Hoolduskulude

Hoolduskulude is a term used in Estonian business and public administration to describe the costs incurred to keep assets in working condition. The word combines hoolduse (maintenance) and kulud (costs). In financial reporting, hoolduskulud are usually treated as operating expenses rather than capital investments, though some maintenance activities may be capitalized under certain accounting rules.

Scope and components: Hoolduskulud cover labor costs for technicians, parts and supplies, service contracts, inspections, and routine servicing of equipment, buildings, vehicles, and IT systems. They may also include outsourced maintenance fees, preventive maintenance programs, and minor refurbishments intended to restore or preserve asset performance. Large overhauls or upgrades that extend an asset’s useful life can be capitalized instead of expensed.

Contexts: In property management, hoolduskulud include building upkeep, HVAC servicing, elevator maintenance, cleaning, and landscaping. In manufacturing, they encompass machine maintenance, calibration, lubrication, and condition monitoring. In IT, they include software updates, hardware servicing, and vendor support contracts.

Management and measurement: Organizations forecast hoolduskulud in budgets and monitor them through maintenance management systems. Key performance indicators include maintenance cost per unit or per square meter, maintenance backlog, and reliability metrics such as mean time between failures. Effective planning emphasizes preventive maintenance to reduce unexpected downtime and total cost of ownership.

See also: maintenance, operating expenses, capital expenditure, asset management.