In: Accounting
The phone bill for a law firm consists of both fixed and variable costs. Refer to the four month data below and apply the high-low method to answer the question. If the company uses 390 minutes in September, how much will the total bill be? (Round your intermediate calculations to two decimal places.)
Minutes | total bill | |
may | 490 | $3200 |
june | 210 | 2700 |
july | 160 | 2650 |
august | 330 | 2800 |
$3,356.70
$2,381.70
$3,033.00
$2,587.23
Here, the high level of activity was in the month of May when 490 minutes were used and the low level of activity was in the month of July when 160 minutes were used.
Minutes | Total bill | |
High level of activity | 490 | $3,200 |
(-) Low level of activity | ( 160 ) | ( $2,650 ) |
Difference | 330 | $550 |
Variable cost per minute = Difference in total bill / Difference in minutes = $550 / 330 minutes = 1.67 per minute.
Let us calculate the total fixed cost using the data of high level of activity
Total bill = [ Minutes * Variable cost per unit ] + Total fixed cost
$3,200 = [ 490 minutes * $1.67 ] + Total fixed cost
$3,200 = $818.3 + Total fixed cost
Total fixed cost = $3,200 - $818.3 = $2,381.7
Let us now calculate the total bill if the company uses 390 minutes in September :
Total bill = [ Minutes * Variable cost per unit ] + Total fixed cost = [ 390 minutes * $1.67 ] + $2,381.7 = $3,033 [ 3rd option ]