Question

Heather hudson makes stuffed teddy bears. recent information for her business follows: selling price per bear $ 35.00 total fixed cost per month 1,500.00 variable cost per bear 24.00 if she sells 275 bears next month, determine the margin of safety in units, sales dollars, and as a percentage of sales.

Answer 1

First, you'll want to break down each item:
Sale price of a bear - $35
Fixed cost - $1,500
Variable cost of a bear - $24

If she sells 275 bears next month we will determine:
Margin of safety in units
Margin of safety in sales dollars
Margin of safety as a percentage of sales

Next, we will determine the dollar amount of sales and costs by multiplying the units sold by the price sold/cost of good
275 x $35 = $9,625
275 x $24 = $6,600
Fixed costs = $1,500

To find the margin of safety as a percentage of sales we will subtract the breakeven point from the current sales level and then divide by the current sales level
(Current sales level - breakeven point)/current sales level
$9,625 - $8,100 (fixed costs + cost of good)/ $9,625 =
15.84% is the margin of safety as a percentage

To find the margin of safety in unites we will subtract the breakeven point from the current sales level and then divide by the price per unit sold
$9,625 - $8,100 / 35 = 43.57 units is the margin of safety as a unit

To find the margin of safety in sales dollars we will subtract the breakeven sales from actual sales 
$9,625 - $8,100 = $1,525 is the margin of safety in sales dollars

You can also find the margin on sales as a percentage after finding the margin of safety in sales dollars by taking the margin of safety in sales dollars and dividing it by the actual sales and then multiplying it by 100.
$1,525/$9,625 = 0.1584 x 100 = 15.84%