baseline cost (Capital Projects domain)

A baseline cost is a preliminary estimate of what a particular action will cost. Baseline estimates include capital and expense costs. Baseline cost estimates for individual actions are rolled up into baseline estimates for projects.

Baseline cost estimates may be derived from company data or from web sites that provide standard pricing estimates. A baseline cost is defined prior to a project's approval. The baseline estimates are used while an approving manager is determining whether or not to approve a project request.