Laboratory cost analysis: a practical approach

This article presents a practical method for performing a cost analysis for the smaller laboratory for which computerized methods may be unavailable or unappealing. An overview of cost accounting as it fits into planning functions is presented, and three common methods for performing such analyses and appropriate applications are described. The concept of breakeven analysis and its uses are presented. Finally, a worksheet approach to cost analysis is presented, including examples that demonstrate proper use. The worksheets, although not universally applicable without modifications, use a stepwise process to achieve a simplistic but useful cost analysis. Readers are encouraged to adapt these worksheets to their own operations.