Expense Category
Human Resources

What expense category are payroll fees?

There are a few different ways to categorize payroll fees, and it may depend on the type of business and the accounting method used. Here are a few possibilities:

Cost of Goods Sold

If the business sells products or services, then the payroll fees can be considered a cost of goods sold. This means that the payroll fees are directly related to the revenue generated by the business. For example, if the business has 10 employees and each employee costs $1,000 in payroll fees per month, then the total monthly payroll expense would be $10,000. This amount would be deducted from the total revenue generated by the business.

Operating Expense

Another way to categorize payroll fees is as an operating expense. This means that the payroll fees are not directly related to the revenue generated by the business, but are necessary for the business to function. For example, if the business has 10 employees and each employee costs $1,000 in payroll fees per month, then the total monthly payroll expense would be $10,000. This amount would be deducted from the total revenue generated by the business, but would not be directly related to any specific revenue stream.

Non-Operating Expense

Another way to categorize payroll fees is as a non-operating expense. This means that the payroll fees are not directly related to the revenue generated by the business and are not necessary for the business to function. For example, if the business has 10 employees and each employee costs $1,000 in payroll fees per month, then the total monthly payroll expense would be $10,000. This amount would be deducted from the total revenue generated by the business, but would not be directly related to any specific revenue stream and would not be necessary for the business to function.

The information provided in this article does not constitute legal or financial advice and is for general informational purposes only. Please check with an attorney or financial advisor to obtain advice with respect to the content of this article.
Payroll fees
“Accurate classification of expenses is vital for businesses as it forms the backbone of financial reporting, tax compliance, and strategic decision-making. It enables businesses to track and analyze their spending patterns, identify cost-saving opportunities, and assess the profitability of various operations or projects. Having a single source to turn to for accounting classification suggestions, such as the Ramp Expense Classifier tool, is immensely helpful as it provides consistency, reduces ambiguity, and streamlines the expense classification process.”
Audrey Carroll
Senior Manager, Accounting, Ramp
Ramp logo and SandBoxx logo
Sandboxx Logo

“As we scale we need tools that are built to scale with us - we need to see expenses real time, we need to see duplicate spend. These types of insights are important to the health of our business.”

Steve Padis
SVP Finance & Strategy, Barry's

Tired of manually categorizing expenses? See how Ramp can automate this for you in the demo below

Take a tour of Ramp

Watch our pre-recorded product video to see Ramp in action.
4.8 stars
1,900+ reviews