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Allocating Overhead Using a Single, Plant-wide Rate Managerial Accounting

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This is a simplified approach to cost allocation that works well in smaller and simpler businesses. In response to this situation, manufacturers will use departmental overhead rates and perhaps activity based costing. A plant-wide overhead rate is often a single rate per hour or a percentage of some cost that is used to allocate or assign a company’s manufacturing overhead costs to the goods produced. Why would a manufacturing company with multiple production departments still prefer to use a single plantwide overhead rate? (ii) The ratio of allocation base usage of products within a department and across departments is the same.

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  1. Once we have determined our allocation rate, we apply that rate to each product or product line in order to assign costs to individual items or batches.
  2. What are the main advantages of traditional volume-based allocation methods compared to activity-based costing?
  3. However, if workers producing deluxe purses are more highly paid than workers producing basic purses, the outcome between the two direct labor methods would be different.
  4. By allocating fixed manufacturing overhead by machine hours, the deluxe purse is actually costing more to produce than it is selling for.
  5. In response to this situation, manufacturers will use departmental overhead rates and perhaps activity based costing.

Let’s say we consider our operation to be labor-intensive rather than capital-intensive (automated). In that case, we might choose to allocate fixed overhead based on direct labor hours (DLH) or direct labor dollars (DL$). If our standard direct labor cost is the same for both purses, these two calculations will produce the same results, so in this lesson, we’ll use DL$.

What is a plant-wide overhead rate?

However, if workers producing deluxe purses are more highly paid than workers producing basic purses, the outcome between the two direct labor methods would be different. By allocating fixed manufacturing overhead by machine hours, the deluxe purse is actually costing more to produce than it is selling for. The plantwide overhead rate is a single overhead rate that a company uses to allocate all of its manufacturing overhead costs to products or cost objects.

It is more accurate than traditional overhead allocations.

Departmental overhead rates are used by many manufacturers instead of using a single, plant-wide overhead rate. The reason for departmental overhead rates is that a manufacturer is likely to produce many diverse products which use different processes (each of which has different costs). It may fail to accurately assign many overhead costs that are not driven by production volumn. While the departmental overhead rate method is more accurate than the plant wide overhead rate method, it has limitations that may result in product cost distortions. Notice that under this allocation method, using direct machine hours instead of units, we have a dramatically different outcome. We’ll study how this works in the next section, but first check your understanding of using a single rate to allocate fixed manufacturing overhead to products.

When to Use a Plantwide Overhead Rate

It is important to include indirect costs that are based on this overhead rate in order to price a product or service appropriately. Establishing a predetermined overhead rate for your business can give you a tool to help keep expenses in proportion with sales and production volumes. Monitoring a well-defined rate provides a quick the main advantage of the plantwide overhead rate method is: signal that lets you know when it’s time to review spending and, in doing so, will help you protect your profit margins. What are the main advantages of traditional volume-based allocation methods compared to activity-based costing? Traditional volume-based methods are easier to use and less costly to implement and maintain.

Each department has its own overhead rate and its own allocation

Once we have determined our allocation rate, we apply that rate to each product or product line in order to assign costs to individual items or batches. As a https://accounting-services.net/ general rule, it’s best to make sure your business doesn’t exceed a 35% overhead rate, but there’s no cut-and-dried answer to what your overhead should be.

Plantwide Overhead Rate Method

The departmentalizing of manufacturing overhead costs allows for better planning and control if the head of each department is held responsible for the costs and productivity of his or her department. Notice that the total gross profit remains the same no matter how we allocated fixed manufacturing overhead to product lines. Using the Overhead Rate The overhead rate is a cost added on to the direct costs of production in order to more accurately assess the profitability of each product.