Member Costs

Member costs are the foundation of accurate project profitability tracking in Supervisible. By setting hourly rates for your team members, you can calculate real project costs, understand margins, and make informed business decisions.

Why Member Costs Matter

Without member costs configured, Supervisible cannot calculate:

• Project Profit: The actual profit (revenue minus costs) for each project
• Project Margins: The percentage profit on your projects
• Team Costs: How much you're spending on labor per project
• Cost vs. Revenue: Whether projects are profitable or losing money

When member costs are missing, you'll see a ? indicator in profit and cost columns throughout the platform, prompting you to add this information.

Setting Up Member Costs

Step 1: Navigate to Member Settings

1. Go to Settings → Members
2. Find the Cost column in the members table
3. This column shows the current hourly rate for each member

Step 2: Add Hourly Rates

For each team member, enter their hourly cost to your organization:

1. Click on the cost field for a member
2. Enter their hourly rate (e.g., 75 for $75/hour)
3. The system auto-saves changes

What to Include in Hourly Rate

The hourly rate should represent the total cost to your organization, including:

• Base salary (converted to hourly)
• Benefits and insurance
• Payroll taxes
• Overhead allocation (office space, equipment, software)
• Administrative costs

Example Calculation:

Annual Salary: $80,000
Benefits/Taxes: $20,000
Overhead (30%): $30,000
─────────────────────
Total Annual Cost: $130,000

Billable Hours/Year: 1,800 hours
Hourly Cost: $130,000 ÷ 1,800 = $72.22/hour

Step 3: Historical Rate Tracking

Member costs can change over time (raises, promotions, cost adjustments). Supervisible tracks:

• Current Rate: The active hourly rate for new assignments
• Historical Rates: Previous rates used for past project calculations
• Effective Dates: When each rate was active

This ensures historical project costs remain accurate while using current rates for new work.

How Member Costs Are Used

Project Cost Calculation

When you assign a member to a project, Supervisible calculates the cost:

Project Cost = Sum of (Hours × Member Hourly Rate)

For example:

• Designer (3 hours × $75/hr) = $225
• Developer (8 hours × $100/hr) = $800
• Project Manager (2 hours × $90/hr) = $180
• Total Project Cost = $1,205

Profit & Margin Calculation

With both project value and costs configured:

Profit = Project Value - Project Cost
Margin % = (Profit ÷ Project Value) × 100

Example:

• Project Value: $2,000
• Project Cost: $1,205
• Profit: $795
• Margin: 39.75%

Where Costs Appear

Member costs are displayed throughout Supervisible:

1. Projects Table:

   • Profit column shows project profit and margin percentage
   • Color-coded indicators show margin health (green = healthy, amber = at-risk, red = unhealthy)

2. Project Details:

   • Cost column next to each team member
   • Shows total member cost across all assignments
   • Actual vs. estimated costs when time is tracked

3. Project Header:

   • Total project cost
   • Estimated vs. actual cost comparison
   • Missing rate warnings

Best Practices

Regular Updates

• Review Quarterly: Update member costs every 3-4 months
• After Raises: Update immediately when salaries change
• New Hires: Set costs during onboarding
• Promotions: Adjust rates when roles change

Rate Accuracy

• Be Realistic: Include all true costs, not just salary
• Consistent Method: Use the same calculation approach for all members
• Document Formula: Keep your calculation method documented
• Regional Differences: Account for different costs in different locations

Privacy Considerations

Member costs are only visible to:

• Organization Owners
• Organization Admins
• Users with profitability feature access

Regular team members cannot see hourly rates or cost information, maintaining privacy while enabling accurate financial tracking.

Missing Rates Warning

When members don't have hourly rates configured:

• A ? indicator appears in cost and profit columns
• Hovering shows: "Member costs are missing"
• Links provided to:
  • Add member costs (Settings → Members)
  • Learn more (this documentation)

This ensures you're always aware when financial data may be incomplete.

Common Questions

Do members see their own hourly rate?

No. Member costs are administrative data only visible to owners, admins, and users with profitability access. Team members cannot see their own or others' rates.

What if I don't track actual hours?

You can still use estimated hours for cost calculations. Supervisible will use:

• Estimated hours × member rate = estimated cost
• Without actual hours, you'll see estimated costs only

Can I set different rates for different projects?

Currently, each member has one active hourly rate used across all projects. The rate can change over time, but each assignment uses the rate that was active when it was created.

What about contractors or external resources?

Add contractors as members and set their hourly rate to match their billing rate or cost to your organization. This ensures accurate cost tracking across all project resources.

How do I handle part-time or fractional employees?

Use their hourly rate the same as full-time employees. The system calculates costs based on actual hours assigned, so part-time status is automatically reflected in lower total costs.

Troubleshooting

Missing Cost Data

Problem: Seeing ? in profit/cost columns

Solution:

1. Go to Settings → Members
2. Add hourly rates for all active team members
3. Refresh the project pages to see updated costs

Inaccurate Profitability

Problem: Project margins don't match expectations

Solution:

1. Verify member hourly rates include all costs (not just salary)
2. Check that project values are set correctly
3. Ensure all team member assignments are recorded
4. Review historical rate changes that might affect older projects

Historical Projects Show Wrong Costs

Problem: Old project costs don't match what they were

Solution: Supervisible uses the member rate that was active at the time of each assignment. If rates have changed, historical costs remain accurate based on the rates at that time.

Related Features

• Profitability: Configure agency rate thresholds and access control
• Members: Manage team members and their settings
• Workload: Assign members to projects and track utilization