Cost of Goods Sold Formula

Cost of Goods Sold Formula (Table of Contents)

• Cost of Goods Sold Formula
• Cost of Goods Sold Calculator
• Cost of Goods Sold Formula in Excel (With Excel Template)

Cost of Goods Sold Formula

The bid-ask spread is the difference between the bid price and asks price that dealers quote, and it is the source of the dealer’s compensation.

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Here’s the Cost of Goods Sold formula:

Examples of Cost of Goods Sold Formula (with excel template)

Let’s take an example to find out the Cost of Goods Sold for a company:

Example #1

Let’s take the example of company A which has a beginning inventory of $20000. The company purchases raw materials and uses labour to produce goods that it sells and the total value for the same is $5000. The ending inventory at the end of the year is $15000.

Hence, Cost of Goods Sold can be calculated as: –

• Cost of Goods Sold = Beginning Inventory + Purchases during the year – Ending Inventory
• Cost of Goods Sold = $20000 + $5000 – $15000
• Cost of Goods Sold = $10000

Example #2

Let’s take an example of HUL and assuming for the year 2017-18, beginning inventory was Rs 12000 Cr, and the ending inventory was Rs 15000 Cr. The purchases of stock in trade were Rs 6000 Cr.

Hence, Cost of Goods Sold can be calculated as: –

• Cost of Goods Sold = Beginning Inventory + Purchases during the year – Ending Inventory
• Cost of Goods Sold = 12000 + 6000 – 15000
• Cost of Goods Sold = Rs 3000 Cr

Example #3

For the automobile maker Ferrari, another simple example was if the beginning inventory was $20 million and the ending inventory was $18 million. The purchases for the year were $5 million.

Hence, Cost of Goods Sold can be calculated as: –

• Cost of Goods Sold = Beginning Inventory + Purchases during the year – Ending Inventory
• Cost of Goods Sold = $20 million + $5 million – $18 million
• Cost of Goods Sold = $7 million

Explanation of Cost of Goods Sold Formula

Cost of Goods Sold or COGS can be explained as the cost to a company to acquire or manufacture the products it sells in the market. So the only costs that can be included in the calculation of COGS are the ones that are directly associated with the production of each company’s costs. These costs are the purchase of raw materials, cost of labour, and manufacturing overhead. So, taking an example, for a company like Ferrari, the direct costs that can be associated with COGS are the parts that go into making a Ferrari car and the labor costs used to manufacture it. The costs that cannot be included in the Cost of Goods Sold are the costs of sending the car to a particular dealership or the sales workforce cost of selling a car. Also, another important point to be noted is that the Ferrari cars that the company was unable to sell, the costs associated with it will not be a part of COGS.

Also, there are various methodologies for calculating beginning and ending inventory which might change the amount of Cost of Goods Sold for a company. The three methods that companies generally use are First Out (FIFO), Average Cost, and Last In First Out (LIFO).

FIFO: – In the FIFO method, it is assumed that the earliest inventory which was manufactured or purchased is sold first. So in case of an inflationary environment where there are rising prices, any company will be selling its least-expensive products first, which will result in a larger net income.

Average Cost: – In this method, the average cost for all goods purchased is used, and based on the cost per product, the value of the cost of goods sold is estimated. This method is best suited as it prevents any discrepancies due to an inflationary or deflationary environment.

LIFO: – In the LIFO method, it is assumed that the latest inventory which was manufactured or purchased is sold first. So during the period of rising prices, the net income of any company will decrease since the most expensive products will be sold first, leading to a higher cost of goods sold.

Significance and Use of Cost of Goods Sold Formula

The Cost of Goods Sold is one of the important financial metrics and can be seen on the company’s profit and loss statement. This metric is used to subtract from the company’s revenues to estimate Gross Profit for any company. The Gross Profit Margin, Gross Profit/Revenues, is then used to estimate whether the company is efficiently utilizing its production processes and labor. Therefore, any increases in the COGS might indicate that the company has to bear high raw material costs or increased labour costs, which might affect its bottom line.

But the COGS can be easily manipulated due to various accounting methods discussed above to give false impressions of overall profits. In addition, there are other methodologies such as increasing manufacturing overhead costs, inflating discounts and returns to suppliers and altering the actual amount of inventory at the end of the year. If the ending inventory is higher than the actual, it will lead to underreporting of COGS, increasing the net income. Hence, investors need to be careful if there are sudden changes in COGS.

Cost of Goods Sold Calculator

You can use the following Cost of Goods Sold Calculator:

Cost of Goods Sold Formula in Excel

Here we will do the same example of the Cost of Goods Sold formula in Excel. It is very easy and simple. You need to provide the three inputs, i.e. Beginning Inventory, Purchases during the year, and Ending Inventory

You can easily calculate the Cost of Goods Sold using the Formula in the template provided.

Conclusion

Cost of Goods is an important metric that is used to determine Gross Profit for a company. Different accounting methodologies such as FIFO, LIFO, and the Average Cost method determine the beginning and ending inventory for a company. The inventory measurement is then used to calculate the Cost of Goods Sold for a company. Therefore, investors need to take special care if there are any large changes in COGS as these can be easily modified due to various accounting methodologies.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Cost of Goods Sold formula. Here we discuss its uses along with practical examples. We also provide you with the Calculator with a downloadable excel template. You may also look at the following articles to learn more –

1. Guide to Rule of 72
2. Formula for Inventory Turnover Ratio
3. Calculate Net Working Capital Using Formula
4. Net Interest Margin Formula