What is Cost Behavior?

Cost behavior is the manner in which expenses are impacted by changes in business activity. A business manager should be aware of cost behaviors when constructing the annual budget, to anticipate whether any costs will spike or decline. For example, if the usage of a production line is approaching its maximum capacity, the relevant cost behavior would be to expect a large cost increase (to pay for an equipment expansion) if the incremental demand level increases by a small additional amount. Understanding cost behavior is a critical aspect of cost-volume-profit analysis.

Types of Cost Behavior

The general types of cost behavior fall into three categories, which are for variable costs, fixed costs, and mixed costs.

Variable Cost Behavior

One cost behavior relates to variable costs, which vary directly with changes in business activity. For example, there is a specific direct materials cost associated with each product sold. Variable costs are primarily associated with the cost of goods sold.

Fixed Cost Behavior

Second is fixed costs, which do not change in response to business activity levels. For example, the rent on a building will not change, even if the sales level of the tenant changes dramatically. Fixed costs are more likely to be found in the selling, general and administrative expense area.

Mixed Cost Behavior

Finally, there are mixed costs, which contain fixed and variable elements. For example, an Internet access fee includes a standard monthly access fee (which is fixed) and a broadband usage fee (which is variable).