# Cost of goods sold: where the profit leaves without you seeing it

Cost of goods sold (CMV) decides whether your operation makes money. Most owners do not know their own number.

- **Published:** 12 May 2026
- **Reading time:** 5 minutes

You know how much you sold in the month. But selling well and making a profit are two different things. What separates them is CMV, the cost of goods sold, the cost of everything that left your kitchen and your counter. When that number sits in the dark, profit disappears without leaving a trace.

## What is CMV, in one sentence?

CMV is how much the ingredients cost for everything you sold in a period. If you billed a hundred and spent thirty-five on goods to deliver it, your CMV was 35%. It is the first number that tells you whether the rest of the accounts have any chance of adding up.

## How do you calculate your CMV for the month?

Add opening stock to the purchases made in the period and subtract closing stock. That gives you the cost of what was consumed. Divide it by revenue for the same period and you have CMV as a percentage. The work is not in the formula, it is in having your purchase and stock numbers organised enough to run the calculation without guessing.

## What CMV is healthy?

It depends on the type of operation, but as a reference: bars tend to work in a lower band because of drinks, and more elaborate kitchens in a higher one. The exact number matters less than the trend. A CMV that climbs month after month, with no change to the menu, is a sign that something is leaking.

## What pushes CMV up without anyone noticing?

Four things, almost always: the portion that grew by two reais because nobody weighed it, the ingredient that spoiled at the back of the cold room, the purchase made in a hurry at a worse price, and what goes out without passing through the register. None of them show up in a sales report. All of them show up in CMV.

Oasys links each item's recipe card to what is actually sold, so the real cost appears on the same screen as revenue, with no spreadsheet at the end of the month.

## See also

- [All insights](https://oasysai.com.br/insights)
- [For restaurants](https://oasysai.com.br/para-voce/restaurantes)
- [For pizzerias](https://oasysai.com.br/para-voce/pizzarias)
- [For burger joints](https://oasysai.com.br/para-voce/hamburguerias)

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