{"id":5199,"date":"2026-06-26T20:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/?p=5199"},"modified":"2026-06-26T20:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:00:44","slug":"cost-accounting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/cost-accounting\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost Accounting: Explanation and Compliance for Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div class=\"prose prose-sm text-text-primary text-sm max-w-full overflow-x-auto\">\n<p>Cost accounting helps businesses see what it really costs to produce goods, deliver services, complete projects, and run daily operations.<\/p>\n<p>For Australian businesses, that visibility supports better pricing, tighter budgets, stronger margin control, and clearer decisions across departments.<\/p>\n<p>This article explains what cost accounting means, how it works, which methods businesses use, and how it supports reporting, compliance, and profitability.<\/p>\n<style>\r\n\t.takeaways-container {\r\n\t\tmargin: 20px 0;\r\n\t\tfont-family: sans-serif;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.box-content {\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #fffacd;\r\n\t\tbox-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 25px;\r\n\t\tpadding: 25px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.title {\r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 20px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.title p {\r\n\t\tdisplay: inline-block;\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #8A0E19;\r\n\t\tcolor: #ffffff;\r\n\t\tpadding: 8px 15px;\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 8px;\r\n\t\tfont-size: 22px;\r\n\t\tfont-weight: bold;\r\n\t\tmargin: 0;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.item {\r\n\t\tdisplay: flex;\r\n\t\talign-items: flex-start;\r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 12px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.item .circle {\r\n\t\twidth: 8px;\r\n\t\theight: 8px;\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #000000;\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 50%;\r\n\t\tmargin-right: 12px;\r\n\t\tflex-shrink: 0;\r\n\t\tmargin-top: 8px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.item p {\r\n\t\tmargin: 0;\r\n\t\tfont-size: 16px;\r\n\t\tline-height: 1.6;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.item p a {\r\n\t\tcolor: #8A0E19;\r\n\t\tfont-weight: normal;\r\n\t\ttext-decoration: none;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.item p a:hover {\r\n\t\ttext-decoration: underline;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.button-wrapper {\r\n\t\tmargin-top: 25px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.submit-button {\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #8a0e19;\r\n\t\tcolor: #fff !important;\r\n\t\ttransition: all .3s ease;\r\n\t\tpadding: 12px 28px;\r\n\t\tdisplay: inline-block;\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 12px;\r\n\t\tfont-size: 16px;\r\n\t\tfont-weight: bold;\r\n\t\ttext-decoration: none;\r\n\t}\r\n\t.submit-button:hover {\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #991b26;\r\n\t}\r\n\t@media (max-width: 767px) {\r\n\t\t.takeaways-container {\r\n\t\t\theight: auto;\r\n\t\t\tpadding: 0;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t.box-content {\r\n\t\t\tpadding: 24px;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t.content,\r\n\t\t.main-content,\r\n\t\t.list-item {\r\n\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"takeaways-container\">\r\n\t<div class=\"box-content\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"content\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<p>Key Takeaways<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"main-content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"list-item\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"item\">    <div class=\"circle\"><\/div>    <p><a href=\"#what-is-cost-accounting\">Cost accounting is<\/a> the process of recording and allocating what each product, service, or project costs to run.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"item\">    <div class=\"circle\"><\/div>    <p><a href=\"#cost-accounting-and-compliance-in-australia\">Cost accounting and compliance<\/a> are linked because the ATO requires accurate expense records for BAS, tax returns, and audits.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"item\">    <div class=\"circle\"><\/div>    <p><a href=\"#how-cost-accounting-works\">How cost accounting works<\/a> follows five steps: identify cost objects, collect data, classify costs, allocate overheads, and compare actuals against budgets.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"item\">    <div class=\"circle\"><\/div>    <p><a href=\"#how-accounting-software-supports-cost-accounting\">Accounting software supports cost accounting<\/a> by capturing purchasing, inventory, payroll, and sales data in one place.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<!-- <div id=\"toc_group_article\" style=''>\r\n\t<p style='font-size:25px;font-weight:bold; margin-bottom:0px'>\r\n\t\tTable of Content:\r\n\t<\/p>\r\n\t<ul id=\"list_toc\" class='list_toc'><\/ul>\r\n<\/div> -->\r\n\r\n<!-- <div class=\"dropdown-fixed-top\" id=\"dropdown-fixed-top\">\r\n\t<div class=\"row\">\r\n\t\t<p id=\"pilihDaftarIsi\">Table of Content<\/p>\r\n\t\t<p><i class=\"td-icon-menu-down\"><\/i><\/p>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\r\n\t<div>\r\n\t\t<ul id=\"list_toc_top\" class='list_toc'><\/ul>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div> -->\r\n\r\n<div id=\"placeholder-toc\"><\/div>\r\n<div id=\"toc\">\r\n    <div class=\"header\">\r\n\t<span class=\"toc-title\" id=\"toc-title\">Table of Content<\/span>\t\r\n\t <i class=\"toc-icon\">\r\n        <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#000\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" class=\"header-icon\">\r\n          <path d=\"m6 9 6 6 6-6\" \/>\r\n        <\/svg>\r\n      <\/i>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"list\">\r\n      <ul id=\"toc-list\"><\/ul>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n\t@media (max-width: 992px) {\r\n\t\t#toc_group_article {\r\n\t\t\tpadding-top: 24px;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc_float {\r\n\t\tmax-height: calc(100vh - 250px);\r\n\t\toverflow-y: auto;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc_top {\r\n\t\tdisplay: none;\r\n\t\tbackground: #fff;\r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 4px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc_top li {\r\n\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t\tmargin-left: 0;\r\n\t\tlist-style: none;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc_top a {\r\n\t\tpadding: 5px;\r\n\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc_top.show {\r\n\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t#list_toc_top a {\r\n\t\tcolor: #434343;\r\n\t\tborder-bottom: 1px solid #bbb;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t.dropdown-fixed-top {\r\n\t\tposition: fixed;\r\n\t\ttop: 59px;\r\n\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\tz-index: 99;\r\n\t\tborder-bottom: 2px solid #9c171e;\r\n\t\tpadding: 12px;\r\n\t\tbackground: #fff;\r\n\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\tcursor: pointer;\r\n\t\tdisplay: none;\r\n\t\tleft: 0;\r\n\t\tbox-shadow: 0 -2px 7px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17);\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#dropdown-fixed-top.show {\r\n\t\tanimation: showAnim 0.5s ease;\r\n\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t\topacity: 1;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@keyframes showAnim {\r\n\t\tfrom {\r\n\t\t\tdisplay: none;\r\n\t\t\topacity: 0;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\tto {\r\n\t\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t\t\topacity: 1;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t.dropdown-fixed-top #list_toc_top {\r\n\t\tmax-height: calc(50vh - 110px);\r\n\t\toverflow-y: scroll;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t.dropdown-fixed-top .row {\r\n\t\tdisplay: flex;\r\n\t\tjustify-content: space-between\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t.dropdown-fixed-top .row p {\r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 0;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#pilihDaftarIsi {\r\n\t\tmax-width: 100%;\r\n\t\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\twhite-space: nowrap;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@media (min-width: 1018px) {\r\n\t\t.dropdown-fixed-top {\r\n\t\t\tdisplay: none;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#list_toc li {margin-bottom: 0;margin-top: 5px;}\r\n\t#list_toc > li > ul {padding-left: 20px;margin-bottom: 0;}\r\n\t#list_toc{height:max-content;transition:ease-in-out}\r\n\t#list_toc li {margin-bottom: 0;margin-top: 5px;}\r\n\t#list_toc_float li.active > a {color:#b1252d;background: #ffe1e3;}\r\n\t#list_toc_top li.active > a {color:#b1252d;background: #ffe1e3;}\r\n\t#list_toc_float li a {padding:3px 7px}\r\n\t#list_toc_float li a {\r\n\t\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t\tcolor: #000;\r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 6px;\r\n\t\tpadding-top: 2px;\r\n\t\tpadding-bottom: 2px;\r\n\t\ttransition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;\r\n\t\tfont-size: 15px;\r\n\t\tline-height: 18px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t#list_toc_float li{list-style:none;list-style-position:inside; margin-left:0;}\r\n\t#list_toc_float a:hover{color:#b1252d;}\r\n\t\r\n\t#toc_group_float{\r\n\t\tline-height: 24px;\r\n\t\tmax-height: calc(100vh - 100px);\r\n\t\toverflow: auto;\r\n\t\tz-index: 99;\r\n\t\tdisplay:none!important;\r\n\t\tbackground:#fff;\r\n\t\ttransition:all 0.5s linear\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@media (min-width:1019px){\r\n\t\t#toc_group_float {\r\n\t\t\tdisplay:block!important;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t#toc_group_article {\r\n\t\t\tdisplay:none;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<!-- ToC styling  -->\r\n<style>\r\n\t\/* Simple styling for the TOC *\/\r\n\t\r\n\t#toc ul li:last-child {\r\n    padding-bottom: 16px; \/* Adjust the value as needed *\/\r\n}\r\n\r\n.td-fix-index {\r\n\t transform: unset !important;\r\n     -webkit-transform: unset !important; \r\n}\r\n.footer-contact .td-fix-index {\r\n\t transform: translateZ(0) !important;\r\n     -webkit-transform: translateZ(0) !important; \r\n}\r\n\t.tdb_single_content .tdb-block-inner.td-fix-index{\r\n\t\tposition: static;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n#toc {\r\n  background-color: #FFF;\r\n\tpadding: 17px 24px 0px 24px !important;\r\n  margin-bottom: 20px;\r\n\/*   border: 1px solid #9C171E; *\/\r\n  border-radius: 6px;\r\n\tdisplay: none;\r\n  max-width: 100%;\r\n  transition: .4s ease height;\r\n\tmargin-left: 0;\r\n\toverflow: hidden;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#toc .header{\r\n  display: flex;\r\n  align-items: center;\r\n  justify-content: space-between;\r\n\tbackground-color: transparent;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t#toc.sticky .header{\r\n\t\tpadding: 4px 0;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n.header p{\r\n  font-size: 18px !important;\r\n  font-weight: 600 !important;\r\n  color: #393939;\r\n   margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  \/* margin-top: 20px; *\/\r\n}\r\n\r\n.toc-icon{\r\n  float: right;\r\n\/*   visibility: hidden; *\/\r\n}\r\n\r\n\t.toc-title{\r\n\t\tmargin-right: auto;\r\n\/* \t\tpadding-left: 20px; *\/\r\n\t\tfont-weight: 600;\r\n\t\talign-self: center;\t}\t\r\n\r\n#toc ul {\r\n  list-style-type: none;\r\n  padding-left: 0;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n#toc.sticky ul{\r\n\toverflow-y: auto;\r\n\tmax-height: 250px;\r\n\tmargin-top: 0px;\r\n\tpadding-top: 20px;\r\n\/* \tborder-top: 1px solid #d3d3d3; *\/\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n#toc ul li {\r\n\/*   margin-bottom: 10px; *\/\r\n  margin-bottom: 10px;\r\n\tmargin-left: 0;\r\n\ttransition: .2s ease;\r\n\tcursor: pointer;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t#toc.sticky ul li {\r\n\t  margin-right: 10px;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n.td-post-content #toc-list li a:hover, .td-post-content #toc-list a.active{\r\n\tbackground-color: #FFF;\r\n\/* \tpadding: 8px 16px 8px 16px; *\/\r\n\tpadding: 4px 16px 4px 16px;\r\n\tborder-radius: 6px;\r\n\tcolor: #9c171e !important;\r\n\tfont-weight: 600 !important;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t.td-post-content #toc-list li:hover a, .td-post-content #toc-list a.active{\r\n\t\tcolor: #9C171E !important;\r\n\t\tfont-weight: 600 !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n.td-post-content #toc-list a.active{\r\n\tfont-weight: bold !important;\r\n\tcolor: #9C171E !important;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n#toc a, .td-post-content #toc-list a {\r\n  text-decoration: none;\r\n  color: #ea1717 !important;\r\n  transition: .2s ease;\r\n\tfont-weight: 400 !important;\r\n\tdisplay: block;\r\n\t\r\n\tpadding: 4px 16px 4px 0;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#toc.sticky {\r\n  position: fixed;\r\n\/*   top: 73px; *\/\r\n\tbottom: 0;\r\n  z-index: 100; \r\n  box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.1); \r\n\twidth: 100%; \r\n\tbackground-color: #FFF;\r\n\/* \tbackground-color: #FFF1F1; *\/\r\n\tborder-bottom: 1px solid #ea1717;\r\n\/*   border: 1px solid #393939; *\/\r\n  box-shadow: 0px 0px 14px 0px #00000040;\r\n  cursor: pointer;\r\n\tanimation: fadein .3s ease;\r\n\tpadding: 12px 16px !important;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t.fadein{\r\n\t\tanimation: fadein .3s ease;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t.fadeout{\r\n\t\tanimation: fadeout .3s ease;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t@keyframes fadein{\r\n\t\t0% {\r\n\t\t\topacity: 0;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t100%{\r\n\t\t\topacity: 1;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@keyframes fadeout{\r\n\t\t0% {\r\n\t\t\topacity: 1;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t100%{\r\n\t\t\topacity: 0;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n\t\r\n#toc.sticky .header p{\r\n\tmargin-bottom: 10px;\r\n\tmargin-top: 10px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#toc.sticky .toc-icon{\r\n  visibility: visible;\r\n\/* \ttransition: 0.4s ease; *\/\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t.toc-icon{\r\n\t\talign-items: center;\r\n    \tdisplay: flex;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\tsvg.header-icon{\r\n\/* \t\tbackground-color: #9c171e; *\/\r\n\t\tbackground-color: #FFF;\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 30px;\r\n\t\tpadding: 5px;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n#toc.sticky .list{\r\n\/*   max-height: 0; *\/\r\n  transition: height 0.4s ease;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t#toc .list{\r\n\/*   max-height: 0; *\/\r\n  transition: height 0.4s ease;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#toc .header.active .toc-icon{\r\n\ttransform: rotate(0deg); \r\n\topacity: 1;\r\n}\r\n\r\n\t#toc .header.active + .list {\r\n\t  max-height: 200px; \/* Adjust this value as needed *\/\r\n\t  opacity: 1;\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t#placeholder-toc{\r\n\/* \t\tdisplay: none; *\/\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 991px){\r\n\t\t#toc.sticky{\r\n\/* \t\t\ttop: 104px; *\/\r\n\t\t\tbottom: 0px;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t#toc{\r\n\t\t\twidth: unset !important;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t@media (max-width: 767px){\r\n\t\t#toc{\r\n\t\t\twidth: 100% !important;\r\n\t\t\tdisplay: inline-block;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t#toc.sticky{\r\n\t\t\twidth: 90% !important;\r\n\/* \t\t\ttop: 81px; *\/\r\n\t\t\tbottom: 60px;\r\n\t\t\tmargin-left: auto;\r\n\t\t\tmargin-right: auto;\r\n\t\t\tpadding: 0 16px;\r\n\t\t\tright: 5%;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t}\r\n\t\r\n\t<\/style>\r\n\r\n<!-- ToC List for mobile -->\r\n<script>\r\n \/\/ Generate TOC based on headings\r\ndocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\n  \/\/ Get the element that will contain the TOC\r\n  const tocList = document.getElementById('toc-list');\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Get the element with the ID 'article-left'\r\n  const article = document.querySelector('.td-post-content');\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Find all h2 elements within 'myarticle'\r\n  const headers = article.getElementsByTagName('h2');\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Loop through the h2 elements and create a list item for each one\r\n  for (let i = 0; i < headers.length; i++) {\r\n    const header = headers[i];\r\n    const headerText = header.textContent;\r\n\/\/     const headerId = 'header-' + i;\r\n    const headerId = headerText\r\n    .toLowerCase()\r\n    .trim()\r\n    .replace(\/[^\\w\\s-]\/g, '')  \/\/ hapus tanda baca\r\n    .replace(\/\\s+\/g, '-'); \/\/ ganti spasi jadi \"-\"\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Set an ID for the header if it doesn't have one\r\n    header.setAttribute('id', headerId);\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Create a list item for the TOC\r\n    const listItem = document.createElement('li');\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Create a link for the list item\r\n    const link = document.createElement('a');\r\n    link.setAttribute('href', '#' + headerId);\r\n    link.textContent = headerText;\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Append the link to the list item\r\n    listItem.appendChild(link);\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Append the list item to the TOC list\r\n    tocList.appendChild(listItem);\r\n  }\r\n});\r\n\r\n\/\/ Keep height and placement of content using placeholder in place of TOC\r\ndocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\n  const toc = document.querySelector('#toc');\r\n  const placeholderToc = document.querySelector('#placeholder-toc');\r\n\r\n  function setPlaceholderHeight() {\r\n    placeholderToc.style.height = `${toc.offsetHeight}px`;\r\n  }\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Set the initial height of the placeholder\r\n  setPlaceholderHeight();\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Update the height on window resize\r\n  window.addEventListener('resize', setPlaceholderHeight);\r\n});\r\n  const tocTitle = document.querySelector('#toc-title'); \/\/ Assuming header-faq is the element for TOC title\r\n\r\n\/\/ Sticky TOC and update heading\r\ndocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\n  const toc = document.querySelector('#toc');\r\n  const footer = document.querySelector('.td-footer-template-wrap');\r\n  const tocParent = toc.parentElement;\r\n  const divTop = tocParent.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset;\r\n  const tocHeight = toc.offsetHeight;\r\n  const triggerPoint = divTop + tocHeight + 700;\r\n  const footerHeight = footer.offsetHeight;\r\n  const triggerFooterPoint = footer.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.pageYOffset - footerHeight - footerHeight - footerHeight;\r\n  const phtoc = document.querySelector('#placeholder-toc');\r\n  const headers = document.querySelectorAll('.td-post-content h2');\r\n  const navLinks = document.querySelectorAll('#toc-list a');\r\n\t\r\n\tconst panel2 = document.querySelector(\"#toc .list\");\r\n\tvar icon = document.querySelector(\".toc-icon\");\r\n\r\n  let activeLink = null; \/\/ Declare activeLink outside the loop\r\n\t\r\n  \/\/ Function to handle scroll and add\/remove .sticky class\r\n  function handleScroll() {\r\n    const windowTop = window.pageYOffset || document.documentElement.scrollTop;\r\n    let currentHeader = '';\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Highlight user progress as the heading comes\r\n    headers.forEach(header => {\r\n\t\tconst headerTop = header.offsetTop;\r\n\t\tconst headerHeight = header.clientHeight;\r\n\t\tif (window.scrollY >= (headerTop - headerHeight + 700)) {\r\n\t\t\tconst currentHeaderId = header.getAttribute('id');\r\n\t\t\tconst currentHeaderText = document.getElementById(currentHeaderId).textContent;\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tconsole.log(\"current header text:\", currentHeaderText);\r\n\t\t\ttocTitle.textContent = currentHeaderText;\r\n\t\t\tcurrentHeader = currentHeaderId;\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\tif(window.innerWidth < 767){\r\n\t\t\t\ttocTitle.textContent = 'Table of Content';\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t});\r\n\r\n    navLinks.forEach(link => {\r\n      link.classList.remove('active');\r\n      if(currentHeader != '') {\r\n\t\t  if (link.getAttribute('href').includes(currentHeader)) {\r\n\t\t\t  link.classList.add('active');\r\n\t\t  }\r\n\t  }\r\n    });\r\n\/\/     if (windowTop < triggerFooterPoint) {\r\n\/\/         toc.style.display = 'block';\r\n\/\/ \t}else{\r\n\/\/         toc.style.display = 'none';\r\n\/\/ \t}\r\n    \/\/ Update TOC title if sticky\r\n    if (windowTop > triggerPoint) {\r\n      if (!toc.classList.contains('sticky')) {\r\n        phtoc.style.display = \"block\";\r\n        toc.classList.add('sticky');\r\n        toc.style.width = `${tocParent.offsetWidth}px`; \/\/ Set width to match the parent element\r\n        toc.setAttribute('style', 'width: ' + tocParent.offsetWidth + 'px !important;');\r\n        toc.style.backgroundColor = \"#FFF\";\r\n\t\tpanel2.style.height = '0px';\r\n\t\t  icon.style.transform = \"rotate(180deg)\";\r\n\t\t  if(window.innerWidth < 767){\r\n\/\/ \t\t\t  const tocs = document.querySelector('#toc.sticky');\r\n\t\t\t  tocTitle.textContent = 'Table of Content'; \/\/ Reset title\r\n       \t\t  toc.style.width = '150px'; \/\/ Set width to match the parent element\r\n\t\t  }\r\n      }\r\n      if (currentHeader) {\r\n\/\/         console.log(\"activeLink:\", activeLink);\r\n        if (activeLink) {\r\n\/\/           tocTitle.textContent = activeLink.textContent; \/\/ Update TOC title\r\n          tocTitle.textContent = activeLink ? activeLink.textContent : \"\"; \/\/ Update title only if activeLink exists\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n    } else {\r\n      toc.classList.remove('sticky');\r\n      phtoc.style.display = \"none\";\r\n      toc.style.width = 'unset'; \/\/ Reset to original width\r\n      toc.style.backgroundColor = \"#FFF\";\r\n      tocTitle.textContent = 'Table of Content'; \/\/ Reset title\r\n\t\tpanel2.style.height = panel2.scrollHeight + \"px\";\r\n\t\ticon.style.transform = \"rotate(180deg)\";\r\n    }\r\n  }\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Attach the scroll event listener to the window\r\n    window.addEventListener('scroll', handleScroll);\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Initial call to handleScroll to set the correct state on load\r\n    handleScroll();\r\n});\r\n\t\r\n\t\/\/ Open toggle TOC\r\n\t  document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\n\t\tvar tocHeader = document.querySelector(\"#toc .header\");\r\n\t\tvar toc = document.querySelector(\"#toc\");\r\n\t\tvar icon = document.querySelector(\".toc-icon\");\r\n\t\tconst tocTitle = document.querySelector('#toc-title');\r\n\t\tconst tocs = document.querySelector('#toc.sticky');\r\n \t\tconst tocParent = toc.parentElement;\t\t  \r\n\r\n\t\t  tocHeader.addEventListener(\"click\", function() {\r\n\t\t\tvar panel = this.nextElementSibling;\r\n\t\t\tif (panel.style.height !== '0px') { \/\/ Check if height is not 0px\r\n\t\t\t  panel.style.height = '0px'; \/\/ Set height to 0 for full collapse\r\n\t\t\t  icon.style.transform = \"rotate(180deg)\";\r\n\/\/ \t\t\t\ttoc.style.paddingBottom = '6px'; \r\n\t\t\t\tif(window.innerWidth > 768){\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif(!toc.classList.contains('sticky')){\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttoc.style.width = \"unset\";\r\n\/\/ \t\t\t\t\t\ttoc.setAttribute('style', 'width: ' + tocParent.offsetWidth + 'px !important;');\r\n\t\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t\tif (toc.classList.contains('sticky')){\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttoc.style.width = '${tocParent.offsetWidth}px';\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttoc.setAttribute('style', 'width: ' + tocParent.offsetWidth + 'px !important;');\r\n\t\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\tif(window.innerWidth < 767){\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttoc.style.width = \"unset\"; \/\/ Reset width\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t\ttoc.style.backgroundColor = \"#FFF1F1\";\r\n\t\t\t} else {\r\n\t\t\t  panel.style.height = panel.scrollHeight + \"px\";\r\n\t\t\t  icon.style.transform = \"rotate(0deg)\";\r\n\t\t\t  toc.style.backgroundColor = \"#FFF\";\r\n\t\t\t  tocTitle.textContent = 'Table of Content'; \/\/ Reset title\r\n\t\t\t\ttoc.style.paddingBottom = '24px';\r\n\t\t\t \tif(window.innerWidth < 767){\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttoc.style.width = `${tocParent.offsetWidth}px`; \/\/ Set width to match the parent element\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttoc.setAttribute('style', 'width: ' + tocParent.offsetWidth + 'px !important;');\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t  });\r\n\r\n\t\t  \/\/ Close TOC when a link inside it is clicked\r\n\t\t  var tocLinks = document.querySelectorAll(\"#toc .list a\");\r\n\t\t  tocLinks.forEach(function(link) {\r\n\t\t\tlink.addEventListener(\"click\", function() {\r\n\t\t\t  var panel = document.querySelector(\"#toc .list\");\r\n\t\t\t  panel.style.height = '0px'; \/\/ Set height to 0 for full collapse\r\n\t\t\t  icon.style.transform = \"rotate(180deg)\";\r\n\t\t\t  toc.style.backgroundColor = \"#FFF\";\r\n\t\t\t});\r\n\t\t  });\r\n\t\t});\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\/\/ \tmake the heading at the center of the viewport\r\n\/\/ \tdocument.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\r\n\/\/     \/\/ Add click event listener to all links in the TOC list\r\n\/\/     document.querySelectorAll('#toc-list a').forEach(anchor => {\r\n\/\/         anchor.addEventListener('click', function (e) {\r\n\/\/             e.preventDefault(); \/\/ Prevent the default behavior of jumping to the anchor\r\n\/\/ \/\/ \t\t\tconsole.log(\"prevent default\");\r\n\/\/             const targetId = this.getAttribute('href').substring(1); \/\/ Get the ID of the target element\r\n\/\/             const targetElement = document.getElementById(targetId); \/\/ Get the target element\r\n\r\n\/\/             if (targetElement) {\r\n\/\/                 const headerHeight = document.querySelector('#toc .header').offsetHeight; \/\/ Get the height of the fixed header\r\n\/\/                 const windowHeight = window.innerHeight; \/\/ Get the height of the viewport\r\n\/\/                 const targetOffset = targetElement.offsetTop; \/\/ Get the top offset of the target element\r\n\/\/                 const scrollTo = targetOffset + (windowHeight \/ 2) + (headerHeight); \/\/ Calculate the scroll position to center the target element\r\n\r\n\/\/                 \/\/ Scroll to the calculated position smoothly\r\n\/\/                 window.scrollTo({\r\n\/\/                     top: scrollTo,\r\n\/\/                     behavior: 'smooth'\r\n\/\/                 });\r\n\/\/             }\r\n\/\/         });\r\n\/\/     });\r\n\/\/ });\r\n<\/script>\r\n\r\n<!-- START script lama -->\r\n<!-- <script>\r\n\/\/ \tvar pilihDaftarIsi = document.getElementById('pilihDaftarIsi');\r\n\t\r\n\/\/ \tdocument.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\r\n\/\/ \t\tvar dropdownFixedTop = document.querySelector('.dropdown-fixed-top');\r\n\r\n\/\/ \t\tdropdownFixedTop.addEventListener('click', function() {\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tvar dropdownContent = this.querySelector('.list_toc');\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tdropdownContent.classList.toggle('show');\r\n\/\/ \t\t});\r\n\r\n\/\/ \t\twindow.addEventListener('click', function(event) {\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tvar listTocTop = document.getElementById('list_toc_top');\r\n\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tif (!dropdownFixedTop.contains(event.target)) {\r\n\/\/ \t\t\t\tlistTocTop.classList.remove('show');\r\n\/\/ \t\t\t}\r\n\/\/ \t\t});\r\n\/\/ \t});\r\n\t\r\n\/\/ \tvar daftarIsiContainer = document.getElementById('toc_group_article');\r\n\/\/ \tvar dropdownFixedTop = document.getElementById('dropdown-fixed-top');\r\n\/\/     var triggered = false; \/\/ Flag to keep track of whether the function has been triggered\r\n\r\n\/\/     window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {\r\n\/\/         if (!triggered && isCompletelyScrolledPast(daftarIsiContainer)) {\r\n\/\/             showSectionDropdownFixedTop(false);\r\n\/\/             triggered = true;\r\n\/\/         } else if (triggered && !isCompletelyScrolledPast(daftarIsiContainer)) {\r\n\/\/             showSectionDropdownFixedTop(true);\r\n\/\/             triggered = false;\r\n\/\/         }\r\n\/\/     });\r\n\r\n\/\/     function isCompletelyScrolledPast(element) {\r\n\/\/         var elementTop = element.getBoundingClientRect().top;\r\n\/\/         var elementBottom = element.getBoundingClientRect().bottom;\r\n\/\/         return elementTop < 0 && elementBottom < 0;\r\n\/\/     }\r\n\r\n\/\/     function showSectionDropdownFixedTop(show) {\r\n\/\/ \t\tif (show) {\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tdropdownFixedTop.classList.remove(\"show\");\r\n\/\/ \t\t} else {\r\n\/\/ \t\t\tdropdownFixedTop.classList.add(\"show\");\r\n\/\/ \t\t}\r\n\/\/     }\r\n<\/script> -->\r\n<!-- <script>\r\n    \/\/ Scrollspy function to highlight the active TOC item based on the scroll position\r\n  function scrollSpy(tocClass) {\r\n    const scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Find the active h2 and h3 headings based on their position in the corresponding TOC\r\n    let activeH2 = null;\r\n    let activeH3 = null;\r\n\r\n    const tocItems = document.querySelectorAll(`.${tocClass} li`);\r\n    tocItems.forEach(item => {\r\n      const a = item.querySelector('a');\r\n      if (!a) return;\r\n      const href = a.getAttribute('href');\r\n      const targetId = href.substring(1); \/\/ Remove the '#' from the href to get the target ID\r\n      const targetElement = document.getElementById(targetId);\r\n      if (!targetElement) return;\r\n\r\n      const targetTop = targetElement.getBoundingClientRect().top + scrollPosition;\r\n      const nextItem = item.nextElementSibling;\r\n      const nextTop = nextItem ? nextItem.getBoundingClientRect().top + scrollPosition : Infinity;\r\n\r\n      if (targetTop <= scrollPosition + 150) {\r\n        if (a.parentElement.parentElement === tocItems) {\r\n          \/\/ The h2 heading is at the root level of the TOC\r\n          activeH2 = { id: targetId, level: 'h2' };\r\n        } else {\r\n          \/\/ The h3 heading is nested under an h2 heading\r\n          const parentH2 = a.parentElement.parentElement.previousElementSibling;\r\n          if (parentH2) {\r\n            const h2Link = parentH2.querySelector('a');\r\n            if (h2Link) {\r\n              const h2Href = h2Link.getAttribute('href');\r\n              const h2Id = h2Href.substring(1);\r\n              activeH2 = { id: h2Id, level: 'h2' };\r\n            }\r\n          }\r\n          activeH3 = { id: targetId, level: 'h3' };\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n\r\n      if (targetTop > scrollPosition + 150 && nextTop > scrollPosition + 150 && !activeH3) {\r\n        \/\/ Reset the activeH2 when there are no more active h3 headings\r\n        activeH2 = null;\r\n      }\r\n    });\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Update the active state for the TOC items\r\n    tocItems.forEach(item => {\r\n      item.classList.remove('active');\r\n      const a = item.querySelector('a');\r\n      if (a) {\r\n        const href = a.getAttribute('href');\r\n        const targetId = href.substring(1);\r\n        if ((activeH2 && activeH2.id === targetId) || (activeH3 && activeH3.id === targetId)) {\r\n          item.classList.add('active');\r\n\t\t  pilihDaftarIsi.innerHTML = a.textContent;\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n    });\r\n  }\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Call scrollSpy for each TOC on window scroll\r\n  const tocClasses = ['list_toc', 'list_toc_float', 'list_toc_top']; \/\/ Add other TOC class names here if you have more than two instances\r\n  tocClasses.forEach(tocClass => {\r\n    window.addEventListener('scroll', () => scrollSpy(tocClass));\r\n  });\r\n<\/script> -->\r\n<!-- END script lama -->\r\n\t\r\n<script>\r\n    \/\/ Scrollspy function to highlight the active TOC item based on the scroll position\r\n  function scrollSpy(tocClass) {\r\n    const scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Find the active h2 and h3 headings based on their position in the corresponding TOC\r\n    let activeH2 = null;\r\n    let activeH3 = null;\r\n\r\n    const tocItems = document.querySelectorAll(`.${tocClass} li`);\r\n    tocItems.forEach(item => {\r\n      const a = item.querySelector('a');\r\n      if (!a) return;\r\n      const href = a.getAttribute('href');\r\n      const targetId = href.substring(1); \/\/ Remove the '#' from the href to get the target ID\r\n      const targetElement = document.getElementById(targetId);\r\n      if (!targetElement) return;\r\n\r\n      const targetTop = targetElement.getBoundingClientRect().top + scrollPosition;\r\n      const nextItem = item.nextElementSibling;\r\n      const nextTop = nextItem ? nextItem.getBoundingClientRect().top + scrollPosition : Infinity;\r\n\r\n      if (targetTop <= scrollPosition + 150) {\r\n        if (a.parentElement.parentElement === tocItems) {\r\n          \/\/ The h2 heading is at the root level of the TOC\r\n          activeH2 = { id: targetId, level: 'h2' };\r\n        } else {\r\n          \/\/ The h3 heading is nested under an h2 heading\r\n          const parentH2 = a.parentElement.parentElement.previousElementSibling;\r\n          if (parentH2) {\r\n            const h2Link = parentH2.querySelector('a');\r\n            if (h2Link) {\r\n              const h2Href = h2Link.getAttribute('href');\r\n              const h2Id = h2Href.substring(1);\r\n              activeH2 = { id: h2Id, level: 'h2' };\r\n            }\r\n          }\r\n          activeH3 = { id: targetId, level: 'h3' };\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n\r\n      if (targetTop > scrollPosition + 150 && nextTop > scrollPosition + 150 && !activeH3) {\r\n        \/\/ Reset the activeH2 when there are no more active h3 headings\r\n        activeH2 = null;\r\n      }\r\n    });\r\n\r\n    \/\/ Update the active state for the TOC items\r\n    tocItems.forEach(item => {\r\n      item.classList.remove('active');\r\n      const a = item.querySelector('a');\r\n      if (a) {\r\n        const href = a.getAttribute('href');\r\n        const targetId = href.substring(1);\r\n        if ((activeH2 && activeH2.id === targetId) || (activeH3 && activeH3.id === targetId)) {\r\n          item.classList.add('active');\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n    });\r\n  }\r\n\r\n  \/\/ Call scrollSpy for each TOC on window scroll\r\n  const tocClasses = ['list_toc', 'list_toc_float']; \/\/ Add other TOC class names here if you have more than two instances\r\n  tocClasses.forEach(tocClass => {\r\n    window.addEventListener('scroll', () => scrollSpy(tocClass));\r\n  });\r\n<\/script>\r\n\t\r\n\r\n<!-- ToC List for desktop side bar, diganti jadi inject by php, di code snippet \"Sidebar Accordion\" -->\r\n<!--  <script>\r\n\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\nToC List for desktop side bar, diganti jadi inject by php, di code snippet \"Sidebar Accordion\"\r\n        Fungsi untuk mengubah teks menjadi format id\r\n        function formatId(text) {\r\n            return text.trim().replace(\/[^\\w\\d]+\/g, '_');\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Fungsi untuk membuat nested list\r\n        function createNestedList(parentNode, children) {\r\n            if (children.length === 0) return;\r\n\r\n            const nestedUl = document.createElement('ul');\r\n            children.forEach(child => {\r\n                const nestedLi = document.createElement('li');\r\n                const nestedA = document.createElement('a');\r\n                nestedA.textContent = child.title;\r\n                nestedA.href = `#${child.id}`;\r\n                nestedLi.appendChild(nestedA);\r\n                nestedUl.appendChild(nestedLi);\r\n\r\n                if (child.children.length > 0) {\r\n                    createNestedList(nestedLi, child.children);\r\n                }\r\n            });\r\n\r\n            parentNode.appendChild(nestedUl);\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Membuat objek untuk menyimpan daftar h2 dan h3 beserta judulnya\r\n        const headings = [];\r\n\r\n           \/\/ Mengambil semua elemen h2 dan h3\r\n        const elements = document.querySelectorAll('.td-post-content h2');\r\n\t\t\t\/\/, .td-post-content h3\r\n\r\n        elements.forEach(element => {\r\n            if (element.tagName === 'H2') {\r\n                const id = formatId(element.textContent);\r\n                element.id = id;\r\n\t\t\t\tif (element.textContent.toLowerCase() === \"key takeaways\") {return;} \/\/ Kalau Key Takeaways, jangan dimasukin\r\n                headings.push({ level: 'h2', id: id, title: element.textContent, children: [] });\r\n            } else if (element.tagName === 'H3') {\r\n                const id = formatId(element.textContent);\r\n                element.id = id;\r\n                if (headings.length > 0) {\r\n                    headings[headings.length - 1].children.push({ level: 'h3', id: id, title: element.textContent, children: [] });\r\n                }\r\n            }\r\n        });\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Membuat list HTML dari objek headings\r\n        const ul = document.getElementById('list_toc');\r\n        let currentUl = ul;\r\n        headings.forEach(heading => {\r\n            const li = document.createElement('li');\r\n            const a = document.createElement('a');\r\n            a.textContent = heading.title;\r\n            a.href = `#${heading.id}`;\r\n            li.appendChild(a);\r\n\r\n            if (heading.level === 'h2') {\r\n                \/\/ Menyimpan ul saat ini untuk menambahkan nested ul\r\n                currentUl = li;\r\n                ul.appendChild(li);\r\n            } else if (heading.level === 'h3') {\r\n                if (!currentUl.lastElementChild || currentUl.lastElementChild.tagName !== 'UL') {\r\n                    \/\/ Jika belum ada nested ul, buat satu\r\n                    const nestedUl = document.createElement('ul');\r\n                    currentUl.appendChild(nestedUl);\r\n                    currentUl = nestedUl;\r\n                }\r\n                currentUl.appendChild(li);\r\n            }\r\n\r\n            createNestedList(li, heading.children);\r\n        });\r\n\t\tDapatkan elemen ul dengan id 'list_toc_float'\r\nconst ulFloat = document.getElementById('list_toc');\r\nconst ulJourney = document.getElementById('list_journey');\r\n\r\nDapatkan isi (child elements) dari ul dengan id 'list_toc_float'\r\n\tif (ulFloat !== null) {\r\n\t\tconst clonedChildren = ulFloat.cloneNode(true).children;\r\n\t\tconst ulToc = document.getElementById('list_toc_float');\r\n\t\tconst ulTocTop = document.getElementById('list_toc_top');\r\n\t\tif ((ulToc !== null || ulToc !== undefined) && window.innerWidth > 1018){\r\n\t\t\tulToc.append(...clonedChildren);\r\n\t\t} else {\r\n\t\t\tulTocTop.append(...clonedChildren);\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t} \r\n\r\n\tif (ulJourney !== null) {\r\n\t\tconst clonedChildrenJourney = ulJourney.cloneNode(true).children;\r\n\t\tconst ulTocJourney = document.getElementById('list_toc_journey');\r\n\t\tulTocJourney.append(...clonedChildrenJourney);\r\n\t} \r\n\t\r\n        Fungsi untuk mengambil tinggi navbar\r\n        function getNavbarHeight() {\r\n            const navbar = document.getElementById('tdi_34');\r\n            return navbar ? navbar.offsetHeight : 0;\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Fungsi untuk menambahkan offset posisi scroll\r\n        function scrollToElementWithOffset(elementId) {\r\n            const element = document.getElementById(elementId);\r\n            if (element) {\r\n                const offset = getNavbarHeight();\r\n                const elementPosition = element.getBoundingClientRect().top;\r\n                const offsetPosition = elementPosition - offset-40;\r\n\r\n                window.scrollBy({\r\n                    top: offsetPosition,\r\n                    behavior: 'smooth'\r\n                });\r\n            }\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Fungsi untuk menangani klik pada tautan judul\r\n        function handleTitleClick(event) {\r\n            event.preventDefault();\r\n            const href = event.target.getAttribute('href').substr(1);\r\n            scrollToElementWithOffset(href);\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Tambahkan event listener untuk semua tautan judul\r\n        const titleLinks = document.querySelectorAll('a[href^=\"#\"]');\r\n        titleLinks.forEach(link => {\r\n            link.addEventListener('click', handleTitleClick);\r\n        });\r\n\t});\r\n    <\/script> -->\r\n\n\r\n    <div class=\"adjustable-banner-wrap\">\r\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/accounting?medium=moneysite-banner\" target=\"_blank\">\r\n            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\r\n                 src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/accounting_desktop_3.webp\"\r\n                 data-desktop-src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/accounting_desktop_3.webp\"\r\n                 data-mobile-src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/accounting_mobile_3.webp\"\r\n                 alt=\"Accounting3\"\r\n                 class=\"responsive-image-banner\">\r\n\r\n            \r\n            <div class=\"adjustable-banner-overlay\" style=\"width: 50%\">\r\n                <p class=\"adjustable-banner-text\"><span class=\"adjustable-highlight\">Need an expert<\/span> to make faster <span class=\"adjustable-highlight\">financial decisions<\/span>?<\/p>\r\n                <div class=\"adjustable-banner-btn\">Schedule a Consultation<\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n\r\n        <\/a>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<script>\r\n    \/\/ check which image to use based on screensize\r\n    document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\r\n        function updateImageSource() {\r\n            var images = document.querySelectorAll('.responsive-image-banner');\r\n            var screenWidth = window.innerWidth;\r\n\r\n            images.forEach(function(img) {\r\n                var mobileSrc = img.getAttribute('data-mobile-src');\r\n                var desktopSrc = img.getAttribute('data-desktop-src');\r\n\r\n                if (screenWidth < 576 && mobileSrc) {\r\n                    img.setAttribute('src', mobileSrc);\r\n                } else {\r\n                    img.setAttribute('src', desktopSrc);\r\n                }\r\n            });\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Initial check\r\n        updateImageSource();\r\n\r\n        \/\/ Update on resize\r\n        window.addEventListener('resize', updateImageSource);\r\n    });\r\n<\/script>\n<h2><strong>What Is Cost Accounting?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98.webp\" alt=\"what-is-cost-accounting\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98.webp 800w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98-768x384.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98-150x75.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-98-696x348.webp 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Cost accounting is the process of recording, classifying, analysing, and allocating business costs. It shows how much a product, service, project, branch, or department costs to run.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike financial accounting, cost accounting mainly supports internal decisions. It helps managers understand cost behaviour before they set prices, approve budgets, or adjust operations.<\/p>\n<p>It covers direct costs, such as materials and labour, and indirect costs, such as rent, utilities, insurance, and administration. Together, these costs show the full operating picture.<\/p>\n<style>\r\n    #custom-quote {\r\n        background-color: #f0f0f0;\r\n        padding: 20px;\r\n        border-radius: 12px;\r\n        margin: 20px;\r\n        display: flex;\r\n        flex-direction: column;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    #custom-quote .quote-body {\r\n        display: flex;\r\n        flex-direction: row;\r\n        align-items: flex-start;\r\n        gap: 15px;\r\n        font-size: 16px;\r\n        line-height: 1.5;\r\n        font-style: italic;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    #custom-quote .quote-icon {\r\n        width: 40px;\r\n        height: 40px;\r\n        flex-shrink: 0;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    #custom-quote .quote-author-wrapper {\r\n        margin-top: 15px;\r\n        align-self: flex-start;\r\n        margin-left: 55px; \r\n\t\tmargin-bottom: 0px;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    #custom-quote em {\r\n        font-family: 'Roboto Serif', serif !important;\r\n        font-size: 12px;\r\n        font-weight: bold;\r\n        font-style: normal;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    @media screen and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n        #custom-quote {\r\n            margin: 15px 0;\r\n            padding: 15px;\r\n        }\r\n        \r\n        #custom-quote .quote-body {\r\n            gap: 12px;\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        #custom-quote .quote-author-wrapper {\r\n            margin-left: 52px;\r\n        }\r\n    }\r\n\r\n    @media screen and (max-width: 480px) {\r\n        #custom-quote {\r\n            margin: 10px 0;\r\n            padding: 12px;\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        #custom-quote .quote-body {\r\n            font-size: 14px;\r\n            gap: 10px;\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        #custom-quote .quote-icon {\r\n            width: 32px;\r\n            height: 32px;\r\n        }\r\n\r\n        #custom-quote .quote-author-wrapper {\r\n            margin-top: 10px;\r\n            margin-left: 42px;\r\n        }\r\n    }\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<div id=\"custom-quote\">\r\n    <div class=\"quote-body\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/quote.webp\" alt=\"Quote Icon\" class=\"quote-icon\">\r\n        <div>\r\n            \u201cCost accounting is how businesses move from knowing their total expenses to understanding which products, services, and projects are actually worth running.        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <p class=\"quote-author-wrapper\">\r\n        <em>Luke Sheridan, Head of Finance Dept.<\/em>\r\n    <\/p>\r\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Why Cost Accounting Matters for Australian Businesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cost accounting matters because revenue alone does not prove profitability. A business can sell more while still losing margin if labour, freight, materials, or overhead costs rise faster.<\/p>\n<p>Australian businesses face cost pressure from wages, energy, inventory, logistics, and supplier changes. Cost accounting gives teams a practical way to monitor those movements.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/statistics\/economy\/business-indicators\/business-indicators-australia\/latest-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian Bureau of Statistics<\/a>\u00a0tracks business sales, wages, profits, and inventories. These indicators show why accurate cost visibility matters.<\/p>\n<p>With reliable cost data, businesses can review pricing, compare branches, plan stock purchases, assess project margins, and decide whether expansion or hiring is financially sound.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cost Accounting vs Financial Accounting<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Both types of accounting use business data, but they serve different goals. Cost accounting explains operational detail, while financial accounting reports overall results.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #990000; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-align: center;\"><b>Feature<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #990000; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-align: center;\"><b>Cost accounting<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #990000; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-align: center;\"><b>Financial accounting<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Primary audience<\/td>\n<td>Managers and operations teams<\/td>\n<td>Regulators, investors, lenders, and owners<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Purpose<\/td>\n<td>Cost control, pricing, planning, and margin analysis<\/td>\n<td>Reporting financial position and performance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Time focus<\/td>\n<td>Current costs, future budgets, and expected performance<\/td>\n<td>Historical results for a reporting period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Format<\/td>\n<td>Internal reports, cost sheets, dashboards, and variance reports<\/td>\n<td>Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statement<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Legal requirement<\/td>\n<td>Not always mandatory, but highly useful<\/td>\n<td>Required for many registered businesses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Financial accounting shows whether the business made a profit. Cost accounting helps explain where that profit came from, where costs increased, and which areas need action.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cost Accounting and Compliance in Australia<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This form of accounting is not a formal legal requirement for most Australian businesses. Even so, detailed cost records support tax preparation, audit readiness, inventory valuation, and reporting.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Supporting accurate financial records<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ato.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian Taxation Office<\/a> expects businesses to keep records that reflect income and expenses accurately. Cost accounting helps keep direct and indirect costs clear and traceable.<\/p>\n<p>Clean cost records make it easier to prepare business activity statements, tax returns, management reports, and end-of-financial-year summaries with fewer manual adjustments.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Tracking costs for tax and reporting purposes<\/h3>\n<p>Businesses that hold inventory, manufacture goods, or manage long projects often need to track cost of goods sold, work in progress, and overhead allocation.<\/p>\n<p>These figures affect taxable income and reported profit. A consistent costing system reduces guesswork and helps teams meet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/ato-business\/\">Australian tax compliance requirements<\/a> when explaining how key figures were calculated.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Preparing for audits and business reviews<\/h3>\n<p>Structured cost data helps when a business faces an ATO review, investor due diligence, bank assessment, or internal performance review.<\/p>\n<p>Records by product, project, branch, or department make it easier to support reported figures and answer questions about spending, margins, and cost allocation.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Keeping cost data consistent across departments<\/h3>\n<p>Businesses with several branches, departments, or project teams need consistent cost categories. Without them, reports become hard to compare, and decisions become less reliable.<\/p>\n<p>Cost accounting creates common rules for classifying materials, labour, overheads, and project expenses, so managers compare results on the same basis.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Types of Costs in Cost Accounting<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cost accounting groups costs by behaviour and business use. These categories help managers understand what changes with activity, what stays stable, and what needs allocation.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Fixed costs<\/h3>\n<p>Fixed costs stay broadly the same over a period, even when sales or production volume changes. Examples include rent, annual insurance, equipment leases, and salaried staff wages.<\/p>\n<p>These costs matter because the business must cover them before profit improves. Higher volume can spread fixed costs across more units and reduce the cost per unit.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Variable costs<\/h3>\n<p>Variable costs move with production or sales volume. Raw materials, packaging, freight per unit, hourly production labour, and sales commissions are common examples.<\/p>\n<p>Tracking variable costs helps businesses measure contribution margin, set minimum pricing, and understand how increased sales affect total cost.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Direct costs<\/h3>\n<p>Direct costs can be traced to a specific product, service, job, or project. Examples include project labour, materials for a customer order, or freight for one shipment.<\/p>\n<p>These costs give managers a clearer view of unit, job, or project profitability because they do not need broad estimation to assign them.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Indirect costs<\/h3>\n<p>Indirect costs support the business but cannot be linked to one output without allocation. Examples include shared utilities, management wages, software, and facility maintenance.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses need a fair allocation method for indirect costs, or they risk overstating profit in some areas and understating it in others.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Overhead costs<\/h3>\n<p>Overhead costs are indirect costs tied to running production or service operations. They may include factory rent, machine depreciation, maintenance, office space, or support tools.<\/p>\n<p>Overhead visibility is important because these costs often grow quietly. If businesses ignore them, product and project margins can look healthier than they really are.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Common Costing Methods<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Different businesses use different costing methods because they produce, sell, and deliver work in different ways. The right method depends on how costs are created and measured.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Job costing<\/h3>\n<p>Job costing tracks costs for a specific job, order, project, or client engagement. It suits construction, trades, custom manufacturing, agencies, and professional services.<\/p>\n<p>Each job receives its own cost record for labour, materials, subcontractors, equipment, and allocated overhead. This helps compare quoted costs with actual costs.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Process costing<\/h3>\n<p>Process costing suits businesses that produce similar or identical goods in a continuous flow. Food processing, chemicals, printing, and bulk manufacturing often use this method.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of tracking each unit separately, the business averages costs across units produced during a period. This gives a practical cost per unit for mass output.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Activity-based costing<\/h3>\n<p>Activity-based costing assigns overhead based on the activities that consume resources. Examples include machine hours, purchase orders, inspections, setups, or support tickets.<\/p>\n<p>This method gives more accurate overhead allocation than one broad rate. It is useful when products or services use shared resources in very different ways.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Standard costing<\/h3>\n<p>Standard costing sets expected costs for materials, labour, and overhead before work begins. The business then compares actual costs with these standards.<\/p>\n<p>Variance analysis shows where spending, efficiency, or usage differed from plan. Manufacturers and budget-heavy operations often use this method to monitor performance.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Marginal costing<\/h3>\n<p>Marginal costing separates variable costs from fixed costs. It focuses on how much each extra unit contributes towards fixed costs and profit.<\/p>\n<p>This method supports short-term pricing, break-even analysis, and special order decisions. It helps managers judge whether extra sales improve contribution.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Absorption costing<\/h3>\n<p>Absorption costing includes direct materials, direct labour, variable overhead, and fixed production overhead in product cost.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses often use it for inventory valuation and external reporting because it assigns full production cost to each unit, rather than variable cost only.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"contents\">\n<h2><strong>How Cost Accounting Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5269 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368.webp\" alt=\"how-cost-accounting-works\" width=\"2510\" height=\"1400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368.webp 2510w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-300x167.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-1024x571.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-768x428.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-1536x857.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-2048x1142.webp 2048w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-753x420.webp 753w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-696x388.webp 696w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-1068x596.webp 1068w, https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cost_Accounting_Five-Step_Architecture-scaled-e1781229715368-1920x1071.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2510px) 100vw, 2510px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Cost accounting works through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/accounting-system\/\">structured financial workflows<\/a>. Each step turns raw spending data into useful cost information for pricing, budgeting, and operational decisions.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Identify cost objects<\/h3>\n<p>A cost object is anything the business wants to measure separately. It may be a product, service, project, customer, department, branch, or production line.<\/p>\n<p>Clear cost objects help teams decide how much detail the system needs. A construction firm may track each project, while a retailer may track each store or product category.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Collect cost data<\/h3>\n<p>The business collects data from invoices, payroll, supplier bills, inventory records, job sheets, timesheets, and production reports.<\/p>\n<p>Reliable cost accounting depends on complete data capture. If staff miss expenses or record them late, reports will understate the true cost of work.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Classify direct and indirect costs<\/h3>\n<p>Each cost must be classified based on how it relates to the cost object. Materials used for one project are direct costs for that project.<\/p>\n<p>Shared expenses, such as office rent or administration wages, are indirect costs. The business must allocate them using a consistent method.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Allocate costs to products, services, or projects<\/h3>\n<p>Indirect costs are allocated using a logical basis. Common methods include labour hours, machine hours, floor space, production volume, or revenue share.<\/p>\n<p>The allocation method should reflect how the cost is consumed. Poor allocation can distort margins and lead managers to back the wrong products or projects.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Compare actual costs with expected costs<\/h3>\n<p>After costs are recorded and allocated, managers compare actual results with budgets, estimates, or standards.<\/p>\n<p>This comparison highlights variances. It shows where costs rose, where teams used resources efficiently, and where pricing or process changes may be needed.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cost Accounting Examples by Business Type<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cost accounting applies across many industries, but each business uses it differently. The main focus depends on how the business earns revenue and controls costs.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Retail businesses<\/h3>\n<p>A retailer may track cost of goods sold, freight-in, warehousing, store wages, rent, shrinkage, and supplier rebates.<\/p>\n<p>This helps the business compare margins by store, product category, supplier, or sales channel. It can also reveal products that sell well but deliver weak profit.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Manufacturing businesses<\/h3>\n<p>Manufacturers track direct materials, direct labour, machine time, waste, rework, factory overhead, and production output.<\/p>\n<p>Standard costing and absorption costing are common because they help measure efficiency, allocate overhead, and value inventory more consistently.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Service businesses<\/h3>\n<p>Service firms use cost accounting to track billable hours, staff costs, contractor fees, software, travel, and project expenses.<\/p>\n<p>This helps firms see which clients, engagements, or service lines are profitable. It also supports better quoting for future work.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Project-based businesses<\/h3>\n<p>Construction companies, architects, engineers, and project managers often use job costing to track each project separately.<\/p>\n<p>They compare estimated costs with actual labour, materials, subcontractor fees, equipment hire, and site expenses. This supports stronger tendering and margin control.<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of Cost Accounting<\/h2>\n<p>A good cost accounting system gives managers practical insight. It turns everyday spending into decision-ready data for pricing, planning, control, and growth.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Better pricing decisions<\/h3>\n<p>Cost accounting helps businesses understand the full cost of selling a product or delivering a service.<\/p>\n<p>With accurate cost data, managers can avoid selling below cost, test discount limits, and set prices that support both competitiveness and margin.<\/p>\n<h3>2. More accurate budgeting<\/h3>\n<p>Budgets become more reliable when they reflect actual cost behaviour. Fixed costs, variable costs, and overheads can be planned with better assumptions.<\/p>\n<p>This helps finance teams build budgets that match business activity, rather than relying on broad estimates or last year&#8217;s figures alone.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Improved profit margin visibility<\/h3>\n<p>Cost accounting shows margin by product, project, branch, service line, or customer group. This detail is hard to see in high-level financial statements.<\/p>\n<p>Managers can then focus on profitable areas, adjust weak-margin offerings, or stop work that consistently fails to cover its full cost.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Stronger cost control<\/h3>\n<p>Regular cost reports help teams spot overspending early. This may include material price changes, labour inefficiency, freight increases, or rising overhead.<\/p>\n<p>Early visibility gives managers time to act before small cost issues become larger profit problems.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Better project and product profitability tracking<\/h3>\n<p>Businesses often run several projects, products, branches, or client accounts at once. Cost accounting gives each area its own financial view.<\/p>\n<p>This helps managers assign resources, prioritise work, and make decisions based on actual profitability instead of overall revenue alone.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Common Cost Accounting Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cost accounting is useful, but it can be difficult to manage when data is scattered or teams use different methods.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Manual cost tracking<\/strong>\u00a0often creates delays and errors. Spreadsheets may work at first, but they become harder to control as transactions, suppliers, and projects grow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Inaccurate cost allocation<\/strong>\u00a0can distort profitability. A single overhead rate may look simple, but it can misrepresent costs across very different products or services.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Poor overhead visibility<\/strong>\u00a0makes indirect costs harder to manage. Rent, utilities, support tools, and administration costs can quietly reduce margins.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Disconnected inventory and accounting data<\/strong>\u00a0can weaken cost reporting. If stock movements and accounting records do not align, COGS figures may become unreliable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weak actual-versus-budget comparison<\/strong>\u00a0limits improvement. Without consistent data, managers cannot see whether cost issues came from price, volume, waste, or process gaps.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How Accounting Software Supports Cost Accounting<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/accounting\">financial management platform<\/a> reduces the manual work behind cost accounting. It helps teams capture cost data from purchasing, inventory, production, payroll, and sales in one place.<\/p>\n<p>With the right accounting support system, businesses can track direct costs, allocate overheads, compare budgets with actuals, and report costs by product, project, branch, or department.<\/p>\n<p>Integrated software also supports cleaner records for tax preparation, end-of-financial-year reporting, inventory valuation, and internal reviews.<\/p>\n<p>HashMicro delivers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/accounting-software-australia\/\">Australian financial solutions<\/a> through an integrated ERP platform that connects finance, inventory, purchasing, production, and sales data.<\/p>\n<p>This connection reduces duplicate entry and gives finance teams a clearer view of cost movement across the business. Managers can act faster when margins, budgets, or projects shift.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cost accounting gives Australian businesses the visibility they need to understand what operations really cost.<\/p>\n<p>It supports better pricing, stronger budgets, clearer margin analysis, and more disciplined cost control across products, services, projects, and departments.<\/p>\n<p>To support you in cost accounting implementation, we offer you a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/free-product-tour\/?medium=free-product-tour\">\u00a0free consultation<\/a> with our experts that you can book anytime. Our insights extend to more than just accounting, so start today and grow your business.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/accounting?medium=moneysite-banner\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"712\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Accounting.webp\" alt=\"Accounting\"><\/a>\n<h2><strong>Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"bottom_faq\">\n<li>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Is cost accounting required for Australian businesses?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>Cost accounting is not a legal requirement for most Australian businesses. However, detailed cost records support tax preparation, inventory valuation, reporting, and audit readiness.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>How does cost accounting support compliance in Australia?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>Cost accounting supports compliance by keeping clear records of expenses, overheads, COGS, and project costs. These records can help during BAS preparation, tax returns, and reviews.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>What is the difference between cost accounting and management accounting?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>Cost accounting focuses on recording and analysing business costs. Management accounting is broader and also includes budgeting, forecasting, performance analysis, and planning.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Which costing method is best for small businesses?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>Job costing often suits small service, trade, and project-based businesses. Product-based businesses may use marginal costing or simple absorption costing, depending on operations.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Can service businesses use cost accounting?<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>Yes. Service businesses use cost accounting to track staff time, project expenses, contractor costs, overheads, and profit by client, job, or engagement.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Is cost accounting required for Australian businesses?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Cost accounting is not a legal requirement for most Australian businesses. 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Management accounting is broader and also includes budgeting, forecasting, performance analysis, and planning.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Which costing method is best for small businesses?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Job costing often suits small service, trade, and project-based businesses. Product-based businesses may use marginal costing or simple absorption costing, depending on operations.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Can service businesses use cost accounting?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Yes. 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This article explains what cost accounting means, how it works, which methods businesses use, and how it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":5266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-accounting"},"acf":{"post_reviewer":62},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cost Accounting: Definition, Methods, and Business Benefits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what cost accounting is, how it works, and which costing methods suit Australian businesses. It Covers compliance and cost types too.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/cost-accounting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cost Accounting: Explanation and Compliance for Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn what cost accounting is, how it works, and which costing methods suit Australian businesses. It Covers compliance and cost types too.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/cost-accounting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HashMicro Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T10:00:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hashmicro.com\/au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-99.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maribel Knox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maribel Knox\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maribel Knox\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/516af0773136b4657d464475a2ab3efc\"},\"headline\":\"Cost Accounting: Explanation and Compliance for Australia\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T10:00:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2601,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Untitled-design-99.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Accounting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cost Accounting: Definition, Methods, and Business Benefits\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/cost-accounting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Untitled-design-99.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T10:00:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hashmicro.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/516af0773136b4657d464475a2ab3efc\"},\"description\":\"Learn what cost accounting is, how it works, and which costing methods suit Australian businesses. 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