EXERCISE 4B-3 Step-Down Method LO4-11 The Ferre Publishing Company has three service departments and two operating departments. Selected data from a recent period on the five departments follow: Costs..... Number of employees Square feet of space occupied Hours of press time Service Departments Operating Departments Administration Janitorial Maintenance Binding Printing Total $140,000 $105,000 $48,000 $275,000 60 35 140 15,000 10,000 20,000 315 40,000 $430,000 210 100,000 $998,000 760 185,000 30,000 60,000 90,000 The company allocates service department costs by the step-down method in the following order: Administration (number of employees), Janitorial (space occupied), and Maintenance (hours of press time).