Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 21: Q31PGA (page 1175)

Using variable costing, service company

Professional Pool Cleaning Service provides pool cleaning services to residential customers. The company has three employees, each assigned to specific customers. The company considers each employee’s territory as a business segment. The company incurs variable costs that include the employees’ wages, pool chemicals, and gas for the service vans. Fixed costs include depreciation on the service vans. Following is the income statement for the month of July:

Requirements

  1. Calculate the contribution margin ratio for each business segment.
  2. The business segments had the following numbers of customers: Birman, 60; Meech, 70; and Frond, 40. Compute the service revenue per customer, variable cost per customer, and contribution margin per customer for each business segment.
  3. Which business segment was most profitable? List some possible reasons why this segment was most profitable. How might the various reasons affect the company in the long term?

Short Answer

Expert verified
  1. The Contribution Margin ratio for Birman, Meech, and Frond is 50%, 30%, and 40%.
  2. Service revenue per customer for each business segment is $50.Variable cost per customer for Birman, Meech, and Frond is $25, $35, and $30 respectively.The contribution margin per customerfor Birman, Meech, and Frond is $25, $15, and $20.
  1. Birman's business segment is most profitable because of its lower variable cost. It may affect the organization in both positive or negative manner depending on the reason of low variable cost.

Step by step solution

01

Calculation of the contribution margin ratio for each business segment (1) 

Particulars

Birman

Meech

Frond

Service revenue

$3,000

$3,500

$2,000

Variable cost

$1,500

$2,450

$1,200

Contribution Margin

$1,500

$1,050

$800

Contribution margin ratio

50%

30%

40%

02

Calculation of average service revenue per customer, average variable cost per customer, and, average contribution margin per customer.(2) 

Particulars

Birman

Meech

Frond

Service revenue

$3,000/60 =$50

$3,500/70 =$50

$2,000/40 =$50

Variable cost

$1,500/60 =$25

$2,450/70 =$35

$1,200/40 =$30

Contribution Margin

$1,500/60 =$25

$1,050/70 =$15

$800/40

=$20

03

Profitability analysis (3)

Birman is the most profitable business segment because it has the highest contribution margin. It is the most profitable segment because it has the lowest variable cost per unit.The lowest variable cost may be because of low wages, poor quality of chemicals used for cleaning, etc. This leads to high employee turnover and dissatisfied customers which cause both financial and reputational loss. If it is because of efficient utilization of resources whether it's human resources or others it leads to high profitability.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Question: Preparing variable costing income statements, production exceeds sales

ReVitalAde produced 13,000 cases of powdered drink mix and sold 12,000 cases in April 2018. The sales price was \(29, variable costs were \)12 per case (\(9 manufacturing and \)3 selling and administrative), and total fixed costs were \(100,000 (\)91,000 manufacturing overhead and $9,000 selling and administrative). The company had no beginning Finished Goods Inventory.

Requirements:

  1. Prepare the April income statement using variable costing.
  2. Determine the product cost per unit and the total cost of the 1,000 cases in Finished Goods Inventory as of April 30.

Question: Preparing absorption costing income statements, production less than sales

Refer to Exercise E21-19.

Requirements

  1. Prepare the May income statement using absorption costing.
  2. Is operating income using absorption costing higher or lower than variable costing income? Explain why.
  3. Determine the balance in Finished Goods Inventory as of May 31.

Hayden Company has 50 units in Finished Goods Inventory at the beginning of the accounting period. During the accounting period, Hayden produced 150 units and sold 200 units for \(150 each. All units incurred \)80 in variable manufacturing costs and \(20 in fixed manufacturing costs. Hayden also incurred \)7,500 in Selling and Administrative Costs, all fixed. Calculate the operating income for the year using absorption costing and variable costing.

Classifying costs Classify each cost by placing an X in the appropriate columns. The first cost is completed as an example.

Absorption Costing Variable Costing Product Cost Period Cost Product Cost Period cost

  1. Direct materials
  2. Direct labor
  3. Variable manufacturing overhead
  4. Fixed manufacturing overhead
  5. Variable selling and administrative costs
  6. Fixed selling and administrative cost

Preparing variable and absorption costing income statements

Game Source manufactures video games that it sells for \(43 each. The company uses a fixed manufacturing overhead allocation rate of \)5 per game. Assume all costs and production levels are exactly as planned. The following data are from Game Store’s first two months in business during 2018:

October November Sales 1,500 units 2,900 units Production 2,500 units 2,500 units Variable manufacturing cost per game \( 17 \) 17Sales commission cost per game 7 7Total fixed manufacturing overhead12,500 12,500

Total fixed selling and administrative costs 11,500 11,500 Requirements

1. Compute the product cost per game produced under absorption costing and under variable costing.

2. Prepare monthly income statements for October and November, including columns for each month and a total column, using these costing methods:

a. absorption costing.

b. variable costing.

3. Is operating income higher under absorption costing or variable costing in October? In November? Explain the pattern of differences in operating income based on absorption costing versus variable costing.

4. Determine the balance in Finished Goods Inventory on October 31 and November 30 under absorption costing and variable costing. Compare the differences in inventory balances and the differences in operating income. Explain the differences in inventory balances based on absorption costing versus variable costing.
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Business Studies Textbooks

Human Resources

Read Explanation

Change Management

Read Explanation

Strategic Direction

Read Explanation

Business Development

Read Explanation

Business Case Studies

Read Explanation

Operational Management

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free