What is Variable costs?
Variable costs: Costs that rise and fall with output.
Where Variable costs fits
Variable costs is part of Costs & Break-even in Accounting. Fixed costs stay constant, variable costs move with output, and break-even is where revenue covers both. Direct costs tie to a product, overhead does not.
Practical tip
Lower break-even by cutting fixed costs or raising unit margin.
Related terms
- Fixed costs
- Costs that stay the same however much you sell.
- Cost of goods sold
- Direct cost of making what you sold.
- Overhead
- Ongoing costs not tied to a specific product.
- Depreciation
- Spreading an asset's cost over its useful life.
- Direct costs
- Costs tied directly to making a specific product.
Formulas you will use with it
Test yourself
Which term means: “Costs that rise and fall with output.”?
Overhead · Variable costs · Depreciation
Answer: Variable costs
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