What is an Activity Cost Pool?

An activity cost pool is an account in which is aggregated a number of costs that are related to a certain type of activity. The grand total of these costs is then allocated to products and other cost objects in order to gain a better understanding of the total costs incurred by a product or cost object. The cost pool concept is most heavily used in an activity-based costing system, and least used when there are few overhead costs to be allocated.

Examples of Activity Cost Pools

Here are a number of activity cost pools, subdivided by functional area of a business:

Production-Related Activity Cost Pools

Machine setup. Costs for preparing machines and equipment for production runs.
Machining operations. Costs associated with running machines (e.g., energy, maintenance).
Inspection. Costs for quality checks during or after production.
Material handling. Costs for moving raw materials, work-in-progress, or finished goods.
Packaging. Costs related to packaging finished products.

Service and Support Activity Cost Pools

Order processing. Costs of processing customer orders.
Customer support. Costs associated with after-sales services and support.
Research and development. Costs for designing and developing new products or services.
IT support. Costs for maintaining and supporting information systems.
Employee training. Costs for staff training and development programs.

Marketing and Sales Activity Cost Pools

Advertising. Costs related to promotional campaigns.
Sales support. Costs for sales activities, such as commissions or sales staff salaries.
Market research. Costs of conducting surveys and analyzing market trends.

Administrative Activity Cost Pools

General administration. Overheads related to office staff and activities.
Regulatory compliance. Costs associated with adhering to laws and industry regulations.
Facilities management. Costs for office or plant maintenance, rent, and utilities.

Logistics and Supply Chain Activity Cost Pools

Inventory management. Costs for tracking and managing inventory levels.
Shipping and receiving. Costs for handling incoming and outgoing shipments.
Supplier relations. Costs for managing relationships with suppliers.

Product Development Activity Cost Pools

Product design. Costs for creating product prototypes and designs.
Testing and validation. Costs for ensuring product functionality and safety.

Customer Interaction Activity Cost Pools

Customer service. Costs for handling inquiries, complaints, and support requests.
Loyalty programs. Costs for maintaining customer reward systems.

Each of these activity cost pools may vary in relevance and scale depending on the nature of the organization and its operations.

What is the Optimal Number of Activity Cost Pools?

Several cost pools may be used in order to more distinctly identify the costs of different activities, but doing so also requires more accounting effort. This is a particular concern when increasing the number of cost pools either increases the cost of accounting operations or extends the time required to close the books at the end of each reporting period. Consequently, most organizations organize their costs into only a small number of activity cost pools.