What is the Production Budget: Meaning, Formula & Example

Manufacturing organisations use production budgets to determine how many product units will be produced. However, companies primarily calculate it by using sales projections. Also, it is modified following the company's inventory policy when projected inventory levels are concerned. Finally, a manufacturer creates cost budgets for the direct materials, direct labour, and overhead costs needed for manufacturing based on this budget.

Keep reading to learn more about the different facets of this budget.

The production budget determines how many units a company must produce over a specific time to achieve its sales budget. Also, instead of using cash numbers, the production budget is expressed in units of the product to be produced. It is determined by the sales budget of the company and the number of safety stock units the company intends to maintain on hand.

To determine how much to manufacture, a company must first calculate the sales budget before creating a production budget. In this regard, the consumer demand for a new product can take time to predict when creating a sales budget.

So, to find out how much other companies are charging for similar products, conduct market research. You can also leverage historical data from previous sales if a product is well-known. Also, it’s necessary to evaluate any shifts in the economy that can have an impact on your company.

Also, it’s necessary to evaluate any shifts in the economy that can have an impact on your company.

1. Direct Labour Budget

A Direct Labour Budget covers the cost of direct labour used within production, service or assembly, as its name suggests. This budget specified the direct labour cost needed to create or offer the service. It can be claimed that a budget like this allows a company to manage the number of employees it needs. In this regard, direct workers labour on the manufacturing floor to produce a product.

2. Direct Materials Budget

The budget for direct materials and an organisation's material requirement planning estimate how many direct materials are required to meet production goals. Moreover, this budget is determined based on production targets, closing inventory, and the number of raw materials needed.

3. Production Overhead Budget

The production or manufacturing overhead budget includes all manufacturing expenditures except direct labour and material costs. The cost of products sold in a master budget is updated with the information from this budget.

Also, this budget's total expenses are converted into an overhead budget for each unit. Finally, a projected balance sheet displays the costs of the final finished goods inventory after deriving it from the overhead budget per unit. This data in this budget may represent a sizable fraction of a company's total spending, which is also crucial among several departmental budget models.

Although it can be computed for any period, a production budget is typically set for each quarter.

To calculate it, use the following production budget formula:

Budget Sales + Desired Ending Inventory – Beginning inventory = Units to be Manufactured

There are four components of a production budget, and the production budget is dependent on the:

1. Beginning Inventory

The remaining inventory from a previous budgetary period makes up a company's beginning inventory. This would be the final inventory for the prior period. In this regard, a year, quarter, or month often makes up a budgeting term. However, this is optional, but it can also represent a different period.

2. Forecasted Sales

A sales budget is typically developed before an estimated sale. This projection indicates how much product the company anticipates selling throughout the budgeted period. This is crucial because failing to meet demand could lead to lost opportunities and harm customer goodwill. Additionally, keeping excess inventory on hand could result in increased storage costs and no longer helpful inventory.

3. Targeted Ending Inventory

The inventory that is still available at the conclusion of a period is known as the ending inventory. At the end of a period, management often has a targeted amount of ending inventory remaining.

Also, this beginning inventory for a new period is changed from the previous period's ending inventory. This is because most businesses keep a small amount of inventory on hand as a "backup stock," just in case. Also, this stock is added to the ending inventory at the end of a period.

4. Required Production

You can calculate the amount needed for merchandise by adding sales projection and desired to end stock, then deducting beginning stock. A company can use cost accounting to determine the exact cost of what will be produced after determining the final production budget.

This is used to determine how many units will be produced over time. Also, appropriate accounts will record raw materials, direct labour, and overhead expenses related to manufacturing a product.

A few advantages of a production budget include the following:

• It coordinates plans and policies connected to them and keeps the company's sales, inventory position, and production balanced.

• It gives an organisation direction or a strategy in addition to the production goal the management anticipates achieving in the next time frame.

• Setting a target based on the production budget encourages staff members to make an extra effort to meet deadlines and operate more effectively.

• A corporation can use its workers, plant, and other equipment to the fullest extent feasible with the aid of this budget.

A few disadvantages of a production budget include the following:

• Since it is based on management's judgement and estimates, it is challenging to foresee the company's production at an acceptable and precise level in the current competitive, unpredictable market.

• As managing a firm takes a lot of time and effort, creating a production budget for a company is time-consuming.

• Everyone in an organisation thinks differently, so many employees may have disagreements on a production budget. In that instance, it's possible that an organisation's staff won't be open to accepting this budget, which was created by the top management of a business.

• Lastly, estimating the numbers for a production budget becomes challenging for a recent business that needs more data and experience.

Hence, creating a production budget is essential if your company creates products instead of providing services to keep operations running smoothly. Following a sales budget, a production budget is typically generated next. Then, it is developed using several financial forecasting techniques, including income statements and balance sheets.