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IT support Early Payment Discount Cost: worked example

Compare a payment discount with the time it accelerates receipt.

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IT support / support ticket economics
Answer

With the illustrative inputs below, the result is 37.2449 % annualized.

Try this with your own numbers

Formula and worked example

Simple annualized discount cost = discount / (1 − discount) × 365 / days accelerated × 100

Example figures
InputExample
Discount offered2 %
Discount payment day10 days
Normal payment day30 days
Calculated result37.2449 % annualized

Choose reliable inputs

Include software licences, delivery time, revisions and ongoing support when costing a project. For this it support calculation, use project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes and a consistent definition of one support ticket.

  • Technician time: include the portion belonging to this support ticket or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Software: include the portion belonging to this support ticket or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Escalation work: include the portion belonging to this support ticket or reporting period, and record where the value came from.

Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.

Why can a small invoice discount have a high annualized cost?

It buys only a short acceleration in cash receipt. Annualizing that short interval can produce a large percentage.

Simple annualization assumes repeatable terms and is not an APR or loan quote.

Compare a different assumption

What if this input changes?

If discount offered rises by 10%, this example changes by 3.8083 % annualized. This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.

Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.

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