Contrary to market hype, E-Commerce (EC) technology is expensive plus it requires highly skilled/highly paid workers to operate it. The cost dynamics of an EC project will have to be factored into any budget, however, there is little empirical evidence of what these costs might be. This research-in-progress aims to identify the total costs involved in becoming an 'e-business' for a large indigenous Irish corporation. This paper represents the first phase of the study. The objective of this phase is to develop an EC cost taxonomy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.