Definition of Nonmanufacturing Overhead CostsNonmanufacturing overhead costs are the business expenses that are outside of a company's manufacturing operations. In other words, these costs are not part of a manufacturer's product cost or its production costs (which are direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead). Show
Nonmanufacturing overhead costs are the company's selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses plus the company's interest expense. Since nonmanufacturing overhead costs are outside of the manufacturing function, these nonmanufacturing costs are immediately expensed in the accounting period in which they are incurred. That is why accountants refer to nonmanufacturing costs as period costs or period expenses. Examples of Nonmanufacturing Overhead CostsExamples of the nonmanufacturing overhead costs include the salaries and other expenses for the following business activities: selling, distribution, marketing, finance, accounting, IT, human resources, legal, and so on. (We have additional examples within our AccountingCoach.com topic Nonmanufacturing Overhead.) While the nonmanufacturing overhead costs are not allocated to the products, the company must have its selling prices and sales revenues sufficiently large to cover both the product costs and the period expenses to have a positive amount of net income. What are Nonmanufacturing Overhead Costs?Nonmanufacturing overhead costs are expenditures not associated with product costs. Since they are not associated with products, these costs are not allocated to products in the determination of the cost of ending inventory or the cost of goods sold. Nonmanufacturing overhead costs include selling, general and administrative costs, as well as financing costs. Nonmanufacturing overhead costs support critical parts of a business, such as its sales and marketing activities, and so should not be considered discretionary costs. Instead, product price points should be set high enough to ensure that a business generates a profit after the full amount of these costs have been incurred. Examples of Nonmanufacturing Overhead CostsExamples of nonmanufacturing overhead costs are the compensation of sales and marketing personnel, rent and utility costs on administrative facilities, interest on loans and lines of credit, marketing costs, liability insurance, and office supplies. Presentation of Nonmanufacturing Overhead CostsThese costs are reported on a company’s income statement below the cost of goods sold, and are usually charged to expense as incurred. Since nonmanufacturing overhead costs are treated as period costs, they are not allocated to goods produced, as would be the case with factory overhead costs. Since they are not allocated to goods produced, these costs never appear in the cost of inventory on a firm’s balance sheet. A manufacturing company incurs both manufacturing costs (also called product costs) and non-manufacturing costs or expenses (also called selling and administrative expenses). In the illustration below you can see the difference between manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs and their classification: Manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing costs Let us review these types of manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs in more detail. Manufacturing costs and their classification Manufacturing costs are the costs that a company incurs in producing a product. From the managerial accounting standpoint, there are three types of manufacturing costs: -Direct materials -Direct labor -Factory (or manufacturing) overhead 1. Direct materials as a type of manufacturing costs Direct materials are raw materials that become an integral part of the finished goods. Direct materials always have a variable nature. Variable costs change in proportion to production. For example, the company purchases metal parts (raw material) to produce valves. The more valves are produced, the more parts Company has to acquire. Therefore, parts have a variable nature; the amount of raw materials bought and used changes in direct proportion to the amount of valves created. For this Company, other direct materials would include, for example, plastic parts and paint. Different manufacturing companies will have different direct material costs depending on the types of finished goods they produce. The table below provides a few examples: Examples of direct material costs Publishing company- Paper, ink, book covers Automobile manufacturer- Tires, automobile metal parts Computer manufacturer- Hard drives, monitors From this you can see that direct materials are the integral part and a significant portion of finished goods. 2. Direct labor as a type of manufacturing costs Almost any production plant or factory requires employees to operate equipment, move raw materials from the warehouse to equipment, and so on. These employees are directly involved in the production process and the cost of their remuneration and benefits represents direct labor: Direct labor is the cost of wages to be paid to individuals who work on specific products or in other words, the cost of wages of employees who are directly involved in converting raw materials into finished goods. Usually direct labor is a variable cost. In most situations the amount of direct labor required is directly correlated with the amount of finished goods produced. For example, wages and related benefits of employees who operate machinery to produce valves represent direct labor costs for a Company. The more valves are to be produced, the more employees will be required to operate machinery, paint, assemble, etc. Direct materials and direct labor, when added together, represent the prime cost. Direct materials and direct labor are called prime costs because they are directly (physically, "primarily") associated with the finished goods production. 3. Factory overhead as a type of manufacturing costs Factory overhead is any manufacturing cost that is not direct materials or direct labor. Factory overhead can have variable or fixed nature, depending on whether overhead changes in direct proportion with production volumes. The following are some examples of factory overhead costs: Variable Factory Overhead Examples -Electricity -Heating -Water -Indirect Materials -Indirect Labor Fixed Factory Overhead Examples -Depreciation -Property taxes -Property insurance -Salaries for non-production employees Most items in the list above are self-explanatory, so they don't require further explanation, while indirect materials and labor may benefit from further explication. Indirect materials are materials that are (a) not an integral (physical) part of the finished goods, or (b) a minor part of the finished goods to be economically traced to the finished good or have a very small physical association with the finished product. For example, a Company would treat the following costs as indirect materials: oil lubricants and light bulbs used in manufacturing equipment, package boxes, wrenches, etc. Other companies will have different types of indirect materials depending on their manufacturing processes. The table below provides a few examples: Examples of indirect materials cost (overhead cost) Publishing company- Glue, printing press lubricants Automobile manufacturer- Factory light bulbs, drill bits Computer manufacturer- Assembly line lubricants, screwdrivers, polishers As you can see form the list, indirect materials are an insignificant portion or not an integral part of the finished goods. Indirect labor is the cost of production employees who are involved in the manufacturing process, but do not work on a specific product. For example, wages of custodians, maintenance people, supplies room supervisors, etc. are considered indirect labor. Direct labor and factory overhead, when added together, represent the conversion cost. Direct labor and factory overhead are called conversion costs because they are involved in converting raw materials into finished goods. The image below shows the relationship between direct materials, direct labor, overhead, prime cost, and conversion cost: This is the relationship between direct materials, direct labor, overhead, prime cost and conversion cost. What are nonmanufacturing costs?Nonmanufacturing overhead costs are expenditures not associated with product costs. Since they are not associated with products, these costs are not allocated to products in the determination of the cost of ending inventory or the cost of goods sold.
What is the difference between manufacturing and production cost?Production costs reflect all of the expenses associated with a company conducting its business while manufacturing costs represent only the expenses necessary to make the product. Both of these figures are used to evaluate the total expenses of operating a manufacturing business.
What is nonNon-manufacturing costs are those costs that are not incurred to manufacture a product. Examples of such costs are salary of sales person and advertising expenses. Generally non-manufacturing costs are further classified into two categories. Marketing and Selling Costs.
What is nonDefinition of nonmanufacturing
: not of or relating to the process of making wares by hand or by machinery : not of or relating to manufacturing nonmanufacturing industries/jobs.
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