Unit Cost and Rate Analysis.

Work out the true, fully loaded cost of delivering one unit and compare it to the rate, so you decide whether the contract pays for itself before you build an operation around it.

The second step of understanding the contract. It goes deeper than the Cost-Versus-Rate Reality Check in the diagnostic.

Part A. True cost of one unit

Direct staff time to deliver: $

Time to document it: $

Supervision and oversight: $

Share of overhead: $

Total true cost per unit: $

Part B. Compare to the rate

The rate per unit: $

Net per unit (rate minus true cost): $

Does the contract pay for itself, and if not, by how much does it lose per unit and across expected volume?

Part C. The decision, if it loses

A below-cost contract is structural, not a billing fix. Options and routes: renegotiate the rate; consciously and funded, subsidize the work if the mission demands it (a board decision); reconsider whether this work belongs here, via mission clarity and strategic direction; and take the numbers to financial health and management. Decision

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