Costs that are not charged to a specific product or
project, such as administrative overhead (the human resources and accounts
payable departments), cleaning and maintenance crews, or other expenses not
directly related to the actual production of a good or service. Often indirect
labor costs are found at headquarters, while an employee on a manufacturing
line will have his or her salary charged to the product that is being produced.
The salary of the person in the accounting department who processes the
paychecks and the human resources person who answers questions for that line
worker won’t be charged to the product that is being manufactured.