What remains is the total amount of expected expenditures during the period. Finance Strategists is a leading financial literacy non-profit organization priding itself on providing accurate and reliable financial information to period costs millions of readers each year. This team of experts helps Finance Strategists maintain the highest level of accuracy and professionalism possible. I don’t known which suits you but let me say you your helps me , so go forward.

Therefore, the costs of storing materials are part of manufacturing overhead, whereas the costs of storing finished goods are a part of selling costs. Remember that retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and service organizations all have selling costs. They are the costs that are directly and indirectly related to producing an item.

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The type of labor involved will determine whether it is accounted for as a period cost or a product cost. Direct labor that is tied to production can be considered a product cost. However, other labor, such as secretarial or janitorial staff, would instead be period costs.

Direct allocation methods allocate costs based on the amount of time or resources that are used during the period. Indirect allocation methods allocate costs based on the amount of revenue that is generated during the period. Once the costs have been allocated, they can be summed to get the total period costs. In accounting, all costs incurred by a company can be categorized as either product costs or period costs. Reporting period costs are based on the revenue for which they are incurred and the accrual for a specific accounting period.

Absorbed Cost vs. Full Cost

As an owner, you rely on their accuracy to make key management decisions. This can be particularly important for small business owners, who have less room for error. If product and period costs are overstated or understated, or not recorded at all, your financial statements will be wrong as well. Service companies use service overhead, and construction companies use construction overhead. Any of these types of companies may just use the term overhead rather than specifying it as manufacturing overhead, service overhead, or construction overhead. Overhead is part of making the good or providing the service, whereas selling costs result from sales activity, and administrative costs result from running the business.

Finally, managing product and period costs will help you establish more accurate pricing levels for your products. Most period costs are considered periodic fixed expenses, although in some instances, they can be semi-variable expenses. For example, you receive a utility bill each month that is not directly tied to production levels, but the amount can vary from month to month, making it a semi-variable expense. On the other hand, period costs are considered indirect costs or overhead costs, and while they play an important role in your business, they are not directly tied to production levels.