Contribution can have different meanings depending on the context. In general, it refers to the act of giving or supplying something, such as money, time, or effort, to help produce or achieve something together with other people, or to help make something successful
. In the context of accounting, contribution refers to the amount of earnings remaining after all direct costs have been subtracted from revenue. This remainder is the amount available to pay for any fixed costs that a business incurs during a reporting period. Any excess of contribution over fixed costs equals the profit earned
. Contribution margin is a related concept in cost accounting that measures the profitability of a product or the revenue that is left after covering fixed costs
. It can be calculated as the selling price per unit minus the variable cost per unit
