COGS Calculator
Calculate your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) to understand your direct business costs.
Fill in the fields above and click Calculate to see your results.
How to use
Enter your beginning inventory (the value of stock on hand at the start of the period), everything you purchased during the period, and your ending inventory from the closing stock count. The calculator applies the standard COGS formula: beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory.
Run this monthly, right after your stock count. COGS is the foundation for gross margin, food cost, and pricing decisions — if it is wrong, every downstream number is wrong. A sudden jump in COGS without a matching jump in sales usually points to shrinkage, waste, unrecorded stock, or a supplier price increase worth investigating.
How it's calculated
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Examples
Clothing store, one month
- Purchases During Period:100,000,000
- Ending Inventory:60,000,000
- Beginning Inventory:50,000,000
Result
- Cost of Goods Sold (COGS):90,000,000
The store started with 50M₫ of stock, bought 100M₫ more, and ended with 60M₫ — so 90M₫ of goods were sold (or lost). If recorded sales were 180M₫, that implies a healthy 50% gross margin for apparel.
Mini-mart, one quarter
- Purchases During Period:150,000,000
- Ending Inventory:70,000,000
- Beginning Inventory:80,000,000
Result
- Cost of Goods Sold (COGS):160,000,000
Over the quarter this mini-mart consumed 160M₫ of goods. Grocery margins are thin (20–25%), so revenue should be at least 200M₫ for this COGS level — if it is lower, check pricing or shrinkage.
Industry Benchmarks
| Metric | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| COGS as a share of revenue by retail segment: grocery 75–80%, apparel 45–55%, electronics 85–90%, cosmetics 35–45%. Lower is better, but must match your category. | — |
Data source: NYU Stern Margin by Sector (2025); VN retail industry reports
Frequently Asked Questions
What is COGS?
Why does the formula use inventory counts instead of just purchases?
How often should I calculate COGS?
Does COGS include staff wages or rent?
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The CalcVault Editorial Team is a group of finance, health, and mathematics specialists dedicated to producing accurate, bilingual calculator content for Vietnamese and global small business owners. Every formula on CalcVault undergoes rigorous source verification against authoritative bodies including the IRS, CFPB, CDC, WHO, and NIST before publication. Our process includes independent peer review, structured fact-checking, and scheduled content audits to ensure every calculator remains up-to-date with the latest regulatory and scientific standards. We are committed to editorial independence from our advertising partners.