Job Costing
Job Costing
Job Costing
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JOB COSTING
Job costing is that form of specific order costing which applies where the work is undertaken as an identifiable
unit such as:
(ii) Fabrication of certain materials where raw materials are supplied by the customers;
(iv) Manufacturing goods for stock purposes in anticipation of orders to be received in future;
• Under this method, costs are collected and accumulated for each job, work order or project separately.
• Each job can be separately identified and hence it becomes essential to analyze the costs according to each
job.
• The industries, where this method of costing is applied, must possess these features:
(i) The production is generally against customers’ orders but not for stock.
(ii) Each job has its own characteristics and needs special treatment.
(iii) There is no uniformity in the flow of production from one department to department. The nature of
the job determines the departments through which the job has to be processed. This production is
intermittent and not continuous.
(iv) Each job is treated as a cost unit under this method of costing.
(v) Each job is distinctively identified by a production order throughout the production stage.
(vi) The cost of production of every job is ascertained after the completion of the job.
• The job costing method is applicable to printers, machine tools manufacturers, foundries and general
engineering workshops.
(i) It helps to find out the cost of production of every job or order and to know the profit or loss made on its
execution. This helps the management to judge the profitability of each job and decide the future
course of action.
(ii) It helps the management to make more accurate estimates for costs of similar jobs to be executed in future
on the basis of past records. The management can easily and accurately determine and quote prices of
jobs of a similar nature which are in prospect.
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(iii) It helps the management to control the operational inefficiencies by making a comparison of actual costs
with estimated ones.
Following factors must be considered before adopting a system of job order costing:
(a) Each job (or order) should be continuously identifiable from the stage of raw materials to completion stage.
(b) This system should be adopted when it becomes absolutely necessary as it is very expensive and requires a
lot of clerical work in estimating costs, designing and scheduling of production.
In order to achieve the purposes of job order costing, a considerable amount of clerical work will be involved and to
ensure effective and workable system, the following factors are necessary:
(b) Comprehensive work documentation. Typically this includes: work order and /or operation tickets, bills of
materials and/or materials requisitions, jig and tool requisitions etc.
(c) An appropriate time booking system using either time sheets or piece work tickets.
(d) A well organized basis to the costing system with clearly defined cost centres, good labour analysis,
appropriate overhead absorption rates and a relevant issue pricing system.
(i) It provides a detailed analysis of cost of materials, wages, and overheads classified by functions,
departments and nature of expenses which enable management to determine the operating efficiency of
the different factors of production, production centres and functional units.
(ii) It records costs more accurately and facilitates cost control by comparing actual with estimates.
(iii)It enables the management to ascertain (determine) which of the jobs are more profitable, which are less
profitable and which are incurring losses.
(iv) It provides a basis for estimating the cost of similar jobs taken up in future and thus helps in future
production planning.
(v) Determination of predetermined overheads in job costing necessitates the application of a system of
budgetary control of overheads with all its advantages.
(vi) The detailed cost records of the past years can be used for statistical purposes in the determination of
the trends of cost of the different types of jobs and their relative efficiencies.
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Disadvantages of Job-Order Costing System
(i) It involves a great deal of clerical work in recording daily the cost of materials issued, wages spent and
overheads chargeable to each job or work order which adds to the cost of cost accounting.
(ii) The scope of committing mistakes is high as the cost of one job may be wrongly posted to another job.
(iii) Cost comparison among different jobs becomes difficult especially when drastic changes take place.
(iv) Job costing is historical costing which ascertains the cost of a job or a product after it has been
manufactured. It does not facilitate control of cost unless it is used with standard or estimated costing.
(1) Receiving an Enquiry: The customer will usually enquire about the price, after specifying the quality to be
maintained, the duration within which the job is to be executed and other specifications of the job before
placing an order.
(2) Estimation of the Price of the Job: The cost accountant estimates the cost of the job keeping in mind the
specifications of the customer. While preparing an estimate, the cost of execution of similar jobs in the
previous year and possible changes in various estimates of cost are taken into consideration. The
prospective customer is informed the estimate of the job.
(3) Receiving of Order: If the customer is satisfied with the price quoted, and other terms of execution, he will
then place the order.
(4) Production Order: If the job is accepted, a Production Order is made by the Planning Department. It is in
the form of instructions issued to the foreman to proceed with the execution of the job. It forms an authority
for starting the work. It contains all the information regarding production. Sufficient copies of the
production order are prepared so that each of the department managers and foremen who are required to
take part in any part of the production gets a copy of the same.
PRODUCTION ORDER
S.No…………
Description……….
Code No……………
Customer Order No……..
Material Requisition Nos…….
Operation Nos……….
Machine Nos…………
Quantity Ordered……
Date………..
Date of Commencement……
Date of Finish…………..
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Operation Quantity
(5) Recording of Costs: The costs are collected and recorded for each job under separate Production Order
Number. Generally, Job Cost Sheet (or Card) is maintained for each job. This is a document which is used
to record direct material, direct wages and overheads applicable to respective jobs.
(a) Materials: Materials Requisition, Bill of Materials or Materials Issue Analysis Sheet.
All the basic documents will contain cross reference to respective Production Order Numbers for convenience in
collection of costs.
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JOB COST SHEET
Job/Production Order No……….
Customer………………
Particulars………………….
Quantity………..
Date Commenced…..
Date Completed……..
Summary
Estimated Cost Actual cost Difference
Rs Rs Rs
Materials
Labour
Overheads
Total
(6) Completion of Job: On completion of a job, a completion report is sent to the costing department. The
expenditure under each element of cost is totaled and the total job cost is ascertained. The actual cost is
compared with the estimated cost so as to reveal the efficiency or inefficiency in operation.
(7) Profit or loss on Job: The profit or loss on each job is determined by comparing the actual expenditure or
cost with the price obtained.
Q (1) The following direct costs were incurred on Job No.239 of XYL Co. Ltd.
Materials: Rs 6010.
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Overheads for these three departments were estimated as follows:
You are required to calculate the cost of Job No. 239 and calculate the selling price to give profit of 25% on
selling price.
Solution
Profit 4,737
(25% of Selling Price or 331/3% of
Cost) SELLING PRICE 18,947
Working Notes:
Variable overhead
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Fixed overhead: Rs 40,000/200 hours = Rs 20 per hour.
Q (2) The following direct costs were incurred on Job No.323 of Brahma Putra Consultants. Ltd.
Materials: Rs 500.
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Overheads for these three departments were estimated as follows:
You are required to calculate the cost of Job No. 323 and calculate the selling price to give profit of 33.33%
on selling price.
Solution
Profit 354
(33.33% of Selling Price or 50% of
Cost) SELLING PRICE 1,061
Working Notes:
Variable overhead
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Fixed overhead: Rs 30,000/7,500 hours = Rs 4.00 per hour.
Q (3) Job No.718 was commenced on 10 th October 2002 and completed on 1 st November, 2002. Materials used
were Rs 600 and labour charged directly to the job was Rs 400. Other information was as follows:
Machine No.215 was used for 40 hours; the machine hour rate is Rs 3.50
Machine No.169 was used for 30 hours; the machine hour rate is Rs 4.00.
Six welders worked on the job for 5 days of 8 hours each; the direct labour rate for welders is Rs 20 paise.
Other expenditures of the concern not apportioned for calculating the machine hour or the direct hour rates
amounted to Rs 20,000; total direct wages for the period being Rs 20,000.
Particulars Rs Rs
(1) Materials 600
(2) Labour 400
PRIME COST 1,000
(3) Factory Overhead
(a) Machine No.215 (40 hours @ Rs 3.50 per hour) 140
(b) Machine No.169 (30 hours @ Rs 4.00 per hour) 120
(c) Welders (6x5X8X0.20) 48
(d) Other Expenses (100% of direct wages) 400 708
WORKS COST 1,708
Working Notes:
Q (4) A work order for 100 units of a commodity has to pass through four different machines of which the machine
hour rates are Machine I – Rs 1.25; Machine II- Rs 2.50, Machine III – Rs 3.00 and Machine IV – Rs 2.25.
The following expenses have been incurred on the work order – Materials: Rs 8,000 and Wages: Rs 500.
Machine I has been engaged for 200 hours, Machine II for 160 hours, Machine III for 240 hours and Machine IV for
132 hours.
After the work order has been completed, materials worth Rs 400 are found to be surplus and were returned to store.
Administration overheads used to be 40% of works costs, but on account of all-round rise in the cost of
administration, distribution and selling costs, there has been a 50% rise in the office overhead expenditure.
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Moreover, it is known that 10% of the production will have to be scrapped as not being up to the specification and
the sale proceeds of the scrapped output will be only 5% of the cost of sales.
If the manufacturer wants to make a profit of 20% on the total cost of the work order, find the selling price of a unit
of commodity rate for sale.
Q (5) As a cost accountant, you find that the selling price of a product has been calculated as follows;
Materials: Rs 24.00
_________
An analysis of the previous year’s Profit and Loss account shows the following:
Materials: Rs 35,000; Direct Wages: Dept I: Rs 5,000; Dept II: Rs 6,000; Dept III: Rs 4,000.
Factory overheads: Dept I: Rs 5,000; Dept II: Rs 3,000; Dept III: Rs 3,000.
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Selling & Distribution overheads: Rs 12,200.
You are required to (a) draw up a job cost sheet; (b) calculate and enter the revised cost using the previous year’s
figure as a basis; and (c) add to the total job cost 10% for profit and give the final selling price.
Solution
Calculation of Factory Overhead Rates
Departments
1 2 3
(a) Direct Wages (Rs) 5,000 6,000 4,000
(b) Direct Labour Rate (Rs/hour) 1.00 1.00 1.00
(c) Direct Hours= (a)/(b) 5,000 6,000 4,000
(d) Factory Overheads 5,000 3,000 3,000
(e) Factory Overhead Rate per
Direct Labour Hour (Rs) = (d/c) 1.00 0.50 0.75
Rs (5,000+3,000+3,000) = Rs 61,000.
(Selling and distribution overheads/Works Cost) = (Rs 12,200/Rs 61,000)X 100 = 20%.
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Q (6) The selling price of Job No. 0123 has been calculated as follows;
Materials: Rs 15.50
_________
An analysis of the previous year’s Profit and Loss account shows the following:
Rs Rs Rs
(1) Materials used 1,55,000 Sales 2,70,000
(2) Direct Wages
(a) Dept A 10,000
(b) Dept B 12,000
(c) Dept C 8,000
30,000
(3) Factory Overheads
(a) Dept A 5,000
(b) Dept B 8,000
(c) Dept C 2,000
15,000
(4) Selling costs 60,000
You are required to (a) draw up a job cost sheet; (b) calculate and enter the revised cost using the previous year’s
figure as a basis; and (c) add to the total job cost 10% for profit and give the final selling price.
Solution
Calculation of Factory Overhead Rates
Departments
1 2 3
(a) Direct Wages (Rs) 10,000 12,000 8,000
(b) Direct Labour Rate (Rs/hour) 0.25 0.25 0.25
(c) Direct Hours= (a)/(b) 40,000 48,000 32,000
(d) Factory Overheads 5,000 8,000 2,000
(e) Factory Overhead Rate per
Direct Labour Hour (Rs) = (d/c) 0.125 0.1667 0.0625
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Selling costs = Rs 60,000.
Rs (5,000+8,000+2,000) = Rs 2, 00,000.
(Selling and distribution overheads/Works Cost) = (Rs 60,000/Rs 2, 00,000) X 100 = 30%.
Work-In-Progress
Sometimes, Consolidated Completed Jobs Account is to be prepared along with Consolidated Work-In-
Progress Account. The preparation of these accounts is discussed as under:
(i) The consolidated completed jobs account is debited with the total amount spent on materials, labour and
overheads in respect of all completed jobs and credited by the amount received from customers on
account of completed jobs. The difference is the profit or loss on completed jobs.
(ii) The consolidated work-in-progress account is periodically debited with all the costs, direct and indirect,
incurred in the execution of the incomplete jobs and credited with the total cost of these incomplete
jobs. The balance in this account at any time represents the cost of jobs not yet completed.
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Q (7) Following information for the financial year ended 31 st March, 2009 is obtained from the books and records
of a factory:
Factory Overheads are 80% of Wages and Administration Overheads are 25% of Factory Cost.
The value of the executed (completed) jobs during the financial year ended 31 st March, 2009 was Rs 4, 10,000.
Prepare :
(i) Consolidated Completed Jobs Account showing the profit made or loss incurred on the jobs and
Solution
CONSOLIDATED COMPLETED JOBS ACCOUNT
Dr Cr
Rs Rs Rs
To Raw Materials Consumed By Customer’s A/c 4,10,000
(the amount of jobs
completed)
Supplies from Stores 1,00,000
Less: Transferred to WIP (-) 2,000
98,000
Less: Returned to Stores (-) 1,000
97,000
To Wages 1,00,000
To Factory Overheads
(80% of Wages) 80,000
Factory Cost 2,77,000
To Administration Overheads
(25% of Factory Cost) = 25% of Rs 2,77,000 69,250
Net Profit Transferred to Profit & Loss A/c 63,750
4,10,000 4,10,000
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CONSOLIDATED WORK-IN-PROGRESS ACCOUNT
Dr Cr
Rs Rs Rs
To Raw Materials Consumed By Balance c/d 1,35,000
Supplies from Stores 34,000
Add: Transferred from Completed Jobs 2,000
36,000
To Wages 40,000
To Factory Overheads
(80% of Wages) 32,000
Factory Cost 1,08,000
To Administration Overheads
(25% of Factory Cost) = 25% of Rs 1,08,000 27,000
1,35,000 1,35,000
Q (7) Nahar Electricals Ltd., engaged in job work, has completed all jobs in hand on 30 th March, 2009, except Job
No. 1448. The cost sheet on 30 th March, 2009, showed direct materials and direct labour costs of Rs 40,000 and Rs
30,000 respectively as having been incurred on Job No.1448.
The costs incurred by the business on 31 st March, 2009, the last day of the accounting were as follows:
It is the practice of the business to make the jobs absorb factory overheads on the basis of 120% of direct labour
cost.
Solution
Cost up to 30 th March, 2009 Cost incurred on Total
(Rs) 31 st March,2009 (Rs)
(Rs)
Direct Material 40,000 2,000 42,000
Direct Labour 30,000 8,000 38,000
Factory Overheads 36,000 9,600 45,600
(120% of Direct Labour Cost)
Total Cost 1,06,000 19,600 1,25,600
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