
It eliminates unnecessary transactions and systems, reducing time, costs and waste. Lean accounting is designed to streamline accounting processes to maximize productivity and quality. With marginal cost accounting, you can identify the point where production is maximized and costs are minimized. Marginal Cost AccountingĪlso known as marginal costing, marginal cost accounting reveals the incremental cost that comes with producing additional units of goods and services. It can help explain which activities increase production costs. Compared to standard cost accounting, ABC dives deeper into the cost of manufacturing a product or providing a service. Activity-based Cost AccountingĪctivity-based accounting (ABC) assigns overhead costs to products and services to give you a better idea of what they cost. Many small businesses prefer standard cost accounting due to its ease and simplicity. It assigns an average cost to labor, materials and overhead evenly so that managers can plan budgets, control costs and evaluate the performance of cost management. Standard cost accounting is a traditional method for analyzing business costs. There are several types of cost accounting.

Office staff, utilities, the maintenance and repair of equipment, supplies, payroll taxes, depreciation of machinery, rent and mortgage payments and sales staff are all considered overhead costs. Overheads are costs that relate to ongoing business expenses that are not directly attributed to creating products or services. Wages can include salaries, hourly rates, overtime, bonuses and employee benefits. Labor refers to any wages to employees which relate to a specific aspect of producing products or delivering services. Indirect materials, on the other hand, are used in the production process but can’t be tied to a specific product, such as glue, gloves and tape. Cotton in clothing and wood in furniture are a few examples of direct materials. Direct materials are directly integrated into a finished product. Materials are usually divided into two groups: direct and indirect. There are a few key elements of cost accounting, listed below. On Sage's Website Elements of Cost Accounting
