analysis with no location) cost exists within the sample’s project, that cost is assigned. In either case, if the sample’s customer has a Default Analysis Cost Multiplier it is multiplied by the project’s analysis cost and the result is assigned.
3. Requirement. Use the Costs tab of the Requirements setup screen to assign a specific cost for any of the requirement’s analyses thereby overriding the analysis’ default cost. If a sample analysis does not have a customer- or project-specific analysis cost and the analysis was added to the sample via a requirement, LIMS will assign the requirement’s analysis cost if specified. If the sample’s customer has a Default Analysis Cost Multiplier it is multiplied by the requirement’s analysis cost and the result is assigned. Consider using a requirement when you charge a different price for a group of analyses than the sum of the individual analyses’ default costs. Create and add an internal-data auto-complete analyte to the requirement with a cost for the entire group then set the cost of the requirement’s remaining analyses to zero. Note that this technique can also be used with projects.
4. Analysis. Use the Analyses setup screen to define a default cost for any analysis. If a sample analysis does not have either a customer-, project-, or requirement-specific cost, LIMS assigns the analysis’ default cost. If the sample’s customer has a Default Analysis Cost Multiplier it is multiplied by the analysis’ default cost and the result is assigned.
5. Status. Finally, LIMS will multiply the cost obtained from any of the steps above by a multiplier defined for the sample’s status and assign the result. Use the Sample Statuses setup screen to adjust costs for your own service types or turnaround times. For example, if you charge a 50% premium for a 48-hour turnaround, create a “48-Hour” status with an analysis cost multiplier of 1.5.

The steps above describe how costs are assigned to each analysis in a sample. This process can occur either when the sample is logged, completed, or both. Use the options on the Miscellaneous tab of the System Configuration screen to specify when costs are assigned. Assign costs at login, for example, if you need to generate invoices before samples are completed.

Costs assigned to a sample remain permanently with the sample so you can change configured costs at any time for future samples. Use the Edit Sample Costs screen on the Admin menu to modify any costs that may have been incorrect when they were applied to the sample. Use caution with the Edit Sample Costs screen if you have enabled assigning costs both at login and completion. In this case, if you edit an incomplete sample’s costs after login any changes will be lost when costs are reassigned after the sample is completed.

Finally, use the Edit Analysis Costs screen on the Admin menu as an alternate way to view and edit the analysis default costs (from the Analyses setup screen) and the customer-, project-, or requirement-specific costs from the Costs tab on their setup screens.

LIMS offers considerable flexibility to configure sample analysis costs. Understand when and how costs are assigned and you can put this valuable feature to work when billing your clients.