Introduction
The IT Department (DSI), the ultimate support function of the company, often finds itself at a crossroads. Perceived as a critical cost center, its expenses are often opaque, complex, and a source of budgetary tensions.
In this context, a central problem emerges: « How to build and optimize IT service recharging processes to improve the transparency of IT spending? »
This article, the result of an analysis of concrete feedback from large companies, proposes a framework for reflection and key convictions to structure a model that is at once readable, robust, and pragmatic, and thus transform recharging into a strategic alignment lever.
The Context: Why has IT recharging become a strategic imperative?
IT recharging is no longer a simple accounting process, but an operational necessity to address a triple observation:
- An essential, but invisible role: The DSI is the cornerstone of the company, managing infrastructure, information systems, data security, and all collaborative tools. It supports all departments, but its action is often perceived as a cost center.
- A difficult visibility of expenses: Shared and pooled IT services lead to a lack of knowledge of costs for consuming entities, which generates budgetary tensions and a negative perception of the DSI.
- Costs that are both complex and shared: Associated expenses (licenses, energy, maintenance) are by nature difficult to attribute fairly and precisely, creating a challenge in cost allocation.
It is in this context that IT Financial Management (ITFM) intervenes, an approach aimed at controlling IT costs, making them visible, understandable, and manageable over time. Recharging is one of the main levers of ITFM. It makes it possible to clarify costs and ensure total transparency.
The Approach: The 5 pillars for a transparent and effective recharging model
To respond to the challenges on the ground, the development of a recharging model must be based on a structured approach. The analysis of best practices highlights five key pillars:
- Anticipate recharging: It is necessary to integrate the issue of recharging from the project study phase.
- Identify fair and understandable allocation keys: Companies can combine global allocation keys (e.g., number of users) with more precise keys (e.g., actual consumption, CMDB) to find a balance between simplicity and precision.
- Improve the legibility of recharged costs: The use of clear and educational materials (detailed cost sheets, shared dashboards) is a way to facilitate understanding.
- Develop a culture of budgetary transparency: It is important to communicate regularly about the models and planned evolutions, explaining the logic behind the numbers.
- Structure tools and processes: The automation of data collection (consumption, users) and the facilitation of reporting are essential to gain in reliability and efficiency.
Feedback: The key convictions for building a robust model
The analysis of concrete feedback, conducted with stakeholders from large companies, confirms the relevance of these pillars, while highlighting key convictions for their implementation:
- Transparency & Legibility: a pedagogical challenge. Transparency is essential, but without clarity, it quickly turns into opacity and hinders acceptance. True transparency lies not only in the abundance of numbers, but in the clarity of the origin and logic of the costs.
- Accountability & Tooling: two inseparable concepts. The goal of making consuming entities pay to encourage them to optimize their usage (for example, software licenses within a large banking group) cannot be achieved without a clear understanding of the model and simple tools to facilitate monitoring and operational control.
- Governance: the pillar of acceptance. The absence of clear governance and formalized validation or arbitration processes is a major source of tension. Alignment between IT, finance, and business, supported by dedicated bodies, is essential.
- Excel, a temporary solution with structural limits. Despite its flexibility, Excel remains the main recharging tool for many organizations, but its flaws (frequent errors, low security, lack of traceability) make it a major obstacle to robustness and scalability. To overcome these limitations, companies can turn to more equipped and specialized solutions, such as SAP (an ERP system), ServiceNow (an IT management platform), Magnitude (for cost tracking), or even dedicated tools like Valoptia (specialized in Activity-Based Costing). These solutions, although sometimes considered more rigid, enable better automation, traceability, and reliability of recharging processes.
- Pragmatism > Exhaustiveness: the quest for « perfect fairness » is a trap. Models that are too ambitious or too precise are difficult to maintain and explain. A model based on a very fine breakdown into « charge bricks » illustrates how precision can lead to a « snowball effect » when consumption forecasts are incorrect, making the model unstable.
- Anticipation: recharging is built from the project phase. Integrating the thinking on recharging from the project study phase (as practiced by an entity of a large banking group) improves the legibility of costs upstream and makes the dialogue between IT and business more fluid.
Conclusion: Summary and Recommendations for a successful recharging
In summary, IT recharging is an indispensable strategic lever for controlling IT spending and strengthening alignment between the IT, finance, and business functions.
To build a model that is at once readable, robust, and pragmatic, the following recommendations can be considered:
- Strengthen governance: Formalize roles, set up transversal steering committees, and clarify responsibilities between IT, finance, and business.
- Invest in adapted tools: Gradually move from Excel to more equipped solutions, while ensuring their adaptability and adoption by teams.
- Educate consuming entities: Propose educational materials, train users on the logic of the model, and organize sharing workshops.
- Adopt a continuous approach: Measure and iterate, monitor the gaps between forecast and consumption, and regularly revise keys and models to maintain their relevance.
The stakes are high: without a clear and accepted model, recharging can become a source of tension, budgetary misunderstanding, or even disengagement. Conversely, a well-built model is a strategic management tool that allows the company to better control its IT costs, encourage responsible behavior, and strengthen trust between the various stakeholders.
However, transforming recharging into a strategic lever takes time; it requires sustained effort, cross-functional collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Bibliography
- Bailey, T. (2025, 8 avril). The Future of IT Cost Transparency – What to Expect in 2025 – MagicOrange. MagicOrange. https://www.magicorange.com/expert-opinions/the-future-of-it-cost-transparency-what-to-expect-in-2025/
- Schuler, M (2025, Juillet) Deck d’Interview – Synthèse des interviews et analyse. Deck_Interview.docx
- Schuler, M (2025, Juillet) Note de Cadrage – Cadrage de la problématique – Comment construire et optimiser les processus de refacturation des services IT afin d’améliorer la transparence de la dépense IT ? NoteDeCadrage_M.Schuler_V1.pptx
- Schuler, M (2025, Juillet) Restitution Intermédiaire / Finale – Présentation du deck d’interview, des convictions clés et bilan général. ResitutionIntermediaire_M.Schuler.pptx
- Convictions en matière de modèles de coûts et de refacturation ? CAGIP – PointDeVue – Optimisation modèle BPE – v0.5.pptx
