What you will get from this page
Work from opening stock to actual food cost, then compare recipe-based usage and investigate the difference in the same period.
Recipe cost (plate cost)
Sum ingredient costs at current purchase prices for the exact recipe yield, then divide by portions produced. Update when supplier prices move.
Theoretical food cost
Multiply each item’s plate cost by quantity sold in the period, sum, and divide by food sales. This is what cost “should” be if recipes were followed perfectly.
Actual food cost
Opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory, divided by food sales (definitions must match your chart of accounts). The gap versus theoretical is your operational leakage signal.
What to do with variance
Large variance points to portion drift, waste, receiving errors, unrecorded staff meals, theft, or bad recipes. Investigate process before cutting quality. For a facilitated review, see kitchen consulting and audit.
Put the guide to work
A complete COGS reconciliation in IDR
Work from opening stock to actual food cost, then compare recipe-based usage and investigate the difference in the same period.
This worked example uses invented monthly figures, no inter-outlet transfers and no purchase returns. Food and beverage are kept separate.
- Food used
- IDR 42M
- Actual food cost
- 30%
- Gap above theoretical cost
- 2.5 points
1. Reconcile food used
On smaller screens, scroll the table to see every column.
| Line | Amount | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Opening food stock | IDR 10,000,000 | Add the value held at the start of the period. |
| Food purchases | IDR 40,000,000 | Add food received during this same period. |
| Closing food stock | IDR 8,000,000 | Subtract the value still held at period end. |
| Food used | IDR 42,000,000 | 10,000,000 + 40,000,000 − 8,000,000. |
| Food sales | IDR 140,000,000 | Use a consistent food-only sales basis for the period. |
| Actual food-cost percentage | 30% | 42,000,000 ÷ 140,000,000 × 100. |
- Count stock at the same cutoff each period, using consistent units and valuation.
- Reconcile purchase returns and transfers separately when they exist. The simple example omits them, rather than treating them as zero by default in your kitchen.
- Keep the treatment of discounts, complimentary meals, taxes and service charges consistent with your reporting policy.
2. Compare with the recipe expectation
Suppose standard recipes multiplied by the month’s recorded food sales mix produce theoretical usage of IDR 38,500,000. On IDR 140,000,000 food sales, that is 27.5%. Actual usage is IDR 3,500,000 higher: a gap of 2.5 percentage points, not 2.5% of the food cost.
On smaller screens, scroll the table to see every column.
| Possible cause | Record to inspect | What would support it |
|---|---|---|
| Count or unit mismatch | Stock count and product units. | A recount or unit conversion explains part of the difference. |
| Price or yield change | Invoices and recipe yield records. | The current recipe cost differs from the standard used. |
| Waste or unrecorded use | Waste, staff-meal and complimentary-item logs. | Recorded quantities reconcile to a valued amount. |
| Portion difference | Observed weights against current recipes. | Repeated samples exceed or fall below the recorded portion. |
3. Close with a short reconciliation note
Record the period, count date, food sales, actual usage, theoretical usage, explained differences and unresolved balance. Keep a reason beside every adjustment so the next month can be compared on the same basis.
Your next step
Use your last complete period. Reconcile stock and purchases first, then compare recipe cost; do not start by forcing the percentage to match a target.
Related commercial service
Menu Development and Training
Menu strategy, costing, recipe standardisation, tasting, plateware, section training, cooking trials, and post-launch accompaniment.
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