Dakota Company has two service departments, Maintenance and Cafeteria, as well as two production departments, Mixing and Finishing. Maintenance Department costs are allocated based on direct labor hours and Cafeteria Department costs are allocated based on number of employees.

The following data are available:

Maintenance Cafeteria Mixing Finishing

Direct costs	$7,000	$2,800	$1,200	$400
Direct labor hours	180	50	20	10
Number of employees	36	120	540	60

Assume the step-down method of allocating service departments' costs is used. Required:

A. Determine the total costs of the Mixing Department after allocating the service departments' costs.

B. Determine the total costs of the Finishing Department after allocating the service departments' costs.

C. What sequence was chosen to allocate service department costs in this problem and why?