CONTRACT COSTING

(1) Contract costing

Contract costing, also known as Terminal costing, is a form of specific order
costing which applies where work is undertaken to customer’s special requirements and
each order is of long duration. It is a variant of job costing as each contract is nothing but
a job completed. Contract costing is used by concerns like construction firms, civil
engineering contractors, ship builders, etc.
(2) Characteristics of contract costing
(i) Contract work mainly consists of construction activities.
(ii) Contract work is done on the sites unlike manufacturing that is done under
a roof and since the contract is site-based, most of the costs associated
with specific contract are direct cost.
(iii) Duration of contracts is relatively for a long period.
(iv) Contracts are undertaken to special requirements of the customer.
(3) Job and contract costing compared
The important distinguishing features of job costing and contract costing are as
follows:
(i) While job costing is carried on in the premises, contract work is carried out at
the site.
(ii) Under job costing, an order, or unit, lot, or batch of a product may be taken as
cost unit while under contract costing, each contract is a cost unit.
(iii) Under job costing, cost is first allocated to cost centres and then charged to
individual jobs while under contract costing; most of the expenses are of
direct nature and are directly charged to respective contract accounts.
(iv) Under job costing, the prices of jobs are fixed based on the nature of costs and
policy of the firm, while in contract costing, the pricing is generally through
biding and external forces have major influence in fixing the offer price.
(4) Accounting Treatment of Contract Costing Items
(i) Materials – materials include items specifically purchased for the
contract the ones issued from store against material requisition, and the
materials transferred from one contract to another. The contract account is
DEBITED with the following
• Bulk of materials purchased for the contract from suppliers
• Materials obtained from the central store through material requisition notes
• Materials transferred from one contract to another contract.
• Materials remaining at the site at the end of the accounting period (closing stock)
after valuation of the same and carried forward to the next period
The contract account is CREDITED with the following transactions:
• Materials returned back to the store using the material returned note
• Sale of materials at site on account of some extraneous reasons (cost price)
• Materials transferred to other contracts
• Materials stolen or destroyed by fire.
 Any profit or loss on materials account in respect of the following is transferred to
the profit and loss account.
• Sale price is different from the cost price
• Profit or loss resulting from the sale of materials at site
• Profit or loss resulting from the materials stolen or destroyed by fire.
(ii) Labour – All labour engaged at site and the salaries and wages paid to
the labour are treated as direct cost and DEBITED to contract account
(iii) Direct expenses: All direct expenses (electricity, insurance, telephone,
postage, sub-contracts, architect’s fees, etc) are treated as direct cost and
DEBITED to contract account.
(iv) Overhead cost: In the case of contract costing, overhead constitute an
insignificant part of the total cost of contract account. Such cost may be
apportioned on suitable basis and DEBITED to the contract account.
(v) Plant & Machinery
(a) Where a plant has been specifically purchased for a particular contract
and will be exhausted on site, the contract account should be
DEBITED with the cost of the plant. On completion of the contract,
the residual or written down value will be CREDITED to the contract
account. ALTERNATIVELY, contract account may simply be
DEBITED with the amount of depreciation calculated.
(b) Where plant is sold on completion of the contract, the contract account
is CREDITED with the sale proceeds.
(c) When a plant is hired for a contract, a charge for the hire of the plant
is made to the contract as a direct expense and DEBITED to the
contract account
(d) If a plant is used for a contract for a short period, there is no need of
debiting the cost of the plant to the contract account, Contract account
may simply be DEBITED with the amount of depreciation calculated.
(vi) Sub- contractor – sometimes due to certain situations, a sub-contractor is
appointed to carry out certain special work for the main contract. This
special work done by the sub-contractor becomes a direct charge to the
main contract and accordingly DEBITED to the contract account. The
payments made to the sub-contractor are charged to the main contract as
direct expenses and no detailed breakup of the same is required. Materials
supplied to the sub-contractor is debited to the contract account as direct
material; machinery, tools, etc supplied to him on rent should be
depreciated on appropriate basis and debited to the contract account. Rent
received for the use of such tools and machines should be credited to the
contract account or deducted from the final bill of the sub-contractor.
(vii) Work-in-progress (work certified & work uncertified) – when the
contract is not completed till the end of the accounting year, the architect
is required to value the work-in-progress (WIP). Such work in progress is
classified into work certified and work uncertified.
(a) Work certified: This is that part of WIP which has been approved
by the contractee’s architect or engineer for payment. Work certified is
valued at contract price (i.e. selling price), and includes an element of
 profit. It appears on the CREDIT side o the contract account and also
on the assets side of the balance sheet.

Value of work certified = proportion of work done and certified x contract price
OR

 
 

=
 
 
 
  


(b) Work uncertified: This is that part of WIP which has not been
approved by the architect or engineer. It is valued at cost and does
not include an element of profit. It appears on the CREDIT side of
the contract account and also on the assets side of the balance

Cost of work uncertified = Ratio of work done but not yet certified to total
work done x cost incurred to date
The amount of WIP includes the value of work certified and un-certified
appearing in the contract account. WIP may be calculated using the following formulas
WIP = value of work certified x
Add: cost of work uncertified x
xx
Less; Amount received from contractee (x)
Less; Reserves for unrealized profit (x)
Xx

OR
WIP = Uncertified work – unrealized profit

(viii) Profit or loss on completed contracts

When a contract is completed, the overall profit or loss on the contract is
transferred to the profit and loss account. When the contract is completed,
the contractee is DEBITED and the contract account is CREDITED with
the contract price.
(ix) Profit on Incomplete contracts
Contracts which are started and finished during the same financial year create no
accounting problems. However, in the case of those contracts which take more than one
year to complete, a problem arises whether profit on such contracts should be taken into
consideration after the completion of the contract or whether a portion of the same should
be taken into account every year on certain basis. If profit is computed only on the
completion of the contract, profit will be high in the year of completion of the contract,
whereas in the other years of working on the contract, profit will be NIL. This will result
not only in distorted profit pattern but also higher tax liability because income tax at
higher rates may have to be paid. Therefore, when contracts extend beyond a year, it
becomes necessary to take into account the profit earned (or loss incurred) on the work
performed during each year. This helps in avoiding distortion of the year-to-year profit
trend of the business.
To determine the profit to be taken to the profit and loss account, the following
situations may arise.
(a) Completion of contract is less than 25% - in this case, no profit should be
taken to the profit and loss account.
(b) Completion of contract is equal to or more than 25% complete but less than
50% of the contract price – The following method should be used for computing
the profit to be credited to the profit and loss account.

 
 

x Notional profit x
  


Notional profit is the difference between the value of WIP certified and the cost of WIP
certified and is computed thus
Notional profit = value of work certified x
Add: cost of work not yet certified x
xx
Less; cost of work incurred to date (x)
Notional profit (or loss) xx

(c ) Completion of contract is up to 50% or more but less than 90% - The

following method is used:

 
 

x Notional profit x
  


(d) Completion of contract is equal to or more than 90% of the contract price: In
this case, the contract is considered to be almost complete. In such cases, the
estimated total profit is first determined by deducting the total costs to date and
additional expenditure necessary to complete the contract from the contract price. The
portion of profit so arrived is credited to the profit and loss account by using any of
the following formulas.
 


Estimated profit x


 

OR

 
 

Estimated profit x


 


OR

    

Estimated profit x

 
   
OR

    

 
 

Estimated profit x

 
     


Where estimated profit represents the excess of the contract price over the estimated
total cost of the contract and computed as follows:
Contract price x

Less; Total cost/expenditure already incurred x

:Estimated additional/further expenditure to complete the contract x (x)

Estimated profit xx
(x) Loss on uncompleted contracts –
In the event of a loss on un-completed contracts, this should be transferred in FULL to
the profit and loss account, whatever is the stage of completion of the contract, however,
the practice may vary from firm to firm, but whatever method is adopted, it should be
applied consistently from year-to-year so as not to disturb the trend of profits.
(xi) Extra work
Sometimes, the contractor is required to do some extra work like additions or alterations
in the work originally done as per agreement. The contractor will charge extra money for
such extra work. The cost of such extra work is DEBITED to the contract account and extra
price realized is credited to the contract account.
(xii) Expenses before the commencement of a contract
Cost incurred by the contractor before a contract is secured are usually treated as period cost
and expensed in that period. However, if costs attributable to securing the contract can be
separately identified and there is a clear indication that the contract will be secured, the cost
may be deferred and DEBITED to the contract when secured.
(xiii) Payments by the Contractee
This should be DEBITED to Bank if the money is paid into the bank and credited to the
contractee’s personal account.
(5) Other important considerations in contract costing
(i) Retention money and cash ratio- It is a usual practice not to pay the full
amount of work certified. The contractee may pay a fixed percentage, e.g.,
80% of the work certified, depending on the terms of the contract. This is
known as cash ratio. The balance amount not paid is known as retention
money, for example, if cash ratio is 75%, the retention money will be the
remaining 25%. This retention money is a type of security for any defective
 work which may be found in the contract later on. This also works as a
deterrent for the contractor to leave the contract incomplete.
(ii) Escalation & De-escalation clause – This clause is often provided in
contracts to cover any likely changes in the price or utilization of materials
and labour. Thus, a contractor is entitled to suitably enhance the contract price
if the cost rises beyond a given percentage. The object of this clause is to
safeguard the interest of the contractor against unfavourable changes in cost.
The escalation clause is of particular importance where prices of materials and
labour are anticipated to increase or where quantity of material and/or labour
time cannot be accurately estimated.
Just as an escalation clause safeguards the interest of the contractor by upward
revision of the contract price, a de-escalation clause may be inserted to look
after the interest of the contractee by providing for downward revision of the
contract price in the event of cost goings down beyond an agreed level.
Escalation claim may be calculated thus:
For material = standard quantity x (Actual price – standard price)
For labour = standard hours x (Actual rate – standard rate)
(iii) Cost – plus contracts – This is a type of contract in which the contract price
is not fixed at the time of entering into the contract. The contract price is
determined by adding a specified amount or percentage of profit to the costs
allowed in the contract. The contractee compensates the contractor for all
allowable costs actually incurred by him and a percentage of cost as profit.
The items of cost to be included for the purpose of determining contract price
are broadly agreed upon in advance. The accounts of the contractor are
usually subject to audit by the contractee.
(iv) Target-price contracts – In this type of contract, the contractor receives an
agreed sum of profit over his pre-determined costs. In addition, a figure is
agreed as the target figure and if actual costs are below this target the
contractor is eligible for bonus for the savings.
(v) Mobilization fees – It is usual for contractors to collect mobilization fees
from the contractee before commencement of the construction work. A
mobilization fee is an advance payment made to the contractor to enable him
buy the equipment, initial materials and provide working capital for the take-
off of the construction. Mobilization fees received should be credited to a
special account and transferred to the contractee’s account at the end of the
contract.
(6) Contract costing format
Contractee’s Account
Value of work certified x Cash received x

Retention (bal c/d) X

xx xx
 Contract Account
NAME OF CONTRACTOR
Contract price : Nxxx
Site :
Date of commencement :
Date of completion :

Contract Account
N N
Material consumed x cost of work done c/d x
Wages incurred x material returned to store/other
contract
sale of material at site
material stolen/destroyed by fire

Direct expenses x
Depreciation on P &M x

Office & Admin expenses incurred x

bal c/d – materials, plants, etc

xx xx

Cost of work done b/d x value of work certified x

Notional profit c/d x cost of work finished but x

uncertified

Profit & loss account x notional profit b/d x

Profit in suspense (reserve) x

xx xx
Practice Questions
Example 1: The following are the particulars relating to a contract carried out by
Accounting – for show- contractors Ltd, which begun on 1st January, 2004.
N
Contract price 500,000
Machinery 30,000
Materials 170,600
Wages 148,750
Direct expenses 6,330
Outstanding wages 5,380
Uncertified work 9,000
Overheads 8,240
Material returned 1,600
Materials on hand - 31/12/04 3,700
Machinery on hand – 31/12/04 22,000
Value of work certified 390,000
Cash received 351,000

Required
You are required to prepare the contract account for the year 2004 showing the amount of
profit that may be taken to the credit of profit and loss account of the year.
Example 2: Part-2-Accounting Consultants Ltd. secured a contract to build a
swimming pool and sports centre at the OAU, sports complex at a price of
N550,000,000. Work commenced on 1st July, 2008 and the contract was due for
completion in 18months from that date. By December 2009, most of the preliminary
excavation had been completed and the expenditure relating to the contract was as
follows:
Value of plant at site 250,000,000
Stores from Depot 640,000
Materials purchased – cement 9,200,000
- Re-inforced rod 18,400,000
- Sand 5,400,000
Fuel for bulldozer 5,940,000
Wages paid 27,320,000
 Wages accrued 1,040,000
Sub-contractor charge 3,600,000
Insurance 800,000
Miscellaneous Expenses 60,400,000

The last certificate for work done was dated 15th December, 2010 and the total
amount certified under the contract to that date was N160,000,000. The cost of work
from that date to the end of the year was estimated at N14,000,000.
Payment for the certificate was subject to 10% retention and all money due had
been received. At 31st December 2010, the value put upon the plant was N212, 000,000
and the materials at site amounted to N3,500,000.
Required
You are required to show the :
(a) Contract Account
(b) Contractee’s Account