When overhead is embedded into license rates, agencies face under-recovery risk, budget volatility, and audit exposure. Traditional IT rate setting models weren’t built for today’s financial and compliance pressures.
Many organizations recover fixed costs through variable consumption. When usage drops:
Revenue Declines: Overhead recovery collapses
Budget Instability: Year-end positions become unpredictable
Compliance Risk: Inconsistent allocation increases audit exposure
Efficiency shouldn’t destabilize IT funding, but under legacy models, it does.
The Brightfin IT Rate Setting Guide outlines a practical structure that separates fixed from variable costs:
Fixed Monthly Base Services Fee: Stable overhead recovery using drivers like FTE or endpoints
Consumption-Based Charges: Transparent unit pricing tied to actual usage
Documented Allocation Methodology: Aligned to A-87/2 CFR Part 225 for federal compliance
Financial stability regardless of consumption variance, transparent, audit-ready cost allocation, and reduced agency disputes and budget shocks.
Build a rate model that reflects economic reality and protects IT funding.