SEAT Cost Summary Sheet

The SEAT Cost Summary Sheet (SCSS) is a standardized Excelbased tool used by many organisations to capture, calculate and report the total cost of operating a seat whether that seat is a physical workstation, a remoteaccess terminal or a virtual desktop. It brings together all cost components into a single, easytoread table, enabling finance, facilities and IT teams to make datadriven decisions about space planning, budgeting and optimisation.

Why Use a Cost Summary Sheet?

• Transparency: Every lineitem (hardware, software, utilities, support, etc.) is shown, reducing hidden costs.
• Comparability: Identical structures let you compare locations, departments or time periods.
• Decision Support: Clear cost breakdowns help justify moves to hybrid work or reallocation of space.
• Compliance: Demonstrates adherence to internal financial controls and external audit requirements.
• Scenario Planning: Builtin formulas enable whatif analysis for future projects.

Core Sections of the Sheet

1. Asset Identification

This section records the unique identifiers for each seat:

• Seat Number / Workstation ID
• Location (building, floor, zone)
• User Group (e.g., Sales, Engineering)
• Ownership type (companyowned, leased, BYOD)

2. Capital Expenditure (CapEx)

All oneoff purchases that are capitalised on the balance sheet:

3. Operational Expenditure (OpEx)

Recurring costs that occur over the life of the seat:

• Software licences (OS, productivity suite, specialised apps)
• Maintenance & support contracts
• Utility share (electricity, cooling)
• Cleaning & facilities services
• Internet & network bandwidth allocation

4. Depreciation & Amortisation

Standard straightline depreciation is applied to capital items over their useful life (typically 35 years for IT equipment, 710 years for furniture). The sheet automatically calculates monthly and annual depreciation charges, which are then added to OpEx for total cost of ownership (TCO).

5. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

By summing CapEx (annualised through depreciation) and OpEx, the sheet produces a clear TCO figure per seat. This can be displayed as:

• Monthly cost per seat
• Annual cost per seat
• Total cost for a department or location

How to Populate the Sheet

1. Gather Asset Data Use CMDB (Configuration Management Database) or asset inventory tools to pull hardware serial numbers, purchase dates and warranty information.
2. Assign Cost Values Link each asset to the appropriate cost line from procurement records or vendor price lists.
3. Enter Recurring Fees Acquire subscription invoices for software, support, and services and input the periodic amounts.
4. Define Depreciation Rules Set the useful life for each capital category in the sheets Settings tab.
5. Validate Calculations Verify that the formulas in the Summary tab correctly roll up the data.
6. Run Reports Use the builtin pivot tables to generate cost by location, department or cost type.

Common Use Cases

Space Optimisation

When an office is being downsized, the SCSS helps identify highcost seats (e.g., those with expensive ergonomic packages) that could be candidates for remote work or hotdesking.

Budget Planning

Finance teams use the yearly TCO totals to forecast capital refresh cycles and to allocate budgets for upcoming fiscal years.

HybridWork Policy Evaluation

By comparing the cost of a fully equipped onsite seat with a lighttouch remote setup (laptop + stipend), organisations can calculate savings from a hybrid model.

Vendor Negotiations

The detailed cost breakdown provides concrete data when negotiating volume discounts for hardware or software licences.

Best Practices

• Maintain a Single Source of Truth Keep the SCSS linked to the master asset register to avoid duplication.
• Review Quarterly Update utilities, support contracts and software licences at least every three months.
• Automate Data Pulls Use Power Query or API connectors to fetch cost data directly from ERP or procurement systems.
• Include Hidden Costs Account for ergonomics training, onboarding assistance, and endoflife disposal.
• Document Assumptions Record depreciation methods, useful lives, and any cost allocation rules in a separate Notes tab.

Sample Summary Table

Getting Started

For teams new to the SEAT Cost Summary Sheet, follow these short steps:

1. Download the latest template from the internal SharePoint library.
2. Open the Instructions tab it provides a walkthrough with screenshots.
3. Enter your organisations cost rates (e.g., electricity $0.12/kWh, support contract $150 per seat per year).
4. Populate the Asset List tab using a CSV export from your CMDB.
5. Run the Refresh macro to calculate depreciation and totals.
6. Export the Summary tab to PDF for stakeholder review.

Further Resources

• ITIL Foundation Cost Management Guidance
• GSA Office Workspace Standards
• Software Cost Management Tools Comparison
• Cisco Energy Efficiency for Data Centers

With a wellmaintained SEAT Cost Summary Sheet, organisations gain a clear, actionable view of the true cost of every workspace, enabling smarter decisions that align financial stewardship with employee productivity.