Life Cycle Costing

What is Life Cycle Costing?

Life Cycle Costing is a method that aggregates all costs that an organization or individual will incur over the life span of the asset, project, investment, etc. It includes the initial investment (non-recurring expense) and any further investment such as operating cost, maintenance, repair, and upgrades (recurring expense).

Life cycle costing is also known as whole life costing. Its primary purpose is to help management decide whether or not to go ahead with a project or acquire an asset. Management usually analyses the cost of ownership and operating cost and then eventually chooses the asset with the minimum overall cost.

What is Life Cycle Costing?

Process

We can break down the life cycle costing process into the following cost heads – initial investment, recurring cost, disposal cost, and Residual value is the estimated scrap value of an asset at the end of its lease or useful life, also known as the salvage value. It represents the amount of value the owner will obtain or expect to get eventually when the asset is disposed.read more residual valueResidual Value Residual value is the estimated scrap value of an asset at the end of its lease or useful life, also known as the salvage value. It represents the amount of value the owner will obtain or expect to get eventually when the asset is disposed.read more.

You are free to use this image o your website, templates, etc, Please provide us with an attribution linkHow to Provide Attribution?Article Link to be Hyperlinked
For eg:
Source: Life Cycle Costing (wallstreetmojo.com)

Initial Cost: It is either the purchase price of an item or the initial cost of the set-up in case of a project. In most cases, it also includes the cost of installation.
Recurring Cost: It represents all those costs that take place after the purchase, which primarily include operating expenseOperating Expense Operating expense (OPEX) is the cost incurred in the normal course of business and does not include expenses directly related to product manufacturing or service delivery. Therefore, they are readily available in the income statement and help to determine the net profit.read more and maintenance expenses.
- Operating Cost: These costs are associated with the usage of the asset.
- Maintenance Expense: These costs are associated with repair and replacement expenses.
Disposal Cost: These costs are incurredCosts Are Incurred Incurred Cost refers to an expense that a Company needs to pay in exchange for the usage of a service, product, or asset. This might include direct, indirect, production, operating, & distribution charges incurred for business operations. read more at the time of asset disposal.
Residual Value: It represents the asset’s value at the end of its useful life. The higher the residual value, the lower the asset’s whole life cost.

Formula

We can derive the value of whole life costing by identifying all the cost heads and their corresponding period of occurrence, then discounting them to the present value, and then adding them up while deducting the present value of the residual value. Mathematically, it can be represented as,

Life Cycle Costing Formula = Initial Cost + PV of All Recurring Costs – PV of Residual Value

Example of Life Cycle Costing

Let us take the example of John, who wants to purchase a new car worth $12,000. Calculate the car’s life cycle cost if John plans to sell the car after five years at a residual value of $3,000. As per estimates, the annual expense for maintenance & repair will be $1,000, and gas consumption per year will be another $3,500. Please consider the applicable interest rate to be 8%.

Given,

Initial cost = $12,000
Recurring cost = Maintenance & repair + Gas consumption
= $1,000 + $3,500
= $4,500
Residual value = $3,000
No. of years = 5
Interest rate = 8%

Now, life cycle costing of the car can be calculated by using the above formula,

= $12,000 + $4,500 * [1 – (1 + 8%)^-5] / 8% – $3,000 / (1 + 8%)⁵
= $27,925

Applications of Life Cycle Costing

In capital budgetingCapital Budgeting Capital budgeting is the planning process for the long-term investment that determines whether the projects are fruitful for the business and will provide the required returns in the future years or not. It is essential because capital expenditure requires a considerable amount of funds.read more, the life cycle costing is a critical component of the decision-making process (purchase of asset) as it is used to estimate the net cash flows and the expected The return on investment formula measures the gain or loss made on an investment relative to the amount invested. The net income divided by the original capital cost of investment. Return on Investment Formula = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) * 100 read more return on investment (ROI).
In the case of procurement, the department uses it to determine which is the least expensive item and accordingly place the orders.
In engineering and production, this concept is used in developing and manufacturing goods that incur the least cost to the customer in terms of installation, operating, maintenance, disposal, etc.
In the case of customer service, whole life costing is used to minimize the amount of replacement, warranty, and field service.

Benefits

It provides a precise estimate of the expected cost to be incurred over the asset’s life span.
It makes sure that the best decision is made based on an accurate and realistic estimate of costs.
It ensures that the management takes early actions to lower recurring and non-recurring costs.

Effects

The life cycle costing estimates help decision-making where a mutually exclusive option is available. Also, the management can plan to reduce the item’s overall cost through the extension of useful life, efficient utilization, or other similar cost rationalization measures.

Life Cycle Costing