Step Costs
Definition of 'Step Costs'Business expenses that are constant for a given level of activity, but increase or decrease once a threshold is crossed. Step costs are those costs that change when a business' production levels increase or decrease. When depicted on a graph, these types of expenses will be represented by a stairstep pattern. |
|
Investopedia explains 'Step Costs'For example, a coffee shop might be able to serve 30 customers an hour with one employee. If the shop receives anywhere from zero to 30 customers per hour, it will only need to pay the cost of having one employee. If the shop begins receiving 31 or more customers per hour, it must hire a second employee, increasing its costs of doing business. |
Related Definitions
Articles Of Interest
-
Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC)
Weighted average cost of capital may be hard to calculate, but it's a solid way to measure investment quality -
What is a monopoly?
Monopoly is a fun family game, but in real life, a monopoly can be dangerous to a country's economy. A monopoly occurs when an industry or sector has only one producer of goods or retailer for ... -
Capital Expenditures (CAPEX)
Learn more about what it costs to produce goods. -
Working Capital
Working capital is one of the basic metrics used to evaluate a company's financial health. Find out what it can tell you about a stock and learn how to calculate it. -
What is the difference between "hard money" and "soft money"?
Hard money and soft money are terms that are often used to describe coin money and paper money, respectively. However, these terms are also used to refer to political contributions in the United ...
Free Annual Reports