Almost every person dreams of quitting his "uncle's job" and starting his own business, which will bring pleasure and a stable income. However, in order to become an aspiring entrepreneur, you will need to create a business plan containing a financial model of the future enterprise. Only this approach to business development will allow you to find out whether the investment in starting your own business can pay off. In this article, we propose to learn about what fixed and variable costs are and how they affect the profit of an enterprise.
Variable and fixed costs are the two main types of costs.The importance of drawing up a financial model
Have you ever wondered why you need to write a business plan containing a financial model before starting your own business. Creating a business plan allows a novice entrepreneur to obtain information about the expected revenue of the enterprise, as well as determine fixed and variable costs. All these measures are aimed at choosing a development strategy financial policy future business.
The commercial component is one of the basic foundations successful enterprise. Economic theory says that finances are a blessing, which should bring a new blessing. It is this theory that should be guided in the early stages of entrepreneurial activity. At the heart of every enterprise is the rule that profit is the value of paramount importance. Otherwise, your entire business model will turn into patronage.
After we have taken as a rule the theory that working at a loss is unacceptable, we should move on to the financial model itself. The profit of the enterprise is the difference between income and production costs. The latter are divided into two groups: variables and fixed costs organizations. In a situation where the level of expenses exceeds current income, the company is considered unprofitable.
The main task of entrepreneurial activity is to extract the maximum benefit, subject to the minimum use of financial resources.
Based on this, we can conclude that in order to increase income, it is necessary to sell as many finished products as possible. However, there is another method of profit, which is to reduce production costs. It is quite difficult to understand this scheme, since the cost optimization process has many different nuances. It is important to mention that such economic terms as "cost level", "cost item" and "production cost" are synonymous. Let's look at all types of existing production costs.
Varieties of expenses
All expenses of the organization are divided into two groups: variable and fixed costs. This division helps to systematize the budgeting process, and also helps in planning a business development strategy.
Fixed costs are expenses that are not related to the production capacity of the enterprise.. This means that this amount does not depend on how much product will be manufactured.
Variable costs are costs that change in proportion to changes in the volume of production.
Variable costs include conditionally fixed costs associated with entrepreneurial activity. Such expenses can change their properties and value, depending on the impact of internal and external economic factors.
What are the different types of expenses?
The salary of members of the administration of the enterprise can be considered among the fixed costs, but only in the situation when these employees receive payments regardless of financial condition organizations. It is important to note that in foreign countries managers earn income from their organizational skills by expanding their customer base and exploring new market areas. On the territory of Russia, the situation is completely different. Most department heads receive high salaries that are not tied to their performance.
This approach to the organization of the production process leads to a loss of incentive to achieve better results. This may explain the low productivity labor indicators many commercial establishments because the desire to learn new technological processes at the top of the company is simply missing.
Speaking about what fixed costs are, it should be mentioned that this article includes rent.. Let's imagine private company, which does not have its own real estate and is forced to rent a small room. In this situation, the administration of the company must monthly transfer a certain amount to the landlord. This situation is considered standard, since it is quite difficult to recoup the purchase of real estate. Some small and middle class entities will need at least five years to return the invested capital.
It is this factor that explains the fact that many entrepreneurs prefer to conclude an agreement on the lease of the necessary square meters. As mentioned above, rent costs are fixed because the owner of the premises is not interested in the financial condition of your company. For this person, only the timely receipt of payment fixed in the contract is important.
Fixed costs include depreciation costs. Any funds must be amortized monthly until their initial value is equal to zero. There are many different ways of depreciation, which are regulated by current legislation. According to experts, there are more than a dozen various examples fixed costs. These include communal payments, payment for the removal and processing of garbage and spending on providing the conditions necessary for the implementation labor activity. A key feature of such expenses is the ease of calculating both present and future costs.
Fixed costs - costs, the value of which almost does not depend on changes in the volume of production
The concept of "variable costs" includes those types of costs that depend on the proportional volume of manufactured goods. For example, consider a balance sheet item, where there is an item related to raw materials and materials. In this paragraph, you should indicate the amount of funds that the company will need for production purposes. As an example, consider the activities of a company engaged in the manufacture wooden pallets. For the manufacture of one unit of goods, it is required to spend two squares of processed wood. This means that it takes two hundred square meters of material to make one hundred pallets. It is these costs that are classified as variables.
It should be noted that the remuneration of the labor activity of employees can be included in both fixed and variable expenses. Similar cases are observed in the following situations:
- With an increase production capacity enterprises, it is required to attract additional workers that will be employed in the manufacturing process of products.
- The salary of employees is a percentage that depends on various deviations in the production process.
Under these conditions, it is very difficult to make a forecast about the necessary expenses in order to pay salaries to employees, since its volume will depend on many different factors. The division of expenses into fixed and variable is carried out in order to analyze the profitability of the enterprise, as well as to determine the degree of unprofitability of the production process. It should be noted that for any production activities companies consume various energy resources. These resources include fuel, electricity, water and gas. Since their use is integral part production, an increase in output, leads to an increase in the cost of these resources.
What are fixed and variable costs used for?
One of the goals of this classification of costs is the optimization of production costs. Taking into account such details during the creation of the financial model of the enterprise allows you to identify those positions that can be reduced to replenish income. Also, such data will help to find out how the cost reduction will affect the production capacity of the enterprise.
Below we propose to consider the constants and variable costs examples based on an organization that manufactures kitchen furniture. To carry out production activities, the management of such a company needs to invest in the payment of a lease agreement, utility costs, depreciation costs, purchase Supplies and raw materials, as well as the salaries of employees. After the list of total costs is compiled, all items on this list should be divided into variable and fixed costs.
Knowing and understanding the essence of fixed and variable costs is very important for competent business management.
The category of fixed costs includes depreciation costs, as well as the salary of the administration of the enterprise, including the accountant and director of the company. In addition, this item includes the cost of paying electrical energy used to illuminate the room. Variable costs include the purchase of raw materials and consumables needed to manufacture an incoming order. In addition, this article includes spending on utility bills, since some energy resources are used only in the production process itself. This category may include wages employees involved in the furniture manufacturing process, since the rate directly depends on the volume of products produced. Fare are also included in the category of variable financial costs of the organization.
How do manufacturing costs affect the cost of a product?
After it was created financial model future enterprise, it is necessary to analyze the impact of variable and fixed costs on the cost of manufactured goods. This allows you to reorganize the company's activities in order to optimize the production process. Such an analysis will help to understand how many personnel will be required to perform a particular task.
The division of costs into fixed and variable is one of the critical tasks financial departments of companies
Such a plan allows you to determine the required level of investment in the development of the organization. It is possible to reduce the cost of energy resources by using alternative sources, as well as by purchasing more modernized equipment with a high efficiency. Further, it is recommended to analyze variable costs in order to determine their dependence on external factors.
Still have questions about accounting and taxes? Ask them on the accounting forum.
Fixed Costs: Accountant Details
- Operational leverage in the main and paid activities of the BU
Limit (threshold) does not cause an increase in fixed costs. Operating lever(operating leverage) shows ... a change in the volume of services provided. Conditionally fixed costs - costs, the value of which at ... consider an example. Example 1 Fixed Costs educational institution are 16 million ... the threshold at which an increase in fixed costs is required. With a favorable macroeconomic environment ... activity) increases, under conditions of constant fixed costs, the BU receives savings (profit); ...
- Financing the state task: examples of calculations
which it was created. Variable and fixed costs If you break the formula for financial support ... per unit of service; Z post - fixed costs. This formula is based on the assumption... salaries of key personnel). The value of semi-fixed costs with a change in the volume of services remains ... quantity. Therefore, the coverage by the founder of a part of the fixed costs of the BU can be qualified as non-market ... property. How reasonable is this allocation of fixed costs? From the standpoint of the state - it is fair ...
- Does it make sense to divide costs into variable and fixed costs?
Variable indirect costs and part of the fixed costs depending on the utilization rate ... the level of recovery of fixed costs and profit generation. With equality of fixed costs and the amount ... between the volume of production, variable and fixed costs. The break-even point can be ... simple direct costing fixed (conditionally fixed) costs are collected on complex accounts (... it is variable and fixed costs. There are the following options for allocating fixed costs to a specific ...
- Dynamic (temporary) profitability threshold model
... "German Metallurgy" for the first time mentioned the concepts of "fixed costs", "variable costs", "progressive costs", ... ∑ FC - total fixed costs corresponding to the release of Q units of production... The graph shows the following. Fixed costs FC change according to the change in intensity ... R), respectively, total costs, fixed costs, variable costs and sales. The above ... period of the sale of goods. FC - fixed costs per unit of time, VC - ...
- A good politician goes ahead of events, they drag bad ones with them
It is formed as a function of variable and fixed costs, and therefore in marginal variables ... (thousand rubles per unit of goods); - fixed costs (in thousand rubles); - variable costs ... the composition of the costs of such a component as fixed costs, which I already mentioned ... as part of the cost of goods, the presence of fixed costs, then the graph in Fig. 11 ... did not take into account the presence of fixed costs), and this causes...
- Actual strategic and tactical tasks of the management team of the enterprise
sales of products); fixed and semi-fixed costs for the production and sale of products ... products; Zpos - fixed and semi-fixed costs of the enterprise for the production of products. If ... conditionally variable, fixed and conditionally fixed costs for the production of a unit of output or ..., as well as fixed and conditionally fixed costs for the production and sale of products ...
- Director's questions to which the chief accountant should know the answers
Its definitions, we will make equality: revenue = fixed costs + variable costs + operating profit. We ... in units of production = fixed costs / (price - variable costs / unit) = fixed costs: contribution margin on ... units of production \u003d (fixed costs + target profit) : (price - variable costs / unit) \u003d (fixed costs + target profit ... price. So, the equation is true: price \u003d ((fixed costs + variable costs + target profit)/ target...
- What do you know about general factory expenses?
The type of goods, excluding conditionally fixed costs, is 2,000,000 rubles ...
- Features of pricing in a crisis
The service must cover variable and fixed costs, as well as provide an acceptable level ... unit of service; Z post - conditionally fixed costs for the entire volume of services; App... costs, at which fixed costs and profits are not covered - although ... apply this tactic, since part of the fixed costs of the AC is borne by the founder. Below ... - 144 thousand rubles. in year; fixed costs for paid groups– 1,000 ... organizations. No or low fixed costs. While business...
- Economic and social consequences of underutilizing the production and commercial capabilities of an enterprise
...), where Zpos - fixed and semi-fixed costs for the production of products at the enterprise ...
- The financial analysis. Some provisions of the methodology
Production and sales. As part of fixed costs, single out the articles "" as separate items ... costs PerZatr Marginal profit MarginPrib Fixed costs, including:
- Analysis of the financial condition of the company. Chapter II. Analysis of the financial condition on the example of a manufacturing enterprise
Additional financial resources. The fixed charge coverage ratio is derived similarly to... than the interest coverage ratio). Fixed costs include interest and long-term lease... as follows: Fixed Cost Coverage Ratio = EBIT (32) + "Rental Fees" (30 ... in 1993. Kovoplast's Fixed Cost Coverage Ratio declined in 1993 ...
- Rationalized information system for analysis and control of the main results of the enterprise
Orff products Fixed and conditionally fixed costs for the production and sale of products ...
- Building management accounting based on IFRS reporting
Direct and indirect, variable and fixed costs), the correct definition of the so-called drivers...
and contributions to funds). Semi-fixed costs include overhead and general business expenses ... examples. At the same time, variable and fixed costs in relation to the taxation of profits resemble ...
- 20 "Main production";
- 21 "Semi-finished products own production»;
- 23 "Auxiliary production";
- 25 "General production costs";
- 26 "General business expenses";
- 28 "Marriage in production";
- 44 "Costs of sale";
- 96 "Reserves for future expenses";
- 97 "Deferred expenses".
- maintenance and operation of machinery and equipment;
- depreciation deductions and expenses for the repair of fixed assets and other property used in production;
- property insurance costs;
- expenses for heating, lighting and maintenance of premises;
- rent for premises, machinery and equipment used in production;
- salary service personnel and other similar expenses.
- for packaging and packaging of products in warehouses for finished products;
- for the delivery of products to the station (pier) of departure, loading into wagons, ships, cars and other vehicles;
- commission fees (deductions) paid to sales and other intermediary organizations;
- on the maintenance of premises for the storage of products in the places of its sale and the remuneration of sellers in organizations engaged in agricultural production;
- for advertising;
- for entertainment expenses and other similar expenses.
- forthcoming vacation pay (including payments for social insurance and security) to employees of the organization;
- for the payment of annual remuneration for the length of service;
- production costs for preparatory work due to the seasonal nature of production;
- for the repair of fixed assets;
- forthcoming costs for land reclamation and implementation of other environmental measures;
- for warranty repairs and warranty service.
The sum of variable and fixed costs forms the cost of products (works, services).
The dependence of variable and fixed costs on the volume of production per output and per unit of output is shown in fig. 10.2.
Fig.10.2. Dependence of production costs on the quantity of output
The figure below clearly shows that fixed costs per unit output decreases as output increases. This indicates that one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of products is to use production capacities as fully as possible.
http://sumdu.telesweet.net/doc/lections/Ekonomika-predpriyatiya/12572/index.html#p1
fixed costs do not depend on the dynamics of the volume of production and sales of products, that is, they do not change when the volume of production changes.
One part of them is related to the production capacity of the enterprise (depreciation, rent, wages of management personnel for time payment and general business expenses), the other - with the management and organization of production and marketing of products (expenses for research work, advertising, to improve the skills of employees, etc.). It is also possible to allocate individual fixed costs for each type of product and common for the enterprise as a whole.
However, fixed costs calculated per unit of output change with changes in the volume of production.
variable costs depend on the volume and change in direct proportion to the change in the volume of production (or business activity) companies. As it increases, so do variable costs, and vice versa, they decrease when it decreases (for example, the wages of production workers who manufacture certain kind production, costs of raw materials and materials). In turn, as part of variable costs allocate costs proportional and disproportionate . proportional costs vary in direct proportion to the volume of production. These include mainly the cost of raw materials, basic materials, components, as well as piecework wages of workers. disproportionate costs are not directly proportional to the volume of production. They are divided into progressive and degressive.
Progressive costs increase more than output. They arise when an increase in the volume of production requires high costs per unit of output (costs for piecework-progressive wages, additional advertising and sales costs). The growth of degressing costs lags behind the increase in output. Degressive costs are usually the costs of operating machinery and equipment, a variety of tools (accessories), etc.
On fig. 16.3. graphically shows the dynamics of the total fixed and variable costs.
Dynamics of unit costs looks different. It is easy to build on the basis of certain patterns. In particular, variable proportional costs per unit of output remain the same regardless of the volume of production. On the graph, the line of these costs will be parallel to the x-axis. Fixed costs per unit of production with the growth of its total volume decrease along a parabolic curve. For regressing and progressive costs, the same dynamics remains, only more pronounced.
Variable costs, calculated per unit of output, are a constant value under given production conditions.
More accurately named permanent and variable costs conditionally fixed and conditionally variable. The addition of the word conditionally conditionally means that variable costs per unit of output may decrease with changes in technology at large output volumes.
Fixed costs can change abruptly with a significant increase in output. At the same time, with a significant increase in output, the technology of its manufacture changes, which leads to a change in the proportional relationship between the change in the quantity of production and the value of variable costs (the slope on the graph decreases).
/> variables
Figure Total costs of the enterprise
The cost of all products calculated as follows:
C - total cost, rub.; a - variable costs per unit of output, rub; N - output volume, pcs; b - fixed costs for the entire volume of production.
Cost calculation units of production:
C ed \u003d a + b / N
With a more complete use of production capacity, the unit cost of production decreases. The same happens with a significant increase in the scale of output, when variable and fixed costs per unit of output are simultaneously reduced.
Analyzing the composition of constants and variable costs, derived the following relationship: an increase in revenue will lead to a significantly larger increase in profit if fixed costs remain unchanged.
Besides, there are mixed costs, which contain both constant and variable components. Some of these costs change when the volume of production changes, while the other part does not depend on the volume of production and remains fixed during the reporting period. For example, a monthly telephone fee includes a fixed amount of the subscription fee and a variable part that depends on the number and duration of long-distance telephone calls.
Sometimes mixed costs are also called semi-variable and semi-fixed costs. For example, if economic activity business is expanding, at some point it may need additional storage space to store its products, which, in turn, will cause an increase in rental costs. Thus, fixed costs (rent) will change with activity levels.
Therefore, when accounting for costs, they must be clearly distinguished between fixed and variable.
The division of costs into fixed and variable is important in choosing an accounting and costing system. In addition, this grouping of costs is used in the analysis and forecasting of the break-even production and, ultimately, for the selection economic policy enterprises.
In paragraph 10 of IFRS 2"Reserves" defined three groups of costs included in the cost of production, namely: (1) production variables direct costs, (2) production variables indirect costs, (3) production fixed indirect costs, which will be referred to as production overheads.
Table Production costs in cost according to IFRS 2
Cost type | Composition of costs |
variable direct | raw materials and basic materials, wages of production workers with accruals on it, etc. These are the costs that can be attributed directly to the cost of specific products based on primary accounting data. |
indirect variables | such expenses that are directly dependent or almost directly dependent on changes in the volume of activities, but due to technological features production, they cannot be or economically impractical to be directly attributed to the manufactured products. Representatives of such costs are the costs of raw materials in complex industries. For example, when processing raw materials - hard coal– coke, gas, benzene, coal tar, ammonia are produced. Divide the costs of raw materials by types of products in these examples can only indirectly. |
permanent indirect | overhead costs that do not change or hardly change as a result of changes in the volume of production. For example, depreciation of industrial buildings, structures, equipment; the cost of their repair and operation; expenses for the maintenance of the shop management apparatus and other shop personnel. This group of costs in accounting is traditionally distributed by type of product indirectly in proportion to any distribution base. |
Similar information.
Pricing
To carry out the above process, as well as to manage it, cost sharing plays a rather large role. The dynamics of their change with fluctuations in output volumes allows us to distinguish two categories: variable and fixed costs.
variable costs
This concept is a cost item, the volume of which directly depends on the number of products produced. From an economic point of view, this category can be considered as the total cost of real activity enterprises. This allows you to most fully highlight the goals that contributed to the creation of the enterprise and determined the direction of its development. Therefore, the larger the volume of production, the more significant part must be devoted to variable costs. This category traditionally includes expenses for the purchase of materials and raw materials, components and spare parts, electricity and fuel resources, as well as contributions to funds social insurance and salaries of employees.
These are expenses, the volume of which does not depend on the number of products produced. Nevertheless, we can talk about the invariability of this value only when considering a certain scale of production activity. From an economic point of view, this type of cost is responsible for the most optimal conditions for the enterprise. Fixed costs are objectively existing even during those periods of time when the organization does not produce any products. Changing this category of costs is possible only if there are any changes in the production process itself. Such a condition may be the purchase of new equipment, the construction of new and additional buildings and structures, as well as price changes. Fixed costs traditionally include salaries of the administration and management staff, as well as contributions to social insurance funds, expenses for the operation and maintenance of the proper condition of buildings, structures and facilities, maintenance and repair of equipment, etc.
Mixed costs
This category is not one of the main ones, but it is quite often found both on small and on large enterprises. This, as the name suggests, includes both fixed and variable costs. The simplest and clearest example of this kind of cost is paying bills for telephone conversations. In this case, elements of both the first and second categories may be present. Thus, the subscription fee belongs to the group "fixed costs", but the bills for long distance communication- already to the group "variable costs".
What is this for?
The division of an enterprise's expenses into the two classes described above is important and necessary, since in the conditions of market relations there is a frequent change in the situation, which may lead to an expansion or, conversely, a reduction in the volume of products. Fluctuations in the scale of production directly affect variable and fixed costs, which in turn affect the pricing process, and hence profits.