#cost-of-goods-sold
Cost of Goods Sold
Learn how to calculate and track cost of goods sold for inventory valuation
Co-Packer Bookkeeping for Food and Beverage Brands: Finding Your True Cost Per Unit
A co-packer's quoted per-unit price can understate real landed cost by 36% once fixed per-run charges, setup fees, and MOQ economics are counted. How food and beverage brands should classify contract-manufacturing costs as COGS, handle turn-key vs. tolling arrangements, and avoid the 5–10 point gross-margin overstatement that misclassification causes.
Olive Oil Mill Bookkeeping: Custom Crush Fees, Yield-Driven COGS, and the Harvest Cash Cliff
How to keep books for an olive oil mill that earns most of its revenue in a six-to-ten-week harvest window — separating custom-crush milling fees from own-label inventory accounting, tracking extraction yields that swing from 50 to 200 pounds of olives per gallon, valuing bulk oil in tank storage, and handling Schedule F, cash-method, and UNICAP tax questions.
Tire Retreading Bookkeeping: Why the Casing on Your Shelf Is Worth More Than the Rubber You Just Cured
How tire retreaders should book casing custody, core credits, and warranty adjustments — customer-owned casings stay off your inventory, core credits are an inventory purchase rather than an expense, and prorated warranty claims justify a monthly accrued reserve. Includes example beancount entries and a minimal chart of accounts.
Cannabis Schedule III Rescheduling: What 280E Tax Relief Actually Means for Your Dispensary
On April 22, 2026 the DOJ moved certain state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III, ending Section 280E's ban on ordinary business deductions for qualifying operators — while recreational-only dispensaries remain fully subject to 280E's COGS-only tax treatment.
Teeth-Whitening Studio Bookkeeping: Why an 85% Gross Margin Can Still Hide a Losing Business
Teeth-whitening studios often run an 85%+ gross margin on sessions but fail because they recognize prepaid package revenue too early, skip inventory shelf-life write-offs, and miscategorize licensing costs tied to their state's cosmetic-vs-dental classification.
Used Cooking Oil Collection: A Bookkeeping Guide for a Commodity Business on Wheels
A single 50-gallon barrel of used cooking oil is worth $100-185 to a biodiesel refiner, so collectors must book collected-but-unsold oil as inventory-in-transit, track actual weighed pounds per stop rather than estimates, and reconcile collected-to-shipped volume weekly to catch theft and double-invoicing before it erodes route profitability.
Wine Bar and Wine Shop Bookkeeping: FIFO Inventory, By-the-Glass Costing, and the On-Premise/Off-Premise Split
A 750ml bottle yields about 5 five-ounce pours, and wine pour cost typically runs 25–30% versus 18–24% for liquor. This guide covers FIFO costing by vintage, by-the-glass yield math, shrinkage as a real COGS line, and why wine bars need separate on-premise and off-premise revenue and COGS accounts from day one.
Eyelash Extension Studio Bookkeeping: The Supply, Retail, and Depreciation Lines Most Lash Artists Get Wrong
A lash studio's costs don't fit one "supplies" line — service consumables, retail inventory, and depreciable equipment like lash beds and LED lamps each need their own account. This guide covers a six-category chart of accounts, the Section 179 deduction most lash artists miss, quarterly retail inventory counts, and booth-renter vs. employee classification.
Poshmark and Depop Taxes: What Clothing Resellers Owe, With or Without a 1099-K
The federal 1099-K threshold is back at $20,000 and 200 transactions, but reselling profit is taxable either way. How Poshmark and Depop sellers should handle hobby-vs-business classification, the nondeductible personal-use loss rule under IRC Section 165(c), cost of goods sold, and reconciling income across platforms that report gross vs. net.
Connecticut's Shrinkflation Disclosure Law (HB 6856): What Small Food Businesses Need to Know
Connecticut's HB 6856 would be the first US state law to regulate shrinkflation, requiring food manufacturers to post a clear notice for 12 months whenever they shrink a product without cutting its price — enforced as an unfair trade practice by the state Attorney General. Here's who the bill covers, the slack-fill litigation risk that already exists, and how to keep COGS and margin records accurate through a package resize.
Snow Cone and Shaved Ice Truck Bookkeeping: Pricing and Cash Flow for a Four-Month Season
A snow cone costs $0.15–$1.25 to make and sells for $2–$5, but that 200–300% margin only covers costs if fixed expenses like truck payments and insurance are spread across a realistic 12–16 week selling season instead of a full year.
Sneaker and Trading Card Reselling Taxes: The 2026 Bookkeeping Guide
The 2026 IRS 1099-K threshold for platforms like eBay, StockX, and Whatnot is back to $20,000 and 200 transactions, but sneaker and trading card resellers still owe tax on profit below that line — here's how to nail cost basis, inventory tracking, and the hobby-vs-business test.