Bidragsmargin

Bidragsmargin, or contribution margin, is a financial metric used in managerial accounting to measure the portion of revenue that remains after variable costs are deducted. It indicates how much revenue is available to cover fixed costs and to contribute to profit.

Calculation can be done per unit or for the entire business. Per unit, contribution margin equals the selling price minus the variable cost per unit. In total, it equals total revenue minus total variable costs. The contribution margin ratio, expressed as a percentage, is the contribution margin divided by revenue (or price per unit, in per-unit terms).

Applications of bidragsmargin include break-even analysis and short-term decision making. For example, if a product sells for 100 and the variable cost per unit is 60, the contribution margin per unit is 40; with fixed costs of 2,000, the break-even point is 50 units and break-even revenue is 5,000. The metric also helps in assessing product mix, pricing changes, and prioritizing higher-margin lines. It provides a way to estimate how changes in volume or price affect profit, holding variable costs constant.

Relation to other measures: bidragsmargin focuses on variable costs and distinguishes itself from gross margin, which subtracts cost of goods sold. It is not a direct measure of overall profitability or cash flow, and its usefulness depends on a consistent classification of variable costs.