Wages — Casual
OverheadsThis Overheads code records the cost of wages — casual incurred in running the business. As an expense account, it normally carries a debit balance: debit entries increase the balance (recording new costs) and credit entries decrease it (for example, correcting an error or a refund received).
Real-world examples
Hospitality/events
A hospitality business books casual bar and waiting staff for one-off events, paid only for hours actually worked with no guaranteed minimum — a £1,850 casual wages bill for a single weekend of bookings, debited to 7005 (Wages — Casual) and credited to 1200 (Bank Current Account), with no VAT involved. Holiday pay for genuinely casual workers is usually calculated as a percentage uplift on hours worked (commonly around 12.07%) rather than accrued the way it is for staff on fixed weekly hours.
Agriculture/seasonal
A farm or food producer takes on casual pickers for a short harvest season, with pay run through 7005 rather than 7004 since there's no ongoing contract once the season ends — a £4,200 weekly cost during peak harvest that drops to nil for the rest of the year. Because the workforce is genuinely temporary rather than a permanent team working variable hours, this code tends to show sharp seasonal spikes rather than the steadier pattern seen in retail or hospitality casual staffing.
Commonly confused with
Because code 7004 (Wages — Regular) sits right next to this one in Overheads, it's a common mis-posting target. Code 7005 is specifically for wages — casual, while 7004 covers wages — regular — similar in nature, but keeping them separate is what makes the overheads section of your management accounts meaningful rather than a single lumped total.
What a mis-posting here costs you
An error posting to Wages — Casual won't change total overhead spend, but it will distort the overheads breakdown that's usually reviewed line by line each month to spot cost creep.