Costs and pricing
Part of Business licences costs and pricing: a budgeting method
Cost guide data and sources: the record to keep for every licensing fee you publish
Keep one source record for every figure in a licensing cost guide, with authority, page, date, basis and band, so a second person can reproduce each fee.
A cost guide is only as good as the record behind each figure. Keep one record per amount, with the authority, page, date, basis and dependency, so a second person can find the same number again. Without that record, a fee is a claim, not data.
What to take away
- Keep one record per figureauthority, page URL, access date, activity, transaction and basis.
- Record any dependency, such as category, duration or rateable value, and never pick a band without evidence.
- Give each transaction type its own row, and keep decision status out of the cost column.
- Label every value confirmed, estimated or unknown.
- Have a second person reproduce the chosen figure from the saved facts before publication.
The record behind each figure
Record the same fields for every amount in the guide. The table lists them with the reason each one earns its place. A figure that lacks its authority, page or access date is not ready to publish.
| Field | What to record | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|
| Activity and site | The activity and the actual site or trading-place postcode | The authority and the fee depend on both |
| Authority | The council or national body that sets the charge | Locally set and statutory charges behave differently |
| Page and access date | The URL and the day it was opened | A second person can find the same page |
| Transaction | Application, variation, transfer or continuing charge | The authority may price each one differently |
| Basis | Statutory scale, local charge or supplier quote | Shows how far the figure can be trusted |
| Dependency | Category, duration, rateable value or premises detail | Stops a band being chosen without evidence |
| Status | Confirmed, estimated or unknown | Keeps a guess from reading as a fact |
A budget template that records official sources can hold these fields as columns. Show the calculation and the update date beside each published result. If several authority pages are missing or categories cannot be reconciled, narrow the guide to the areas and activities actually evidenced.
Find the authority before you record anything
Start every record with the responsible authority. Use the GOV.UK council finder for locally administered permissions, entering the real site or trading-place postcode, then open the council's current application and fee page. Save the URL, access date, activity and basis of the amount.
Find the responsible council
- Enter actual site or trading-place postcode
- Open council application and fee page
- Save URL, access date, activity
- Record basis of the amount
- Note any fee dependency
- Do not select a band without evidence
If a fee depends on category, duration, rateable value or premises detail, record that dependency in its own field. A blank amount with a named dependency is more useful than a figure borrowed from a neighbouring council.
Give each transaction its own row
Initial applications, variations, transfers and continuing charges belong in different rows when the authority treats them differently. GOV.UK's premises licence page directs applicants in England and Wales to the local authority and describes the activities within the route.
Separate transaction types
Transaction
- Initial application
- Yes
- Variation
- Yes
- Transfer
- Yes
- Continuing charge
- Yes
- Acknowledgement
- No
- Payment
- No
Separate row?
- Initial application
- Own row
- Variation
- Own row
- Transfer
- Own row
- Continuing charge
- Own row
- Acknowledgement
- Not a grant
- Payment
- Not approval
An application acknowledgement is not a grant, and payment is not evidence of approval. Keep decision status out of the cost column, so that a reader never mistakes a paid fee for a permission.
A filled-in entry for a Manchester cafe
A cafe with a rateable value of £20,000 in Manchester applies to Manchester City Council for a premises licence to sell alcohol. The rateable value puts it in Band B, so the statutory application fee is £635 and the annual charge is £180.
Where a statutory scale exists, the range comes from the published bands. Premises licence fees in England and Wales are set by the Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005, and Manchester City Council applies the same scale as every other licensing authority in England and Wales.
Rateable value band
- Low
- Band A, up to £4,300
- Central
- Band B, £4,301 to £33,000
- High
- Band E, £125,001 and above
Application fee
- Low
- £100
- Central
- £635
- High
- £1,500
Annual charge
- Low
- £70
- Central
- £180
- High
- £350
These are statutory amounts rather than estimates, and the applicant's rateable value decides the band. The Manchester record names the council, the page, the band and the date, while preparation and operation costs stay in separate rows.
Local charges and costs beyond the fee
Local charges need their own basis. The street trading licence route sends applicants to the council for the proposed area and notes local conditions, timing and fees. A figure from one council cannot be presented as a national charge for street trading or any other permission.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' animal activity licensing process covers applications, inspections, decisions, renewals and enforcement for that English regime. It shows the stages a budget may need to consider, without supplying a universal cost model.
Preparation lines, such as staff time, plans, policies and notices, need their own rows and a named task or scoped quote behind them. Costs that arise later are covered under hidden licensing costs.
Check the record before publication
Reopen every fee page before publication. The amount, currency, transaction and effective date must still match the text, and a second person should be able to reproduce the figure from the saved record alone.
- Reopen each saved URL and confirm the amount, currency, transaction and effective date.
- Give a second person only the saved activity and premises facts.
- Ask them to find the band and the figure again from the authority's own page.
- Compare the results, and leave any difference unresolved until the authority or a qualified adviser clarifies it.
- If a fee changed during research, keep both versions with their dates and note when the newer amount took effect.
The same habit runs through the wider quality checklist, which treats route, facts and change control as separate checks. An operator who turns the guide into a spending plan can then follow the budgeting method, which keeps charges, preparation and uncertainty apart.
Mistakes that break a record
- Presenting one council's fee as a national charge.
- Selecting a rateable value band without evidence.
- Treating an acknowledgement or a payment as approval.
- Copying an equipment or notice cost from a blog instead of a dated quote.
- Overwriting an older fee when a newer amount appears, instead of keeping both with dates.
Common questions
What belongs in the source record for a licence fee?
The responsible authority, the page URL, the access date, the activity, the transaction and the basis of the amount. Add any dependency, such as a rateable value band, so another person can retrace how the figure was chosen.
Is a statutory fee recorded differently from a local charge?
Yes, in the basis field. A statutory fee, such as the premises licence scale under the Licensing Act 2003, is the same in every licensing authority, so two councils should quote the same amount for the same band. Locally set charges, including street trading consents and pavement licences, are not.
When should a figure stay unknown?
When the authority's page does not give it, or when the category cannot be reconciled with the saved facts. Leave the field open, mark it unknown and narrow the guide rather than filling the gap with an estimate from another source.
