Overhead | Meaning and Definition

What is Overhead Meaning?

Overhead meaning refers to the business expenses involved in its regular operations. Unlike operating costs, they are not related to the costs of specific business activity. In lieu, they facilitate the general revenue-generating undertaking of the enterprise. For instance, an appliance retail company reimburses a rent for the space in which the showroom is located. Here, premium rent is one of the overheads a business has to consider. Moreover, overhead meaning in costing must be paid by businesses on an ongoing basis, irrespective of whether the company is able to sell its products/ services at a given point.

Overhead Meaning in Costing

Overhead meaning in costing refers to all the indirect expenses a business incurs to keep its operations running but which cannot be directly tied to producing a specific product or service. Further, these include costs like rent, utilities, administrative salaries, equipment maintenance, and depreciation. Since these expenses support the overall production process rather than any single item, they are allocated across products to determine the total cost of production. Overall, understanding overhead meaning in business helps businesses set accurate prices, control expenses, and assess profitability effectively.

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Types of overheads

The main types of overhead definition incurred upon the businesses vary depending on the industry in which the business operated or the activity it undertakes. Some of its types are as follows:

  •  Fixed overheads: These costs of overhead meaning remain consistent every month and never change with the alterations in the levels of business activity. Moreover, Some examples are asset depreciation, property taxes, rent, salaries, etc.
  •  Semi-variable overheads: They may be incurred upon the businesses at any time however, the costs may vary depending on the activity levels of the business. Such pose a base rate that a business needs to pay regardless of the activity level in addition to the variable cost which is determined by the usage level. For example, vehicle usage, sales commissions, utility costs, etc. 
  •  Variable overheads: These expenses vary with the activity levels of a business and thus, may go high or come down with different levels of business activity. Therefore, when the business activity levels are high, the expenses will surge while will decline as the business activities reduce.
FAQs
what is the meaning of overhead?

Overhead cost is any indirect expense required to run a business but not tied to a specific product or service. Therefore, it includes costs like rent, utilities, and administrative salaries.

Common include rent, electricity, office supplies, insurance, equipment maintenance, and non-production staff salaries. Also, these expenses support operations but don’t directly produce output.

It is the continuous business expenses necessary to keep the operations of the workplace going. These are expenses that exist independent of how much a company produces or sells.

Profit is the amount added over and above the cost of projects or services to cover the indirect expenses and to provide profitability. Also, it helps businesses recover it  while earning a margin.

Overhead meaning in business refers to the repeated operational expenses that support daily activities but are not directly related to production. These costs are necessary to maintain the business.

Another definition of overhead is something that is above head level, such as wires or storage compartments. Also, It refers to anything positioned physically.

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