Cost of Goods by Cocktail

Cost of Goods by Cocktail

Cost of Goods by Cocktail


This report will show how the cocktails breakdown with Target and Potential COG%, what their Landed Unit Cost is and how much liquor is in the drinks.  Using this report can help venues decide if their prices are correct for the drink, based on the products used and the COG numbers.


This report combined with the Cost of Goods Detail Report can help figure out if the prices are correct for each product used in a cocktail. There is not a column for Actual COG% because there is no way to know if any product variances are a result of pouring cocktails or mixed drinks. 

We need to assume that the loss came from pouring non-cocktail orders from the bar for consistency of all products and reporting.  

To explain the reports clearly to clients, you will need to have a complete understanding of each number in this report, where it comes from (i.e. how you entered it into the reports) or how it’s calculated. 


This report is one of the most important reports that Pilot produces and one you will use several times per day.

Knowing how it works inside out will not only help you double check your work, but provide the highest possible value to your clients.




  1.  Dates in the Report Range - Manually Entered - The start and end dates are selected in Pilot when you run the report. 

  2. Unit Size - Calculated - The Unit Size for each drink is the amount of alcohol that is entered when a recipe is created.  This is the total of each product that is listed as an ingredient in the recipe.

  3. Landed Unit Cost (LUC) - Calculated - The sum of the wholesale values for all products included in the cocktail broken down by the serving size.  It will cost $2.04 to make an Apple Martini at this venue.  

Product Serving Size * Product Wholesale Cost = Product Landed Unit Cost


Sum of all Product Landed Costs = Product Landed Cost

  1. Target Retail Price - Entered Manually - This value you will get from the POS or from the client and is the full priced charged for a product ordered at the venue.  


  1. Target Margin - Calculated - This is the profit margin after subtracting out the wholesale cost per unit from the Target Retail Price. 

Target Retail Price - Landed Unit Cost = Target Margin


$10.18 - $2.04 = $8.14

  1. Target COG - Calculated - This value is the ideal COG if all sales are rung up for full price and there is no variance on the product.  


Landed Unit Cost

-------------------------- = Target COG%

Target Retail Price


$2.04

---------- = .20 x 100 = 20%

$10.18


  1. Average Retail Price - Calculated - This price will come from the clients POS system.  The price will include sales a full retail value, happy hour pricing, and any comps/promos that were given on the sales of that product.  Pilot will also factor in a retail price for products used in cocktails and assign a retail value for the product. If the cocktails are not priced properly the retail value will be lower than the Target Retail Price and will increase the Potential COG% for that product.  The retail prices for products used in cocktails could work out to be higher and this would increase the Average Retail Price.  


  1. Average Potential Margin - Calculated - This is the profit margin after subtracting out the wholesale cost per unit from the Average Retail Price.  Based on the Average Retail Price, the Potential Margin could be higher or lower than the Target Margin. 


  1. Potential COG% - Calculated - The value here is the best case scenario for that period of sales based on the Average Retail Price and the Average Potential Margin.  If the Average Retail Price is higher than the Potential COG% will be lower and more favorable for that product. 


  1. Total Units - Combined - Number of units sold in the venue at full retail or with discounts.  


  1. Total Cost of Sales - Combined - This is the value of the products sold at a wholesale value.  The number of units sold during the audit period


Landed Unit Cost x Units Sold = Total Cost of Sales


$2.04 x 3 = $6.11


  1. Average Target Margin - Calculated - Sum of all the cocktail Landed Unit Costs divided by the Target Retail Price.  


  1. Average Potential Margin - Calculated - Sum of all the cocktail Landed Unit Costs divided by the Average Retail Price.  This value can be affected by and discounts and promotions that have special pricing for these drinks such as happy hour or comps/promo discounts.    


  1. Total Cost of Sales per Period - Calculated - The sum of the Cost of Sales for all cocktails listed.  


Landed Unit Cost * Cost of Sales = Total Cost of Sales


Sum of Total Cost of Sales =  Total Cost of Sales per Period


  1. Target COG% - Calculated - Sum of the Landed Unit Cost divided by the Sum of the Target Retail Price. 


  1. Potential COG% - Calculated  - To be confirmed with by Deb



    • Related Articles

    • Cost of Goods Detail Comparison

      Cost of Goods Detail Comparison ​ Click here for video explainer This report will give you a detailed look at all products in the venue and show you the Target, Potential and Actual COG percentages for these products. The numbers in the report can ...
    • Target COG Report

      Target COG Report This report will serve as a quick review to ensure that all Retail and Wholesale prices were entered correctly and can give the client a basic look Target COG for all product offerings.  Ensuring these values are correct is very ...
    • All Cost of Goods Reporting Explained

      Video - All Cost of Goods Reporting Explained See also: This document explainer.
    • Understanding Gross Margin and Cost of Goods

      The following reports show the Cost of Goods (COG)% and Gross Profit (GP% in Pilot: Sales Breakdown Report Variance by Category Report Simple GP Report Variance Trend Report for GP Percentage Sales Break Down:  Before getting into the specifics of ...
    • Variance by Category

      Variance by Category The Variance by Category report will help summarize the variances by category and then broken down by each subcategory for the venue. This report can help narrow the focus of the client to a specific section in the Liquor ...