Job Costing vs Process Costing: Difference and Comparison

What is Job Costing?

Job costing is a technique of value accounting utilized by organizations to tune and allocate prices associated with the production of character, custom-designed services, or products. It is specifically normal in industries wherein each task or mission is unique and tailored to the particular necessities of a patron.

In job costing, expenses are collected and assigned to every man or woman’s task, treating it as a separate unit of costing. This consists of direct prices like labor, substances, and other expenses directly due to the task. Additionally, indirect fees, regularly known as overhead, also are allocated to the process. These might also encompass costs with hire, utilities, and administrative salaries that can not be immediately traced to a selected job.

One of the advantages of activity costing is its capacity to offer accurate cost records for each job, permitting businesses to determine the profitability of individual projects. This record is valuable for pricing, budgeting, and making knowledgeable business selections.

Industries like construction, consulting, and custom manufacturing heavily depend on job costing. For instance, a construction agency might use process costing to song costs for each construction assignment, considering labor, materials, subcontractor charges, and device rentals.

Overall, task costing is essential in ensuring that groups can appropriately decide the expenses associated with every custom process, allowing them to make informed financial decisions and hold profitability.

What is Process Costing?

Process costing is a method of fee accounting used by corporations that engage in mass production or non-stop manufacturing of standardized products or services. It is mainly common in industries wherein products undergo a chain of uniform, sequential strategies.

In procedure costing, costs are collected and allocated to unique approaches or departments instead of character gadgets or jobs. This method treats each method or branch as a separate unit of costing. Direct fees, consisting of direct labor and materials, are tracked for each process. Additionally, oblique prices or overhead, like rent, utilities, and preservation, are apportioned to the methods primarily based on a predetermined allocation foundation.

One of the primary benefits of technique costing is its suitability for industries with consistent, repetitive production methods. This approach gives a clean and standardized way to determine the cost of manufacturing each unit. It is used in industries like meal processing, chemical production, and automotive meeting lines.

For instance, a food processing plant using procedure costing could song prices associated with one of a kind stages of manufacturing, including cleansing, cutting, cooking, and packaging. This technique allows the commercial enterprise to evaluate the cost efficiency of every stage and make changes to optimize manufacturing.

Overall, technique costing is an important device for agencies engaged in big-scale, standardized production. It allows them to accurately calculate the fee of each unit and aids in making knowledgeable selections about pricing, manufacturing efficiency, and useful resource allocation.

Difference Between Job Costing and Process Costing

1. In job costing, the nature of work is where the products are manufactured or produced according to the demand of the customer. On the other hand, in process costing, the nature of the work is where the products are produced at the mass level.
2. The unit of costing is order or job. In contrast, the unit of costing is department or process.
3. Job costing is required where customization or specialization is required (for example – consulting, construction). On the other hand, process costing is required where standard products are produced (for example – chemical manufacturing and food processing).
4. Job costing is more complex, and process costing is less complex. 
5. The cost accumulation in the case of job costing is done for every individual order or job. At the same time, the cost accumulation in the case of process costing is done for every department or process. 

Comparison Between Job Costing and Process Costing

Parameter of Comparison	Job Costing	Process Costing
Nature of work	The products are manufactured or produced according to the demand of the customer	The products are produced at the mass level
Unit of Costing	Order or job	Department or process
Type of Industry	Where customization or specialization is required (for example – consulting, construction)	Where standard products are produced (for example – chemical manufacturing, food processing)
Complexity	More	Less
Cost Accumulation	It is done for every individual order or job	It is done for every department or process

References

1. https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.98.032132
2. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-17691-5_5

Last Updated : 28 January, 2024