How to Allocate Print-Shop Overhead to a Job
Allocate shared shop expenses using a consistent base, such as productive hours. The denominator matters as much as the monthly expense total.
Choose the expenses the rate will cover
Overhead allocation spreads shared costs across jobs. Start by listing the expenses you want this rate to recover. Examples could include rent, non-job-specific utilities, software, or shared equipment costs. These are planning categories, not an accounting or tax classification.
Keep direct job costs outside the pool when they are already charged separately. If your calculator has a labor rate that includes shop expenses, adding the entire overhead rate again overstates cost. Write a short definition beside each rate so another person can tell what is included.
Build an illustrative hourly rate
Suppose the selected monthly overhead pool is $2,400 and you expect 120 hours of work to which that pool will be allocated. The rate is $2,400 ÷ 120 = $20 per allocated hour. A job using three of those hours receives $60 overhead.
Those 120 hours should use the same definition as the three job hours. A pool allocated by press hours should not be applied to person-hours without a deliberate conversion. The labor-hours guide explains why elapsed time and person-hours differ.
Do not confuse available time with recoverable time
Dividing $2,400 by 160 hours gives $15/hour. But if only 120 hours are ultimately allocated to jobs, the rate recovers $1,800, leaving a $600 gap. That does not prove $20 is the correct commercial rate; it shows the consequence of the denominator you selected.
Using actual monthly hours can also make the rate swing sharply in a quiet month. A planning rate based on a reasonable expected workload can make quotes more consistent. Review the difference between allocated and actual costs separately instead of changing every historic quote.
Enter the job allocation once
In the screen-printing pricing calculator, enter the $60 allocation as job overhead. Enter production wages in labor and one-time preparation in setup, provided neither already includes the same $60. The tool does not decide your overhead method for you.
If a job uses an unusual resource, a single blended rate may hide the difference. You can calculate separate allocations outside the tool and enter their combined total. Keep the supporting calculation with the printed job sheet.
Check the method after jobs are completed
Compare allocated overhead with the expenses the pool was intended to cover. Investigate whether the issue was workload, expense growth, or an inconsistent time measure. Use estimated-versus-actual job review to separate a quoting assumption from a production overrun. All numbers here are examples, not recommended shop rates.
Check whether the allocation actually recovers the pool
Copy these fields into the record for your next comparable job.
- Pool
- List expense amounts, the period covered, and costs deliberately excluded because another rate recovers them.
- Denominator
- Record expected allocation hours and whether they are press-hours, crew-hours, or person-hours.
- Monthly reconciliation
- Rate × actual allocated hours = recovered amount. Compare this with the original pool before revising the rate.
Put this into practice
Open the job pricing calculator with your own job values.
AI-assisted educational content. Examples are illustrative; arithmetic is checked against the stated methods. This is not a field-tested production specification. Read our editorial policy.
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