Costs are the negative consequences of an action in view of a certain plan and decision field. For simplification generally only monetary sizes are considered.

Costs in the management economics

Cost terms

Costs stand economically seen for evaluated consumption at factors of production, which are necessary for the production of the operational achievement. The evaluation takes place in monetary units. The factor consumption can take place in the form of goods, services, worker and rights.

Apart from this worth-oriented cost term the marketing and management theory differentiates also still '' the pagatorischen '' (after Erich Kosiol) and the decision-oriented cost term (after Paul Riebel). While the pagatorische cost term orients itself at (achievement-referred) disbursements, decision-oriented costs are used, in order to evaluate action alternatives, whose realization would release these costs. A special case of the decision-oriented costs are which escaped profits of the not realized action alternatives consider as costs.

NOTE: are decision-oriented, have however nothing with the decision-oriented cost term after Paul Riebel to do. are only one basis of evaluation for the height of certain costs and can also within the worth-oriented cost term application find. Dahingegen defines Paul Riebel its decision-oriented costs as "the additional - did not compensate - expenditures" released by the decision over the regarded object.

Demarcation against other calculation sizes

"Costs" and "achievements" are used in particular as pair of terms in the internal account system, i.e. in the cost calculation. Costs and achievements are defined as follows against similar pairs of terms:

• "Expenditure" and "yield" form the similar pair of terms in the external account system and for the production of a periodisierten profit and loss calculation are used.

• "Expenditures" and "incomes" are key terms of record keeping. They develop, if something were bought and/or sold, independently of it whether it were already paid or not. As soon as effective payments take place, expenditures and incomes become "disbursement" and "deposit". Out and deposits are the fundamental figures of the investment calculation and the Treasury. The pairs of terms mentioned overlap to a large extent contentwise. The use of the term depends primarily on the calculation purpose desired.

Differences between "costs" and "expenditure" can develop however for example, if

• Procedures differently to be evaluated, as for instance calculatory writing-off and writing-off relating to the balance (first, the latter expenditure represents costs)
• Costs to be set, those in the external account system no correspondence have (for example calculatory interest or - entrepreneur wages)

The beginning of "calculatory" cost elements (e.g. of "venture costs", see risk) is not, like also the conceptual distinction between costs and expenditure at all, a phenomenon of the German cost theory and has in other countries and languages correspondence. Thus for instance "cost" in English the terms and "expense" widen going synonymously used.

Cost categories

Within the cost calculation the following pairs of cost terms are differentiated:

• fix costs, variable costs and mixing costs
• Direct costs and overhead costs
• primary costs and secondary costs
• Basic costs, other costs and auxiliary costs
• pagatorische costs and calculatory costs
• Decision relevant costs and decision-irrelevant costs
• Fulls costs and fractional costs
• Plan costs, normal costs and actual costs
• Total costs and unit cost prices
• Operating cost (BWL) and maintenance costs with machines and plants
• Costs from writings-off
• calculatory costs
• (special kind of calculatory costs)
• coherently with costs: Amounts covered (calculation of amount covered) for the covering of overhead costs

Costs in the national economy teachings

In the political economy the cost term in the is discussed in connection with production and cost theory as a parameter in different production functions. Costs usually designate the use of factors of production with the production of goods and Dienstleistungen.Die total costs (K), evaluated with market prices, in the context of the cost function distinctive in fixed (Kfix) and variable costs (Kvar): K = Kfix + Kvar. Related to an individual production unit it applies accordingly that the unit cost prices or average total costs (k) consist of average fixed costs (kfix) and average variable costs (kvar): k = kfix + kvar.

Fixed costs are present, if the period of the view is so briefly selected that the appropriate overseas trading station set with the output does not vary. At view period selected sufficient on a long-term basis all costs are variable, since an attitude will bring the costs on a long-term basis to production on zero. Always the allocation is not clearly possible. One speaks then of quasi-fixed costs (example work input with at the same time variable and fixed shares of the cost: Labour costs, costs of cafeterias, sanitary mechanisms etc.).

Of fundamental importance v. A. are the neighbouring costs in the (i.e. the costs referred to an additional unit).

Economical account system

The economical account system uses the term of the social costs as a special case of the external effects. It concerns external side effects of products and Konsumtion. This is the case whenever not all costing of the producer or consumer is carried, but are altogether shifted upon third or the society. This is for example during the environmental impact by traffic the case.

Articles in category "Costs"

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