Costing & reports

Overheads: how rent and wages reach every mat

Cost categories, the calculation, units, spreading big bills, consumables, and locking the month.

Material cost looks fine but the month ends in a loss?

Log rent, power and wages as expenses under cost categories. Trakto divides each month's total by the mats you make and adds it to every mat. At month-end, Finalize swaps estimates for real bills and locks the month.

1The calculation, step by step

Take one cost category's expenses for the month (a bill spread over 6 months counts one sixth here).
Divide by the baseline quantity: the good output of the products ticked on that category, by default the average of the last 3 months.
That figure per mat (or per kg) is added to every mat's cost, as a line under Direct Costs.
No bill yet this month for a recurring cost? It shows as ESTIMATE: the average of recent months, until you log the bill or finalise the month.

Rent ₹1,50,000 ÷ 854 mats (average monthly output, Jul–Sep) = ₹175.64 per mat

2Step 1: set up cost categories

WhereCost → Costing → ⚙ Cost Configuration → Cost categories → Overhead

Cost, then Costing, then Settings (⚙), then Share overheads by, then Basis and period, then Cost categories — 1CostIn the left menu.
2CostingThe Costing tab.
3Settings (⚙)Opens Cost Configuration.
4Share overheads byPieces: every mat carries the same. Kg: heavier mats carry more.
5Basis and periodGood output, averaged over the last months.
6Cost categoriesRent, wages, power … and which products share each.

Overhead settings, then Shared by, then Tick what you sell, then Leave SFGs unticked, then Spread and baseline, then How often — 1Overhead settingsCost ⚙ → Cost categories → the category's Overhead button.
2Shared byAll finished products, selected products, or product categories.
3Tick what you sellGym Mat (FG): the overhead lands on the mats you sell.
4Leave SFGs untickedThe compound already feeds the mat. Ticking it too sends rent to the mat by two routes and adds kg to pieces.
5Spread and baselineSpread a bill over months; divide by last month's production or a quantity you set.
6How oftenRecurring: estimated in months with no bill yet. Occasional: only the month it's booked.

Important

Tick only the finished goods you sell. Don't tick a semi-finished good (the compound) that already goes into a mat. The cost should sit on what you sell.

Rent ₹1,50,000 / month	Tick Gym Mat only (do this)	Tick Gym Mat and the compound
Divided by	854 mats	854 mats + 15,372 kg compound, pieces and kg added together
Rate	₹175.64 per mat	₹9.24 per mat and ₹9.24 per kg of compound
Reaches the mat	Once, directly	Twice: ₹9.24 directly, plus 18 kg × ₹9.24 inside the compound
Goes wrong when	—	Compound sits in stock (it holds part of the rent) or output changes: the mat's figure stops adding up

3Step 2: per piece, per kg, or any unit

Setting	Choose	When
Share overheads by	Pieces	Every mat carries the same amount
	Kg	Heavier mats carry more. Works when every product has a weight in kg: the Weight attribute set to kg, or an alternate kg unit
Quantity basis	Production (good output)	Usual for a factory
	Sales (dispatched)	When you want cost to follow what you ship
Period	Last month / average of last months / custom	Average of 3 months smooths a slow month
Show costs in	Pcs, Kg, m² …	Only units your products are set up with appear, so an 18 mm mat can show ₹ per mat and ₹ per kg

4Step 3: log expenses, spread big bills

WhereCost → Expenses → Log Expense

Cost, then Expenses, then Log Expense — 1CostIn the left menu.
2ExpensesEvery expense by month; Finalize the month here.
3Log ExpenseRent, wages, electricity: amount, category and month.

Amount, then Cost category, then Link To, then Month, then Amortize over, then Apply to — 1Amount₹90,000 pump overhaul.
2Cost categoryDecides which products carry it (set up in Cost Configuration).
3Link ToMachine categories ask which machine: Press 1.
4MonthThe month the cost belongs to.
5Amortize over6 months: ₹15,000 a month, so one big repair doesn't spike one month's cost.
6Apply toShared across the category's products, or one product only.

Amortize means spreading one big bill over several months: a ₹90,000 press overhaul over 6 months adds ₹15,000 a month instead of making one month look terrible.

5Consumables and spares from stock

Buy oil, grease or spares through a GRN like any material. When some is used, issue it: Trakto takes it out of stock and logs an expense in that cost category at its stock value, so it flows into overheads by itself.

WhereInventory → Issue Stock → Spares & Consumables

Inventory, then Issue Stock, then Spares & Consumables, then Item, cost category, machine, qty — 1InventoryIn the left menu.
2Issue StockTake stock out to the floor.
3Spares & ConsumablesNot for a work order: for maintenance or running the factory.
4Item, cost category, machine, qtyHere: 2 heater bands to Machine Repair & Maintenance on Press 1. Oil or grease goes to Consumables the same way.

6See what makes up each figure

WhereCost → Costing → Gym Mat → Direct Costs → View entries

From expenses (AUTO), then ESTIMATE, then View entries, then Add Cost — 1From expenses (AUTO)Each cost category's expenses ÷ the baseline quantity = this figure per mat.
2ESTIMATENo bill yet this month: the average of recent months, until you log it or finalise the month.
3View entriesOpens the expenses behind the figure.
4Add CostType your own line for this estimate: packing, transport, a job-work charge.

The expense, then Total for the month — 1The expenseEXP-26-81, ₹1,50,000 September rent, counted in full to Sep 2026.
2Total for the month₹1,50,000 ÷ 854 mats (average good output, Jul–Sep) = ₹175.64 per mat.

7Finalize the month: lock in real overheads

Until a month is finalised, months with missing bills use estimates. Cost → Expenses → Finalize [Month] takes that month's real bills, re-costs its production and every dispatch with them, and locks the month so the numbers stop moving. Your profit reports then use actual overheads, not averages.

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