Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) is a global business outsourcing services provider headquartered in Roseland, N.J. ADP is one of the largest payroll outsourcing providers in the world, and was an early adopter of a cloud computing operating model. According to executives, the vendor cuts paychecks for one in six Americans.
The reverse of fixed costs are variable costs, which vary with changes in the activity level of a business. Examples of variable costs are direct materials, piece rate labor, and commissions.
Fixed costs are all the costs that remain constant for a business regardless of production levels. Variable costs are all the costs for a business that vary depending on production levels. Fixed costs and variable costs are mutually exclusive, meaning that a cost cannot be both fixed and variable. There can, however, be fixed and variable components of a cost, as is the case with labor costs.