Work Center Machine Rate Worksheet
Work center rates drive every estimate and every job cost report, yet many shops still carry rates entered at go-live. This worksheet recomputes the machine part of each rate from first principles, one row per machine.
| Work center | Type | Machine value | Life (years) | Productive hours per year | Maintenance per year | Avg kW running | Price per kWh | Depreciation per hour | Maintenance per hour | Power per hour | Machine rate per hour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$6 | $2 | $2 | $10 | |||||||||
$3 | $1 | $1 | $5 | |||||||||
$18 | $5 | $3 | $25 | |||||||||
$1 | $1 | $0 | $2 | |||||||||
$7 | $3 | $0 | $10 |
Machine rate excludes operator labor, overhead and tooling. Add those through your burden rates in the ERP. Use productive hours, not scheduled hours.
Compare these rates with your ERP
Optional: a side-by-side of computed and stored work center rates.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the worksheet
Replace the example rows with your own machines. For each one enter value, life, productive hours, yearly maintenance, running kW and your power price. Depreciation, maintenance and power per hour calculate automatically, and the rate column adds them. Export to Excel, then compare the result with the rates in your ERP work center table and note the gaps.
What the columns mean
Depreciation per hour is value divided by life and productive hours. Maintenance per hour is yearly upkeep over the same hours. Power is running kW times tariff. These are the machine-owned costs only. Operator wages and shop overhead sit in separate rate lines in most ERPs, so keeping them apart makes it clear which part of a rate changed.
- Use productive hours from actual labor tickets
- Update value when you rebuild or retrofit a machine
- Group similar machines if they share an ERP work center
Loading rates into the ERP
Work centers in JobBOSS, E2 Shop System, Global Shop Solutions and similar systems typically carry separate run, setup and burden rates. Enter the machine rate from this sheet in the machine cost field, then add labor and overhead separately. Review rates yearly, and whenever utilization changes by more than a few points, because the per-hour figure moves with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do two similar mills have different rates?
Value, age, hours and maintenance differ. A newer machine has higher depreciation per hour, while an older one may carry more maintenance. The worksheet makes both visible.
Should I use straight-line depreciation?
For rate setting, yes, it is simple and stable. Tax depreciation is lumpy and should not drive quoting rates.
Do I include interest cost?
This sheet leaves it out for simplicity. The CNC machine hourly rate calculator includes interest on the average investment if you want to add it.
How many hours should I use?
Use productive hours based on recent labor tickets. Using theoretical capacity makes rates look lower than they are.
Netray can compare these computed rates with the rates stored in your ERP and show which work centers are mispriced.
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