Manage Equation Warranty For Free

During the accounting period, the company accrues expenses that reflect the costs of fulfilling product warranty claims. When accounting for warranty expense, companies estimate the amount at the time of product sales to ensure the most accurate cost projection for repairing or replacing defective items.

Recording Warranty Expense If a company provides a warranty on the product, they should repair or replace it if it's defective. It creates a liability when the particular product is sold as the company has a liability, which starts when the product is sold.

If the company can reasonably estimate the amount of warranty claims likely to arise under the policy, it should accrue an expense that reflects the cost of these anticipated claims. The accrual should take place in the same reporting period in which the related product sales are recorded.

This means that it cannot be included under COGS. If the service is provided under an extended warranty, its costs will be classed under cost of revenue. If it's provided under a standard warranty, it will probably be classed under operating expenses (OPEX).

To estimate the warranty expense for a company, we need to know three main things: Number of units sold during a particular accounting period. Percentage of the sold products that will probably need a repair or a replacement based on previous experiences. Average cost of repairing or replacing products under warranty.

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.

If the defective product needs to be repaired or refunded, the cost incurred reduces the liability account. Warranty expense is recognized in the same period as revenue for the sold products if there is a probability that an expense will be incurred and if the company can estimate the amount of the expense.

Typically, purchased assets have some type of standard warranty (frequently, one year). Extended warranties (two to five years) are not included in the capitalization process. Therefore, the warranty cost should be charged to another appropriate expense account.