Contract Manufacturing, Job Shop Quoting & Make-to-Order worked example

Job Costing Variance at 72% share of variance scope included: a worked example

Suppose share of variance scope included falls to 72%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate cost variance between quoted and actual job performance.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts or job units with variance: 420 units (held at the documented default)
  • Cost variance per unit: 7.8 $ / unit (held at the documented default)
  • Share of variance scope included: 72 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 100)
  • Fixed job variance amount: 1,250 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Variable job costing variance = parts or job units with variance × cost variance per unit × variance scope included.
  • total job costing variance works out to 3,609 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • cost variance per unit works out to 8.59 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • variable job costing variance works out to 2,359 $ at these inputs.
  • fixed job variance amount works out to 1,250 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share of variance scope included sits at 100% and the headline result is 4,526 $, this scenario comes in 20.27% below the baseline at 3,609 $.
  • It computes total job costing variance as the per-unit variance times the units affected and the scope included, plus a fixed job variance amount. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • total job costing variance: 3,609 $ (headline result)
  • cost variance per unit: 8.59 $ / piece
  • variable job costing variance: 2,359 $
  • fixed job variance amount: 1,250 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Job Costing Variance calculator, set share of variance scope included to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.