Cost Calculator
A self-sustainable business model and appropriate cost recovery enable biobank infrastructures* to maximize their use, visibility, and efficiency at the institutional level. Applied to biobanking, these infrastructures provide services to the biobank community—such as sample processing and storage—performed by trained personnel and supported by adapted equipment.
* Infrastructure: An organized facility that offers services to biobanks
Key benefits
- Supports financial sustainability
Helps biobank infrastructures determine the real costs of their services and implement appropriate cost-recovery mechanisms, enabling a more sustainable business model. - Improves cost transparency and reveals the full cost structure
The tool helps biobanks identify, justify, and communicate the true costs of their services by capturing all cost components, including often overlooked operational and infrastructure costs. - Promotes harmonized cost models across infrastructures
Uses a common costing approach, facilitating alignment of pricing and practices between biobanks at the national level.
Who is it for?
The SBP Cost Calculator is designed primarily for biobank infrastructures and their staff.
- Biobank managers and directors – to understand the full costs of their services and ensure financial sustainability.
- Financial or administrative staff within biobanks – to calculate accurate cost recovery for services such as sample processing, storage, and handling.
- Operational teams providing biobank services – to see how labor, equipment, and other resources contribute to the overall cost.
How to obtain the Cost Calculator?
We provides the Cost Calculator Excel file, the User Guide, and an Appendix as free downloadable documents on our Support Document page
FAQ
It provides a structured way to calculate the full costs of services, including hidden operational and infrastructure costs, enabling managers to communicate transparent, well-supported fees to researchers and institutional leadership.
Yes, it allows financial teams to include all cost components, such as overheads and shared infrastructure, and adapt the inputs to align with the biobank’s accounting standards.
Absolutely. By breaking down costs by service type and activity, the calculator highlights high-cost operations, supporting workflow optimization and efficient resource allocation.
Yes, by using a common methodology, the tool facilitates alignment of pricing and practices across infrastructures, promoting consistency and transparency within the biobank community.
Contact expert
Lou Ferraton-Walder
Project & Operations Officer — Human
lou.ferraton@swissbiobanking.ch