What Is Cost of Goods Sold & How Do You Calculate It?

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The cost of goods sold (COGS) is an important concept for many businesses. It’s a measure of the expenses associated with producing and selling products and can provide vital insight into your company’s financial performance. But what exactly does it mean? And how do you calculate it? In this blog post, we’ll explore the cost of goods sold and how to calculate it. We’ll cover what COGS is, why it’s important, and the formula used to figure out its value. So whether you’re a business owner or want to know more about this important concept, read on!

 

What Is the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)?

 

The cost of goods sold is the total expense associated with manufacturing and selling products. This includes the direct costs associated with creating a product, such as materials, labor, shipping, and overhead. It also includes indirect expenses like marketing and advertising. The COGS figure helps businesses understand how much money they’re spending on producing products versus how much money they’re making from sales.

 

What Can I Learn from COGS?

 

The cost of goods sold can be a useful metric for understanding the financial performance of your business. It’s especially important to track when launching new products, as it can help you better understand how much money you’re spending to get each product off the ground. Additionally, if you notice an increase in COGS over time, it could indicate that you need to improve your production and sales processes.

 

Why Is COGS Important?

 

COGS is an important metric for businesses because it helps them track the expenses associated with producing and selling products. It’s especially important to track when launching new products, as it can help you better understand how much money you’re spending to get each product off the ground. Additionally, if you notice a significant increase in COGS over time, it could indicate that you need to improve your production and sales processes. By tracking this metric regularly, businesses can ensure that their products are profitable and remain competitive in the marketplace.

 

What is the Difference Between the Cost of Revenue vs. COGS?

 

 

The cost of revenue, also known as sales and cost of sales, is the total cost incurred by a company to generate revenue. This includes the direct costs associated with producing and delivering goods or services and other costs related to fulfilling orders, such as marketing expenses, customer service fees, and warranty fees.

 

Cost of goods sold (COGS), on the other hand, is an accounting figure that represents the direct costs associated with producing goods or services that have been sold. This includes all of the variable costs directly attributed to the production process, such as raw materials, labor, and overhead. COGS does not include indirect costs such as marketing or administrative expenses.

 

How Do You Calculate the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)?

 

To calculate COGS, you need to subtract the cost of ending inventory from the total cost of goods available for sale. For example, if a company has $10,000 in raw materials and $4,000 in labor costs that have been incurred during production and have an ending inventory of $2,500 worth of finished goods, the cost of goods sold would be calculated as follows:

 

COGS = (10,000 + 4,000) – 2,500

COGS = 11,500

 

Therefore, the company’s COGS is $11,500. It is important to note that the cost of goods sold is not the same as the company’s total revenue; it only takes into account the cost associated with producing and selling those goods.

 

What Is the Formula and Calculation for Costs of Goods Sold?

 

The formula for calculating COGS is relatively straightforward and can be summed up as beginning inventory + purchases – ending inventory = cost of goods sold. By subtracting the value of the ending inventory from the sum of the beginning inventory plus purchases, you can obtain an accurate representation of how much was spent to produce and sell a particular product or service.

 

For example, let’s say that a business starts the year with an inventory of $10,000 in products. During the course of the year, they purchase additional materials for $15,000 and end the period with an inventory of $7,500. To calculate their COGS for that year, we would add their beginning inventory ($10,000) and purchases ($15,000) for a total of $25,000, then subtract the ending inventory ($7,500), leaving us with an answer of $17,500.

 

It’s important to remember that not all costs associated with producing and selling a product are included in COGS. Advertising expenses, freight, and other indirect costs are not included in the calculation of COGS. Additionally, any returns or allowances received must be subtracted from the total purchases before being added to the beginning inventory.

 

How Does Inventory Affect COGS?

 

cost of goods sold

 

Additionally, it’s important to note that COGS only includes costs associated with products or services that have actually been sold during the accounting period in question. This means that if a business produces a product and it is still in inventory at the end of the period, the costs associated with producing that product are not included in COGS.

 

Inventory is one of the major components that affect COGS. Inventory is defined as the goods owned by a company that are ready for sale or already sold but not yet delivered. The cost of inventory includes the cost to acquire, store and transport them and any additional costs associated with maintaining them in good condition until they are sold.

 

When calculating the cost of goods sold, inventory plays an important role. As mentioned earlier, it’s necessary to subtract the value of ending inventory from the total sum of beginning inventory plus purchases in order to obtain an accurate COGS figure. This is because any products that are still in stock at the end of a period have not yet been sold and are therefore not considered part of the cost of goods sold for that period.

 

The amount of inventory that a company has on hand can have an impact on its COGS since larger amounts of inventory require more money to be invested in the company. As a result, companies should carefully manage their inventory levels in order to minimize the impact of COGS on their bottom line. 

 

What are the Limitations of COGS?

 

Though COGS is an important metric for understanding the financial health of a business, it is not without its limitations. For instance, COGS does not take into account indirect costs such as administrative and marketing expenses. Additionally, COGS does not factor in any labor costs associated with creating or delivering products or services to customers.

 

Furthermore, it is important to note that COGS can only be accurately calculated if the business maintains accurate and up-to-date records of inventory levels, purchases, and sales. Without this information, calculating COGS is not possible.

 

Finally, small businesses may not be able to accurately calculate their COGS because they do not have sophisticated accounting systems in place. This can lead to incorrect calculations and inaccurate financial reporting, which can be costly for the business in the long run.

 

How Can I Use COGS to Improve Profitability?

 

cost of goods sold

 

If you want to improve your company’s profitability, one of the key things you can do is to keep a close eye on your cost of goods sold (COGS). This is the direct cost associated with the production of the goods or services that you sell. In order to calculate your COGS, you will need to track all of the expenses associated with acquiring or producing the goods or services that you sell.

 

Keeping a close eye on your COGS will help you to find ways to reduce expenses and increase profits. For example, if you see that your COGS are increasing, you may want to look for ways to reduce the cost of raw materials or labor. Alternatively, if you see that your COGS are staying the same but your sales are increasing, this could be a sign that you are able to charge more for your goods or services.

 

Conclusion

 

The cost of goods sold is a very important figure for businesses to track and analyze. It helps businesses understand their profits and losses by giving them insight into how much they are spending on producing the items they sell. By understanding this expense, business can adjust their pricing strategies accordingly and make sure that they are staying profitable. Calculating the cost of goods sold is relatively straightforward, as long as businesses have accurate records of their inventory and expenses associated with it. With this information, business can accurately calculate the cost of goods sold and use it to inform their decisions going forward.

 

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Kayla Bloom

Kayla Bloom is a freelance Finance Writer specializing in topics related to Accounting, Bookkeeping, Taxes, and Business Finances. She lives in Miami, Florida.

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