Let me first explain the meaning of both the terms CapEx and OpEx Capital expenditure (in short CapEx) is basically incurred for Fixed assets like building, furniture, machinery, etc., or an intangible asset like Goodwill, patent, etc. This expenses are incurred in order to acquire a new asset or imRead more
Let me first explain the meaning of both the terms CapEx and OpEx
Capital expenditure (in short CapEx) is basically incurred for Fixed assets like building, furniture, machinery, etc., or an intangible asset like Goodwill, patent, etc. This expenses are incurred in order to acquire a new asset or improve an existing one or maintain the asset in use.
Capital expenditure is commonly found in the Cash flow statement under Investing activities as Investment in plant, machinery, equipment, etc.
Operating Expenditure (in short OpEx) are day-to-day expenses incurred by a firm in order to carry its normal business.
Expenses such as rent, advertisement, inventory costs, etc.
Operating Expenses are shown in the income statement of the company as expenses incurred during the period.
For Example: If a company purchases a printer, the printer would be a capital expenditure and the papers used for the printer would be operating expenditure.
Difference between CapEx and OpEx
Example 1: A company wants to lease machinery instead of buying it, in this case buying machinery would be capital expenditure, and leasing the machinery would be an Operating expense.
Example 2: Buying machinery would cost a company for 50000 and leasing the same would cost 35000. So in this case leasing will be more preferred by a company which means operating expenditure would be preferred instead of a capital expenditure.
From the point of view of tax treatment operating expenditure is more preferred over Capital expenditure because the expenses incurred during the year are deducted during the same year which reduces the tax levied on net income.
Some real Examples from the Company Amazon
This is the cash flow statement of Amazon, where the investing activities shows the capital expenditure incurred by the company during the years.
This is the income statement of Amazon, it shows the operating expenditure incurred by the company during the year.
See less
Based on duration, expenses can be categorized as capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. A) Capital expenditure or CAPEX are those funds that are used to acquire or maintain or enhance long-term assets. Such expenses do not occur frequently and are incurred to enhance the company’s utility inRead more
Based on duration, expenses can be categorized as capital expenditure and revenue expenditure.
A) Capital expenditure or CAPEX are those funds that are used to acquire or maintain or enhance long-term assets. Such expenses do not occur frequently and are incurred to enhance the company’s utility in the long-term i.e. more than one year.
The formula of CAPEX can be given as –
Capital expenditure = Net increase in PP & E + Depreciation Expense
. It is showed in companies’ cash flow statement and in its Balance Sheet under the head of fixed assets. These capital expenditures are capitalized.
List of some capital expenses –
Example- If an asset costs Rs10,000 when bought and installation cost is Rs2000. The total capital expenditure will be Rs12000 and is expected to be in use for five years, Rs2,500 may be charged to depreciation in each year over the next five years.
B) Revenue expenditure or OPEX are those expenses that are incurred during its course of the operation. It can also be termed as total expenses that are incurred by firms through their production activities. Such costs do not result in asset creation, and the benefits resulting from it are limited to one accounting year. These are for managing operational activities and revenue within a given accounting period.
The accounting treatment for revenue expenditure for an accounting period is shown in a companies Income Statement, but it is not recorded in the firm’s Balance Sheet. OPEX is not capitalized and depreciation is not levied on such expenses.
Examples for revenue expenditures are as follows –
These types of expenses are mostly incurred directly through the production process. Common direct expenses include – direct wages, freight charge, rent, material cost, legal expenses, and electricity cost.
These expenses are indirectly related to production like during sale, distribution, and management of finished goods or services. They include expenses like selling salaries, repairs, interest, commission, depreciation, rent, and taxes, among others.