Operating expense

Accountancy
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Cost · Financial · Forensic · Fund · Management · Tax
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Statement of financial position · Statement of cash flows · Statement of changes in equity · Statement of comprehensive income · Notes · MD&A · XBRL
Auditing
Auditor's report · Financial audit · GAAS / ISA · Internal audit · Sarbanes–Oxley Act
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CA · CPA · CCA · CGA · CMA · CAT · CFA  · CIIA  · ACCA  · CIA  · CTP · ICAEW · CIMA  · IPA  · ICAN
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An operating expense, operating expenditure, operational expense, operational expenditure or OPEX is an ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system ^[1]. Its counterpart, a capital expenditure (CAPEX), is the cost of developing or providing non-consumable parts for the product or system. For example, the purchase of a photocopier involves CAPEX, and the annual paper, toner, power and maintenance costs represents OPEX^[2]. For larger systems like businesses, OPEX may also include the cost of workers and facility expenses such as rent and utilities.

In business, an operating expense is a day-to-day expense such as sales and administration, or research & development, as opposed to production, costs, and pricing. In short, this is the money the business spends in order to turn inventory into throughput.

On an income statement, "operating expenses" is the sum of a business's operating expenses for a period of time, such as a month or year.

In throughput accounting, the cost accounting aspect of the theory of constraints (TOC), operating expense is the money spent turning inventory into throughput.^[3] In TOC, operating expense is limited to costs that vary strictly with the quantity produced, like raw materials and purchased components. Everything else is a fixed cost, including labour (unless there is a regular and significant chance that workers will not work a full-time week when they report on its first day).

In a real estate context, operating expenses include costs associated with the operation and maintenance of an income-producing property.

Operating expenses include:

• accounting expenses
• license fees
• maintenance and repairs, such as snow removal, trash removal, janitorial service, pest control, and lawn care
• advertising
• office expenses
• supplies
• attorney fees and legal fees
• utilities, such as telephone
• insurance
• property management, including a resident manager
• property taxes
• travel and vehicle expenses

Travel expenses are defined as those incurred in the event of travel required for professional purposes.

For this purpose, “travel” is defined as the simultaneous absence from the residence and from the regular place of employment. It is prompted by professional or company purposes and likely does not concern the traveller’s private life, or concerns it only to a small degree. Travel expenses include travel costs and fares, accommodation expenses, and so-called additional expenses for meals. For the self-employed (contractors and freelancers), the expenses constitute business expenses.

• leasing commissions
• salary and wages
• raw materials

See also

• Capital expenditure (CAPEX)
• Capital budgeting
• Freight expense
• Operating cost

References

1. ^ David Maguire, The business benefits of GIS : an ROI approach, 1st ed. (Redlands Calif.: ESRI Press, 2008), http://roi.esri.com/. ISBN 978-1589482005
2. ^ Aswath Damodaran, Applied Corporate Finance: A User’s Manual (John Wiley and Sons, 1999), http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/AppldCF/derivn/ch5deriv.html. ISBN 978-0-47133-042-4
3. ^ Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. "The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement" (Rev. ed.). (1986)., p. 61.

Further reading

• Harry I. Wolk, James L. Dodd, Michael G. Tearney. Accounting Theory: Conceptual Issues in a Political and Economic Environment (2004). ISBN 0-324-18623-1.
• Angelico A. Groppelli, Ehsan Nikbakht. Finance (2000). ISBN 0-7641-1275-9.
• Barry J. Epstein, Eva K. Jermakowicz. Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting Standards (2007). ISBN 978-0-471-79823-1.
• Jan R. Williams, Susan F. Haka, Mark S. Bettner, Joseph V. Carcello. Financial & Managerial Accounting (2008). ISBN 978-0-07-299650-0.
• Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (1986). The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (Rev. ed.). ISBN 978-0-88427-178-9.

This accountancy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Expense Accounting stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую Fudgets Haws Look at other dictionaries: operating expense — all the expenses normally incurred in running a business, during an accounting period, excluding the cost of goods sold. Glossary of Business Terms * * * operating expense operating expense ➔ expense * * * operating expense UK US noun ACCOUNTING… …   Financial and business terms Operating Expense Ratio - OER — A measure of what it costs to operate a piece of property compared to the income that the property brings in. The operating expense ratio is calculated by dividing a property s operating expense by its gross operating income. Investors using the… …   Investment dictionary operating expense ratio — A ratio used in real estate lending analysis. The ratio is the total operating expenses divided by the effective gross income. American Banker Glossary * * * operating expense ratio UK US noun [S] ACCOUNTING ► the relationship between operating… …   Financial and business terms operating expense — noun the expense of maintaining property (e.g., paying property taxes and utilities and insurance); it does not include depreciation or the cost of financing or income taxes • Syn: ↑operating cost, ↑overhead, ↑budget items • Topics: ↑tax,… …   Useful english dictionary Operating Expense — A category of expenditure that a business incurs as a result of performing its normal business operations. One of the typical responsibilities that management must contend with is determining how low operating expenses can be reduced without… …   Investment dictionary operating expense — noun a) Any expense incurred in running a business, such as sales and administration, as opposed to production. b) The money an entity spends in order to turn inventory into throughput. Syn: OPEX …   Wiktionary expense — ex‧pense [ɪkˈspens] noun 1. [countable, uncountable] ACCOUNTING an amount of money that a business or organization has to spend on something: • Most advertisers look upon advertising as an expense and not an investment, which is a mistake. • The… …   Financial and business terms expense — ex·pense 1 n: financial burden or outlay; specif: an item of business outlay chargeable against revenue for a specific period busi·ness expense: an expense made in furtherance of one s business esp. as part of the cost of operating a business in… …   Law dictionary Non-Operating Expense — An expense incurred by activities not relating to the core operations of the business. Accountants may remove non operating expenses or revenues in order to examine the performance of the business, ignoring effects of financing or irrelevant… …   Investment dictionary operating cost — ➔ cost1 * * * operating cost UK US noun [C, usually plural] ACCOUNTING ► (also operating expense) a cost relating to producing a company s goods or services: cut/increase/reduce operating costs »The company plans to cut operating costs by £1.2bn… …   Financial and business terms 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”