Interdepartment Services: Step Method O'Brian's Department Stores allocates the costs of the Personnel and Payroll departments to three retail sales departments, Housewares, Clothing, and Furniture. In addition to providing services to the operating departments, Personnel and Payroll provide services to each other. O'Brian's allocates Personnel Department costs on the basis of the number of employees and Payroll Department costs on the basis of gross payroll. Cost and allocation information for June is as follows:

Personnel Payroll Housewares Clothing Furniture
Direct department cost $ 7,800 $ 3,200 $ 12,200 $ 20,000 $ 16,750
Number of employees 5 4 8 16 4
Gross payroll $ 6,000 $ 3,300 $ 10,600 $ 17,400 $ 8,100

(a) Determine the percentage of total Personnel Department services that was provided to the Payroll Department. (Round your answer to one decimal place.)
Answer %

(b) Determine the percentage of total Payroll Department services that was provided to the Personnel Department. (Round your answer one decimal place.)
Answer %

(c) Prepare a schedule showing Personnel Department and Payroll Department cost allocations to the operating departments, assuming O'Brian's uses the step method.

Do not round until your final answers. Round answers to the nearest dollar.

Service Departments Producing Departments
Payroll Personnel Housewares Clothing Furniture
Total costs $Answer $Answer $Answer $Answer $Answe

O'Brian's Department Stores

a) Determination of the percentage of total personnel department services that was provided to the Payroll department

Since allocation of the personnel department services is based on the number of employees, we can use this to calculate the percentage.  The personnel employees are not included in this calculation.

= 4/32 x 100 = 12.5%

b) Percentage of total payroll department services provided to the personnel department.  Since the basis is the gross payroll, we can use this to calculate the percentage.  The gross payroll of the Payroll department is not included in the calculation.

= $6,000/$42,100 x 100 = 14.3%

c)                          Personnel  Payroll  House-     Clothing   Furniture    Total

                                                         Ware

Direct department

  cost               $ 7,800  $ 3,200    $ 12,200   $ 20,000  $ 16,750  $59,950

Number of

  employees       5              4                8               16             4             37

Gross payroll $ 6,000  $ 3,300    $ 10,600     $ 17,400    $ 8,100   $45,400

Total cost      $13,800   $6,500    $22,800     $37,400  $24,850  $105,350

Allocation of service departments costs, using the step method:

Personnel      -13,800      1,725          3,450         6,900       1,725       13,800

Payroll              0           -8,225           2,415         3,965        1,845       8,225

Total allocated 0               0          $28,665    $48,265   $28,420 $105,350

Explanation:

a) Data:

                        Personnel  Payroll  House-     Clothing   Furniture    Total

                                                         Ware

Direct department

  cost               $ 7,800  $ 3,200    $ 12,200   $ 20,000  $ 16,750  $59,950

Number of

  employees       5              4                8               16             4             37

Gross payroll $ 6,000  $ 3,300    $ 10,600     $ 17,400    $ 8,100   $45,400

b) Cost allocation & Calculations:

Personnel (based on the number of employees)

Rate = $13,800/32 = $431.25 per employee

Payroll (based on gross payroll)

Rate = Payroll cost = Payroll cost divided by the total gross payroll in the other departments, excluding personnel and payroll departments

= $8,225/$36,100 = $0.2278 per gross payroll

c) Allocation of service departments' costs is a method of apportioning costs incurred by service departments to the production departments in order to include all the costs in the product costs.  Three methods exist for allocating service departments' costs to the production departments.  The first, which is the simplest, is the direct method.  With this method, the costs of service departments are allocated directly to each production department based on the consumption of the service department's services.  They are not allocated to other service departments.

The second method is the step method.  Here, the costs of one service department with the highest cost are allocated to all other departments first, including production and other service departments following a step.  The costs of the next service department with the highest costs are allocated to the remaining departments.  This step is continued until all the service departments' costs have been allocated.  Once the costs of a service department have been completely allocated, that department would not be allocated any other cost.

The Reciprocal method, which is the last method, is the most accurate and complicated method.  This method first establishes the relationship among the service departments in equation form and uses the established equations to allocate the costs of service departments.  We may not discuss it further than this.