The existence of a manufacturing enterprise involves spending money on labor, the acquisition of materials and raw materials. The cost expression of these costs means production costs. What it is? This means spent on resources used in the production of finished products. According to accounting, they are equal to the cost of goods / services. The total amount consists of material costs, interest on bank loans, salaries of all employees of the enterprise.
Within the framework of the enterprise economy, the types of costs are precisely related to the basic cost functions. Let's consider these categories more clearly.
The concept
Production costs - the total costs incurred by the company in connection with its activities. Most often, they include spending on the purchase of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products and energy. All that is necessary for production, as well as remuneration of workers. This also includes expenses associated with the use of land and real estate, depreciation of machinery and tools, and capital maintenance.
These include costs that are directly or indirectly related to the product. They create value, are closely related to the technological process of production of services and products.
Economists distinguish between:
- Accounting expenses. Included in accounts. These include actual expenses (including depreciation) in accordance with applicable law.
- Alternative cost. Reflection of the value of the lost profit, possible if the available resources were used in the best way among other possible options.
Each company seeks to make a profit. Very often, a cost reduction strategy is used to increase it. They are an inevitable phenomenon that arises in the production process, because the manufacture of goods requires a lot of materials or work from the entrepreneur. Many activities related to cost reduction relate to the technical side of production processes, for example, the use of cheaper materials or technology changes. Cost analysis allows us to answer the question of how the function of production costs is reflected through their classification.
Classification
The function of costs and types of costs are concepts that are closely related to each other. The result of economic activity depends on the indicators of the cost of manufactured products and funds spent on this process. To know what production costs are, it is necessary to establish their value and determine the difference between the cost of production and the amount spent on manufacturing. The calculation results are influenced by the features of the technological and production process. Changes in technology, the amount of raw materials is reflected in the amount of required costs.
Costs - this is primarily the costs incurred by the company in the manufacture of goods. Costs are used funds in tangible and intangible form, necessary for the production of finished products. According to the scale of the assessment, they are divided into individual and public. The former evaluate the funds spent within a particular organization. Public - at the state level.
There are several types of production costs. According to the valuation method, they are divided into accounting and economic. In relation to the output of finished products are divided into constant and variable. The most important indicators of evaluating the effectiveness of an enterprise are constants and variables.
Direct and indirect
Direct costs include:
- cost of materials used;
- acquisition and processing costs;
- other expenses incurred related to the delivery of the product to the place and bringing to the state in which it is located at the date of assessment.
Indirect costs include variables and a part of fixed production costs. These are expenses that cannot be directly included in the cost of the product. They are evenly distributed between items of expenditure and are part of a certain base. They include:
- the salary;
- cost of materials used;
- electricity and lighting;
- enterprise security;
- rent;
- advertising;
- staff costs;
- depreciation;
- office expenses;
- mobile connection;
- The Internet;
- postal service.
What costs are fixed?
The funds spent within one cycle for the manufacture of goods are called fixed costs of production. A specific organization is characterized by certain regular investments. They are individual and based on the analysis of the company. The amount is constant for each production cycle from the time of manufacture to the sale of finished products. The main feature of this indicator is a constant value over a certain period of time. With a decrease or increase in the volume of production, the amount remains unchanged.
Fixed costs are utility bills, staff salaries, production costs, rental premises and land. It is important to know that the value of fixed costs incurred in one cycle will be unchanged relative to the total number of products released. If we compare the spent amount with the cost of one unit of goods, the costs will increase in proportion to the decrease in output. This pattern is typical for any production company.
Variable costs
This is a fluctuating indicator that varies in each manufacturing process. Variable costs depend on the quantity of manufactured goods. These include payment for electricity, purchase of raw materials, piecework salaries of employees involved in production. Such payments are related to the volume of products released directly.
Examples
At any manufacturing enterprise, there are costs, the amount of which remains unchanged under any circumstances. In parallel, there are expenses, the amount of which depends on production factors. In planning for future periods, such indicators are not effective, they will change sooner or later. In the short term, constant investment is independent of the quantity of goods produced. Constant investments depend on the direction of the enterprise. This includes:
- interest on bank loans;
- depreciation of fixed assets;
- rent;
- salaries of the administrative apparatus;
- interest payments on bonds;
- insurance payments.
Fixed costs include all funds spent that are not related to the production of finished products. All expenses aimed at the release of products are variable. Their size will always depend on the volume of goods produced. The planned investments in the product depend on the planned quantity of the product. The variable costs of the enterprise include:
- purchase of raw materials;
- the salary of staff working in production;
- the cost of transporting raw materials and production equipment;
- expendable materials;
- energetic resources;
- other costs associated with the manufacture of products.
Conceptual basis of cost functions
They understand the connection between production and ensuring their minimum volume. That is, the main cost function of the company is to optimize production processes to achieve maximum volumes and minimum costs. Consider this concept in more detail.
The financial meaning of production costs depends on the value of material costs for production factors. A better result of the correct policy of their formation is the growth of the enterprise while minimizing costs.
Technological and manufacturing costs are accepted as industrial characteristics. The improvement of labor criteria, the quality of equipment and resources leads to their minimization in the future. Cost reduction is also associated with the creation of the maximum number of products with the existing ratio of factors of production.
The present view of industrial costs is interpreted as an assessment of labor and capital. In this case, land ownership as a factor is zero, since it is not subject to depreciation. When calculating between companies, the behavior of existing investments and the change in financial resources in material goods are taken into account.
Industrial costs differ in that the sale of products, the costs of sorting, packaging, storage and transportation of goods are additional types of expenses. They can be obtained only after the sale of the product. In addition, this category includes advertising costs and seller rewards. Such fixed costs are recovered from income after sales. Industrial costs directly depend on long-term and short-term assets. As a result, long-term assets include the purchase of equipment and resources for a long period of use (more than a year), which means that there are constant expenses for technical service and depreciation to maintain the company.
Short-term assets are assets used by a financial unit during one operating cycle (not more than a year).
The success of a company depends on the fact that profits must fully cover production costs. Before developing a specific event, a plan is formed that takes into account all types of industrial costs. Lowering these amounts and planning them are the main tasks of the company's management. For a business unit to work, make a profit and be profitable, it is necessary to have flexible and relevant solutions to various management issues.
The essence of the function of total costs
This category determines the dependence on the volume of production and the amount of expenses. This concept underlies the function of the total costs of the company. According to this theory, the company's spending is associated with product prices, the amount of resources used. Accordingly, the result is better, the higher the volume of output and less costs. The following category leads to a decrease in the last category:
- improvement of working conditions;
- transition to automation processes;
- staff incentives;
- the use of resource-saving technologies.
In this situation, the cost function looks like this:
TS (total spending) = f from (P - labor, P capital), where P is the price of the factor.
Thus, according to the function of total costs, a graphical representation of the dependence of total costs on production factors (labor and capital) is used. Among other factors, materials are used.
A graphic representation of this concept is expressed in an isocost. Moreover, all levels of labor and capital costs can have their own isocost. The slope and its bend depends on the price level and the technologies used.
Marginal cost and function
This is the amount of additional costs for the production of another unit of output. The formula for the marginal cost function is the ratio of the growth of variable costs to the growth of volumes of goods. She looks as follows.
MS = ฮTS / ฮQ, where ฮTS is the increase in variable costs; ฮQ is the increase in production.
This cost function allows you to determine the degree of profitability of the production of each dopaditsa products for the enterprise. It is an important economic tool that forms the strategy of the enterprise. The level of marginal costs makes it possible to determine the volume of production of goods at which the company should stop in increasing production.