Fix Equation Warranty For Free

To record the liability, the company would debit warranty expense and credit accrued warranty, which is a liability on the balance sheet. The purpose of this is to record the cost of the warranty in the same period that the revenue is recognized.

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't spend more than 30% of the product cost on a product warranty. Pro tip: for many products, you can get quality extended warranty coverage for a lot less than 30%.

Divide the amount of your actual warranty claims in the most recent year by your total sales in the same year to calculate your warranty claims as a percentage of sales. For example, if you had $1,600 in warranty claims and $80,000 in sales, divide $1,600 by $80,000.

Warranties are contractual obligations to repair or replace defective merchandise. Manufacturers offer warranties to increase sales. As a result, the cost of repairing or replacing the merchandise is a cost of generating the sale.

The most objective way to measure the value of a warranty is to compare its cost against that of potential repairs or replacement. Combine your research on the odds of product failure, repair costs, and replacement cost to figure out a monetary amount of risk.

For example, many warranties for common household items only cover the product for up to one year from the date of purchase. Generally, they are covered only if the product has problems due to defective parts or workmanship. As a result of these limited manufacturer warranties, many vendors offer extended warranties.

To calculate the warranty expense, first figure out how many products will need repair or replacement: Total number of units sold X Percentage of units that are defective. Units needing repair or replacement X cost per unit to repair or replace. 14 water bottles x $4 per water bottle = $56 cost of inventory.