Product / Design Payroll
Compensation for product managers and designers for the period. Can be folded into R&D payroll at smaller companies; kept separate where product/design is a distinct cost center. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: finance.product_design_payroll
Type: Currency
Domain: Finance
Definition
Compensation for product managers and designers for the period. Can be folded into R&D payroll at smaller companies; kept separate where product/design is a distinct cost center.
Formula
Fully-loaded product + design personnel cost for the period.Why it matters
Separates product/design investment from pure engineering for a clearer R&D mix.
How to interpret
Read alongside R&D payroll; a rising ratio signals heavier product investment.
Related KPIs
finance.total_rndfinance.rd_payroll
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Recommended |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Finance
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/finance/product_design_payroll.json - All Finance KPIs:
/api/ontology/finance.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Payment / Transaction Costs
Direct payment-processing and transaction fees attributable to delivering revenue (card processing, gateway fees, marketplace take rates). A cost-of-revenue line where relevant; omitted or near-zero for invoice-only businesses. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
R&D Payroll
Fully-loaded compensation for engineering, data, QA, DevOps, and technical leadership for the period (salary, employer taxes, benefits). The largest R&D cost for most software companies. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).