Kokonaiskulu

Kokonaiskulu is a Finnish term used in accounting and business to denote the total cost incurred for a product, project, or activity. It represents the complete amount spent to obtain, produce, or deliver a good or service within a defined period or for a specific unit of output. Etymology: kokonais means total and kulu means cost or expense. The term is common in Finnish budgeting and cost accounting and is often used interchangeably with kokonaiskustannukset or kokonaiskustannus depending on context.

In practice, kokonaiskulu includes both direct costs, such as materials and labour, and indirect costs or overheads, such as rent, utilities, and administrative expenses. Depending on the analysis, it may also incorporate financing costs, taxes, and depreciation, though some analyses separate operating costs from financial charges.

Calculation commonly follows these forms. In manufacturing or operations planning, kokonaiskulu can be expressed as kiinteät kustannukset plus muuttuvat kustannukset (total fixed and variable costs). In product costing or profitability analyses, it can be written as suorat kustannukset plus välilliset kustannukset plus rahoituskulut plus verot plus poistot. The exact components depend on the purpose and the accounting framework used.

Applications include price setting, budgeting, profitability and break-even analyses, and evaluation of investment projects. Limitations arise from different definitions of what constitutes a cost item and from changes in cost behavior over time.