TBM Framework & Taxonomy

in the latest Excel Template (v4_0_FINAL) the descriptions in the Cost Pool Taxonomy are not 100% clear for me

1)Software - Expenses: "Software expense of non-capitalized software purchases."

2)Software - Licensing: "Software license, support and maintenance expenditures for the use of non-SaaS provided software. SaaS subscriptions belong under Outside Services > Cloud Service Providers"

3)Software - Maintenance & Support:  "Software maintenance and support expenditures."

• For me the yellow marked part in SW-licensing (2) should be removed because this is actually a seperate Cost Sub-Pool Software . Maintenace & Support (3). This yellow part is also not listed in the TBM_Taxonomx_V4_0.pdf
• For me it is also not clear what is the difference between the sub pool SW Expense and SW Licensing, for me both are SW license expenditures, what is the intention of this split?

Happy if someone can clarify

Thanks Andreas

in the latest Excel Template (v4_0_FINAL) the descriptions in the Cost Pool Taxonomy are not 100% clear for me

1)Software - Expenses: "Software expense of non-capitalized software purchases."

2)Software - Licensing: "Software license, support and maintenance expenditures for the use of non-SaaS provided software. SaaS subscriptions belong under Outside Services > Cloud Service Providers"

3)Software - Maintenance & Support:  "Software maintenance and support expenditures."

• For me the yellow marked part in SW-licensing (2) should be removed because this is actually a seperate Cost Sub-Pool Software . Maintenace & Support (3). This yellow part is also not listed in the TBM_Taxonomx_V4_0.pdf
• For me it is also not clear what is the difference between the sub pool SW Expense and SW Licensing, for me both are SW license expenditures, what is the intention of this split?

Happy if someone can clarify

Thanks Andreas

It seems that you're looking for clarity on the distinctions within the Technology Business Management (TBM) taxonomy, specifically regarding the software-related cost sub-pools in the Excel template (v4_0_FINAL).

Software - Expenses: This category is for costs associated with software purchases that are not capitalized. In simple terms, this is the cost of software that you pay for but does not count as an asset on your company's balance sheet. Typically, these are smaller, one-time purchases or software that is not considered a long-term investment.

Software - Licensing: This is where things get a little confusing because it overlaps with Software - Maintenance & Support. Originally, this category was for costs associated with software licenses. This includes the fees you pay to use software that is not provided as a Software as a Service (SaaS). Ideally, it should cover only the licensing portion - the right to use the software. However, the inclusion of "support and maintenance" in the description seems to create a redundancy with the next category.

Software - Maintenance and Support: This category is specifically for costs associated with the ongoing maintenance and support of the software. This typically includes services such as technical support, updates, and upgrades to the software.

Your observation about the overlap in descriptions between the Licensing and Maintenance & Support categories is astute. Ideally, "support and maintenance expenses" should not be included in the Licensing category to avoid this confusion. The purpose of splitting these categories is to provide a more accurate view of software-related expenses:

Licensing should be only the cost of obtaining the right to use the software.
Maintenance and support should be the ongoing cost of keeping the software running and up to date.
The intent behind this split in the TBM taxonomy is to provide a clear, granular view of where money is being spent in IT. This granularity helps you make informed decisions about IT spending and management. If the descriptions in the template do not match the official TBM taxonomy documentation, it may be a good idea to follow the official taxonomy for accuracy and to avoid confusion.

in the latest Excel Template (v4_0_FINAL) the descriptions in the Cost Pool Taxonomy are not 100% clear for me

1)Software - Expenses: "Software expense of non-capitalized software purchases."

2)Software - Licensing: "Software license, support and maintenance expenditures for the use of non-SaaS provided software. SaaS subscriptions belong under Outside Services > Cloud Service Providers"

3)Software - Maintenance & Support:  "Software maintenance and support expenditures."

• For me the yellow marked part in SW-licensing (2) should be removed because this is actually a seperate Cost Sub-Pool Software . Maintenace & Support (3). This yellow part is also not listed in the TBM_Taxonomx_V4_0.pdf
• For me it is also not clear what is the difference between the sub pool SW Expense and SW Licensing, for me both are SW license expenditures, what is the intention of this split?

Happy if someone can clarify

Thanks Andreas

in the latest Excel Template (v4_0_FINAL) the descriptions in the Cost Pool Taxonomy are not 100% clear for me

1)Software - Expenses: "Software expense of non-capitalized software purchases."

2)Software - Licensing: "Software license, support and maintenance expenditures for the use of non-SaaS provided software. SaaS subscriptions belong under Outside Services > Cloud Service Providers"

3)Software - Maintenance & Support:  "Software maintenance and support expenditures."

• For me the yellow marked part in SW-licensing (2) should be removed because this is actually a seperate Cost Sub-Pool Software . Maintenace & Support (3). This yellow part is also not listed in the TBM_Taxonomx_V4_0.pdf
• For me it is also not clear what is the difference between the sub pool SW Expense and SW Licensing, for me both are SW license expenditures, what is the intention of this split?

Happy if someone can clarify

Thanks Andreas

We have one more category where we struggle a bit. We have furniture which we have on our IT cost centers and so this would be „depreciation & amortization" but I would assign this more likely under  „internal labor" where there is no depreciation & amortization category. The other option is „facilities and power" but I'm not sure if normal office buildings or furniture for IT employees is correct here - I tend to believe „facilities and power" is dedicated for data center and not for the office?

in the latest Excel Template (v4_0_FINAL) the descriptions in the Cost Pool Taxonomy are not 100% clear for me

1)Software - Expenses: "Software expense of non-capitalized software purchases."

2)Software - Licensing: "Software license, support and maintenance expenditures for the use of non-SaaS provided software. SaaS subscriptions belong under Outside Services > Cloud Service Providers"

3)Software - Maintenance & Support:  "Software maintenance and support expenditures."

• For me the yellow marked part in SW-licensing (2) should be removed because this is actually a seperate Cost Sub-Pool Software . Maintenace & Support (3). This yellow part is also not listed in the TBM_Taxonomx_V4_0.pdf
• For me it is also not clear what is the difference between the sub pool SW Expense and SW Licensing, for me both are SW license expenditures, what is the intention of this split?

Happy if someone can clarify

Thanks Andreas