The laboratory manager and section supervisors are responsible for careful budget preparation and monitoring. The budget is a plan for coordinating the use of resources. Most laboratories have both an operating budget (OB) and a capital budget (CB). The OB includes both income (if available) and expenses associated with the operation. The income is categorized by the source of activity (i.e., outpatient and outreach fee for service activity and research revenue). The CB is for significant investments and often is resourced separately from the OB. However, most organizations include a cost component in the OB categorized as depreciation. It is a fixed, direct cost in the operating budget.
The operating budget is a plan for coordinating expenses and income (if there is income). It is an important tool to identify significant changes in expenses throughout the budget period so adjustments can be made. In the case of managed care, expenses versus institutional benchmarks for patient care are the institution's primary goals to be monitored. To reach these benchmarks, the laboratory needs careful planning and monitoring.
There are four phases of the budget process:
- Phase I - Development of annual budget goals
- Phase II - Identifying budget assumptions
- Phase III - Forecasting of annual expenses
- Phase IV - Monitoring of expenses and making appropriate adjustments regularly
