Overhead expenses are what it costs to run the business, including rent, insurance, and utilities. Operating expenses are required to run the business and cannot be avoided. Overhead expenses should be reviewed regularly in order to increase profitability. Overhead costs can include fixed monthly and annual expenses such as rent, salaries and insurance or variable costs such as advertising expenses that can vary month-on-month based on the level of business activity. Operating expenses are expenses a business incurs in order to keep it running, such as staff wages and office supplies. Operating expenses do not include cost of goods sold (materials, direct labor, manufacturing overhead) or capital expenditures (larger expenses such as buildings or machines). Hope this helps!