Percentage Sales Variance

The Percent Variance in Sales calculator computes the percentage of the difference in sales in two periods.  

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose your preferred currency units and enter the following:

• (LS) This is the sales total in the last period.
• (TS) This is the sales total in this period.

% Variance in Sales: The calculator return the variance in percent change.

The Math / Science

In budgeting (or management accounting in general), a variance is the difference between a budgeted, planned or standard cost and the actual amount incurred/sold. Variances can be computed for both costs and revenues. This equation shows the percentage of variance in relation to sales..  For example, if the sales last year (LS) was $100 and the sales this year (TS) was $120, the Percent Variance in Sales would be 20% as follows:

`PVS = ($120 - $100) / ($100)` = 20%

Using this formula, all increases in sales are positive percentages, and all decreases in sales are negative percentages.

Resource:

• Dopson, Lea R., and David K. Hayes. Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. Print.