#cost-of-goods-sold
Learn how to calculate and track cost of goods sold for inventory valuation
Standard costing assigns a predetermined cost to each product, then measures the gap against actual results. This guide shows how to set defensible standards and calculate material, labor, and overhead variances to drive pricing and purchasing decisions.
For tax year 2026, businesses with a three-year average of gross receipts at or below $32 million can elect Section 471(c) to skip UNICAP, treat inventory as non-incidental materials and supplies, and file Form 3115 — often producing a one-time Section 481(a) deduction in the year of change.
A bloated chart of accounts with 200 entries hides profit instead of revealing it. Most small businesses need 30 to 60 accounts, numbered in family blocks with gaps, with COGS separated from operating expenses and departments tracked as dimensions rather than duplicated accounts.
Prime cost combines food, beverage, and labor as a percentage of sales—target 55–60% for quick-service and 60–65% for full-service. Tracking it weekly instead of monthly catches portioning and scheduling problems within seven days, while a 4% food cost variance on $1M in sales quietly costs $40,000 a year.
A working operator's guide to calculating restaurant prime cost every seven days, the 55–65% benchmark by service segment, the five leaks weekly tracking surfaces first, and the bookkeeping setup the cadence requires.
How online sellers allocate landed costs across SKUs, track FBA reserved inventory across fulfillment centers, reconcile marketplace settlements line by line, and prevent phantom COGS adjustments at year-end across 3PLs and multi-channel fulfillment.
Multi-channel sellers routinely lose 22 margin points to phantom COGS — unallocated landed costs, FBA reserved inventory, and netted marketplace settlements posted as revenue. A four-step playbook to keep e-commerce books honest from supplier invoice to year-end true-up.
Section 263A forces producers and resellers above the $32 million 2026 gross-receipts threshold to capitalize warehouse rent, purchasing, and mixed service costs into inventory. Here is how the exemption, simplified methods, and Form 3115 method changes actually work.
A practical comparison of FIFO, LIFO, weighted average, and specific identification — with IRS rules, Form 970 and Form 3115 mechanics, the LIFO conformity trap, and a five-step framework for picking the right inventory method in 2026.
Section 263A UNICAP forces producers and resellers to attach indirect costs — rent, supervisor wages, depreciation — to inventory rather than expense them. This guide covers the 2026 $32M small-business exemption, the simplified production and resale methods, Form 3115 and the 481(a) adjustment, and the personnel-allocation mistakes that draw IRS attention.
Section 280E bars cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary expenses, pushing federal effective tax rates past 70%. A walkthrough of the math, the COGS lever under Section 471, key Tax Court rulings (CHAMP, Olive, Harborside), and what 2026 rescheduling could change.
A working guide to the three numbers that decide whether a restaurant makes money — prime cost, food and beverage COGS, and tip pooling — with 2026 benchmarks, FLSA rules, and a weekly accounting cadence.
