Contribution is 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.or example, if a business has revenues of $1,000 and direct costs of $800, then it has a residual amount of $200 that can be contributed to the payment of fixed costs. This $200 amount is the contribution arising from operations.