Consolidate Company Warranty For Free

The costs associated with a manufacturer's product warranty are part of its selling expenses and therefore part of its SG&A expenses. If the future costs of the warranty coverage are probable and can be estimated, they are recorded at the time of the sale.

Accrue the warranty expense with a debit to the warranty expense account and a credit to the warranty liability account. As actual warranty claims are received, debit the warranty liability account and credit the inventory account for the cost of the replacement parts and products sent to customers.

Expense Warranty (Accrual) approach if the warranty is inseparable from the product being sold and warranty costs are probable and can be reasonably estimated, accrue these costs as a liability in the year of sale.

Use the following steps as a guide to account for warranty expenses: Find the total number of products sold.Determine the percentage of defective products.Calculate the number of products needing replacement.Evaluate the cost of product replacement.Estimate the total warranty expense.

Additionally, companies record warranty expenses as debits to warranty expense accounts and as credits to liability accounts. When replacing a product, a company would deduct from both the inventory and liability accounts, as the replacement would come from the company's product inventory.

Warranty expense is an expense related to the repair, replacement, or compensation to a user for any product defects. In other words, a vendor or manufacturer is committed to repair or replace a sold product during a certain time period if it breaks or does not function properly ing to the terms of the warranty.

Clarify what the warranty does and does not cover. Be specific when writing out exactly what the warranty does and does not cover. For example, if your product malfunctions, write out whether you will pay for new parts, as well as labor. Do customers have to go to you for repairs, or can they use outside vendors?