Also called Cost of sales
COGS is the direct cost of what you sold — ingredients, drinks, packaging — over a period. It is calculated as opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock, and it drives food cost percentage.
COGS is why stocktakes matter. Without a closing count you are estimating, and an estimate compounds every period until the numbers stop meaning anything.
The gap between the COGS your sales imply and the COGS your stock count shows is where waste, over-portioning and shrinkage live.
Related terms
MinimalPOS handles orders, kitchen, billing and reporting in one flow.