Allocation of costs based on ABC and profitability of product lines.
John and Jerry, LLP, perform activities related to e-commerce consulting and information systems services in Boston. The firm, which bills $140 per hour for services performed, is in a very tight local labor market and is having difficulty finding quality help for its overworked professional staff. The cost per hour for professional staff time is $50. Selected information follows:
Billable hours to clients for the year totaled 6,000 and consists of 3,600 for information system services and 2,400 for e-commerce consulting. Administrative overhead cost of $381,760 was allocated to both services based on billable hours. These costs consist of staff support of $207,000, in-house computing of $145,000, and miscellaneous office charges of $29,760.
A recent analysis of staff support costs found a correlation with the number of client services, while in-house computing was related to number of computer hours logged, and miscellaneous office charges were related to the number of client transactions. The following data was gathered:
E-Commerce Information Total Consulting Systems Serv
Number of clients 60 240 300
Number of computer hours 2,100 2,900 5,000
Number of client transactions 720 480 1,200
You serve as the overhead cost manager for John and Jerry.
Required:
Assign administrative overhead costs to the two product lines based on ABC, using the cost drivers designated in the data provided above. Determine the profitability of each product line (in dollars and percentages).