Overhead Cost Per Item Calculator

Who this is for

A fair share of the running costs. List what the business costs to run, add your monthly items and making hours, and see the overhead per item and per hour.

Makers who cost their products on materials and time but have never added the rent, tools, software and insurance that keep the business going.

What this helps you track

• Monthly running costs by type, including bills paid yearly or quarterly
• Total monthly overheads
• Overhead per item from your own monthly output
• Overhead per making hour from your own monthly hours
• An optional split across product lines by the hours each takes

How to use it

1. Write the business name and the month or period you are working from.
2. Enter each running cost with the amount you pay and how many months that payment covers.
3. Enter the number of items you make in a typical month and the hours you spend making them.
4. The monthly figure, the total and the overhead per item and per hour fill in by themselves in the browser and the workbook.
5. If your products take very different times, copy the overhead per hour into the header and fill in the product line table so slower items carry more.
6. Add the overhead per item to each product costing, and check the figures again when a bill changes.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What counts as an overhead?

Costs of running the business that are not tied to one item: workspace, heating and power, tools, software, insurance, marketing, website and bank charges. Materials and your own making time go on the costing sheet instead.

How do I enter a yearly bill?

Write the amount you paid and 12 in the months column. The calculator divides it to give a monthly figure, so annual insurance or a yearly software plan is spread fairly.

Per item or per hour: which should I use?

Per item suits a range where everything takes about the same time. Per hour is fairer when some pieces take far longer, because they then carry more of the running costs.

What if I work from home?

Include the share of household costs that the business really uses, worked out in a way you can explain. Check the rules where you are before claiming any of it for tax.