Cost rate

A cost rate (also a billing rate ) is created in cost and performance accounting by dividing the overheads relevant to the cost rate by a key or reference value. Cost ratios both in the Cost Center Accounting and in the cost unit accounting used.

Cost center accounting assigns two functions to cost rates. On the one hand, the cost center overheads that cannot be directly allocated to the various cost centers are distributed to the cost centers with the help of cost rates. On the other hand, the cost rates in the internal performance accounting are used to offset internal goods between different cost centers in a company. In cost unit accounting, the overhead costs are charged to the sales-specific cost units on the basis of cost rates .

Examples of cost rates:

Costs to be allocated	Possible reference value	Cost rate
Machine hour costs	H	Monetary unit / h
labour costs	H	Monetary unit / h
Space costs	m²	Monetary unit / m²
Telephone costs (fixed)	Telephone sets	Monetary unit / telephone set
Telephone costs (variable)	Telephone units	Monetary unit / telephone unit

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kloock / Sieben / Schildbach: cost and performance accounting. Düsseldorf 1999