How To: Create COGS Accounts

How To: Create COGS Accounts

COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) Accounts are used to track the cost value of items that have been sold. These accounts categorize your item usage into meaningful groups, such as Food, Beer, Wine, Liquor, or Supplies, so that you can analyze profitability and operational performance with accuracy.


Every inventory item and menu item must be mapped to a corresponding COGS account. This mapping ensures that all inventory activity flows into the correct cost category. It also enables Yellow Dog to report your true costs without requiring recipes. Recipes, if used, simply provide deeper insights (e.g., theoretical vs. actual usage and plate costing).

COGS Accounts can be broken down into Departments or Categories. A COGS Department is the primary or top-level grouping of your cost accounts. It represents a broad cost area such as Food, Beer, Wine, Liquor, or Supplies. 
  1. Departments are required for all items.
  2. They are the only COGS structure that POS items can map to. 
Info
Example COGS Department:
Food

A COGS Category is a subcategory within a COGS Department. It provides a finer level of detail for reporting on specific types of items or ingredients.
  1. Categories are optional and exist under a department.
  2. Inventory items (but not POS items) can be assigned to both a department and a category.
Info
Example COGS Categories:
Food : Dairy
Food : Protein
Food : Dry Goods

Summary: COGS accounts in Yellow Dog Inventory form the backbone of your cost tracking and profitability reporting. They allow you to see exactly where your money is going and enable meaningful financial analysis, all without requiring recipes. By ensuring that every inventory item and POS menu item is correctly mapped to its COGS account, you create a clear, automated view of your operation’s performance and cost control.

To create a new COGS Account, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to System Setup > Accounts.

  2. Select the COGS Reporting tab.

  3. Click Create New Accounting Code.

  4. In the Department fields type the name of the COGS account.
    If creating a COGS Category enter the name of the category in the Category field.

  5. Click Save and Close.

Notes
Notes:
When creating COGS Categories, the Department description must match exactly in both case and spelling. 
      ex.
      Department: Food
      ✅Category: Food : Protein
      ❌️ Category: Foood : Protein

If you would like to remove a COGS Department, all COGS Categories must be removed before removing the Department.

Feature Overview: COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) Module