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How to Control F&B Costs Eating into Your Profits (and What to Do About It)
Food and beverage (F&B) costs are one of the largest operating expenses for restaurants. Effectively managing F&B costs, including food, liquor, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages, is essential to protect slim profit margins. Let’s explore the biggest culprits behind these costs and how you can gain the insight you need to take control. Common Causes of Higher F&B Costs Inflation and Market Fluctuations: The cost of raw ingredients, from vegetables to meats, seafood, a

COGS-Well Team
Apr 1, 20253 min read


Fast Restaurant Inventory Setup with COGS-Well
COGS-Well’s founders have decades of experience developing and servicing restaurant inventory and recipe management systems. When we designed COGS-Well, our mission was to create an easy-to-install and maintain system. We utilize intelligent technology and unique customer service to make COGS-Well much easier than other inventory management systems. Speed Up Inventory Implementation We can do your initial system setup, including the inventory item database, in just a few day

COGS-Well Team
Oct 1, 20244 min read


Hands-Free Receiving (Eliminate Manual Invoice Entry)
The Challenge: Inventory management systems require "receiving". Receiving is the process of recording the packaging, quantity, and cost for each inventory item received on an invoice. An average restaurant receives about 65 invoices a month. Entering invoices manually is a tedious process. If a new inventory item is received on an invoice, or if your vendor substitutes an item, then the item must be added to your database. Adding a new item is a time-consuming, error-prone

COGS-Well Team
Sep 5, 20243 min read


A Great Fit: Inventory Solutions for Diverse Operations
COGS-Well works well for all types of food and beverage operations.

COGS-Well Team
Apr 14, 20245 min read


Ottimate & COGS-Well (1+1=3)
Combine COGS-Well with Ottimate for end-to-end accounts payable automation and inventory control.

COGS-Well Team
Feb 8, 20244 min read


COGS-Well and Fintech Working Together
Overview: As a restaurant operator, you need tight control over purchases, payments, stock levels, inventory usage, and cost of sales. This level of control is especially true with alcohol. Fintech and COGS-Well have integrated their applications to offer best-in-class solutions to restaurants for alcohol invoice payments, AP automation, inventory control, recipe management, and cost analysis. How it Works: Distributors and vendors submit invoices to Fintech's PaymentSource®

COGS-Well Team
Jan 10, 20243 min read


NetSuite and COGS-Well: The Integrated Solution for Restaurant Accounting
Overview: COGS-Well and NetSuite offer a fully integrated cost control and financial accounting solution to restaurant chains. By tightly integrating these two systems, it results in improved accuracy, more timely reporting, and substantial time and labor savings. We conducted interviews with executives at Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen, Playa Bowls, Fort Point Beer, Buzz Hospitality, and Impact

COGS-Well Team
Oct 25, 20234 min read


Enjoy Increased Control
Overview: Any restaurant, small or large, independent or chain, will benefit by engaging in good inventory control. Most operators can reduce their cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales by at least 1 to 2 percent per location simply by practicing good inventory control. For this discussion, good inventory control means tracking purchases, monitoring cost changes, and counting inventory on-hand at the end of each period. It also includes tracking transfers if you operat

COGS-Well Team
May 9, 20233 min read


Customer Success - Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group
Overview: Born from the undeniable spirit and soul of New Orleans, Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group provides restaurants that celebrate the...

COGS-Well Team
Oct 26, 20224 min read


Customer Success - Collier Restaurant Group
Overview: As a family business, Collier Restaurant Group “CRG” is a local leader in restaurants in the Sevier County, TN, and Garden...

COGS-Well Team
Aug 17, 20224 min read


New SpotOn Partnership
Overview: We are excited to announce our partnership with SpotOn. SpotOn is a leading provider of Point of Sale and Payments...

COGS-Well Team
May 10, 20222 min read


New CBS/NorthStar Partnership
We are excited to announce our partnership with CBS/NorthStar. Custom Business Solution (CBS) is one of the industry's leading providers...

COGS-Well Team
Feb 23, 20222 min read


Time Saved = Money in the Bank
Overview: COGS-Well provides customers with very significant time savings via special services that are not available from other restaurant inventory control systems providers. These savings average about $2,400 upfront for each new restaurant concept and about $285 per month ($3,420 per year) ongoing. Below is an overview of how we deliver these savings. Initial Setup: Unlike our competitors, COGS-Well builds your inventory item database for you, including inventory item

COGS-Well Team
Dec 14, 20213 min read


Why We Build Your Inventory Database For You
The Challenge: Setting up restaurant inventory control systems require a lot of information before they can be used. It can take between 4 and 8 weeks just to add all of the inventory items to an inventory system. The COGS-Well Way: COGS-Well completely eliminates the time and effort normally associated with the setup process. We handle the initial database build for you, and we typically have the entire process finished in just a few days—not months. Inventory Item Database:

COGS-Well Team
Dec 8, 20212 min read


Monitor Your Prime Costs (Include Labor Cost in Recipes)
Cost of Goods Sold: There is no better way to understand your food and beverage cost of goods sold (COGS) than to create recipes for each prepared item and menu item recipe you sell. When you know, based on the most current cost of ingredients, what a recipe is costing you to prepare, you know how to price it and how much margin it contributes to profits. By adding an interface to your Point of Sale system to your recipes, you will also know how much inventory you should have

COGS-Well Team
Jun 29, 20213 min read


How to Automate Vendor Ordering: A Complete Guide
Vendor ordering is often the most underused tool in a restaurant's tech stack. It’s the easiest way to manage vendors, reduce waste, and make sure you never run out of key ingredients.

COGS-Well Team
Jun 28, 20214 min read


Reduce Costs via Cost Analysis
During these challenging times it is more important than ever that restaurant operators engage in food and beverage cost analysis to help reduce their cost of goods sold (“COGS”), ideally, by 3 to 5 percent. The primary contributors to these reductions will be: 1) better menu management, and 2) inventory usage variance control. Recipe Costing: The first phase of menu management in COGS-Well consists of building the recipes for your prepared items and menu items. Once the rec

COGS-Well Team
Jun 1, 20214 min read


Customer Success - Pier 22 and Grove
Overview: PIER 22 and Grove Restaurants operate two large restaurant, catering, and event facilities in Bradenton, Florida. PIER 22 Restaurant, Patio, and Catering is celebrated for creating an exceptional guest experience via magnificent waterfront views, charming ambiance, and scratch-cooked meals. Grove Restaurant, Patio, and Ballroom specialize in a wide-ranging selection of house-made meals served in several distinct dining areas, giving guests a choice of cuisine and

COGS-Well Team
Mar 23, 20213 min read


Customer Success - Hideaway Pizza
Overview: Hideaway Pizza’s casual dining concept was created by Richard “The Big Kahuna” Dermer and his wife, Marti, in 1957 near the...

COGS-Well Team
Feb 10, 20213 min read


Customer Success - Mamahuhu
Overview: Mamahuhu opened in the Inner Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco in January 2020. The restaurant was instantly a hit. The...

COGS-Well Team
Sep 25, 20203 min read
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