Walkthrough · article 13 of 24

Recording spoilage:
the most-forgotten line.

The pastries you tossed at close-out are a real cost. The category we use, and why owners track it weekly.

Ibrahim Ölmez Ibrahim ÖlmezFounder · nouz · 4 min read · Updated May 18, 2026
Spoilage = inventory that didn't sell. Pastries tossed at close, milk that turned, sandwiches that timed out. They cost you the COGS — that cost should show up.

Spoilage is the most-skipped category in nouz, and skipping it is exactly why owners often can't figure out where their margin is going. Untracked spoilage doesn't disappear; it shows up as mysterious gap between your computed margin and your bank balance. Logging it makes the gap visible.

01 Why should I bother tracking spoilage?

Untracked spoilage shows up as "missing margin" — your COGS-per-unit numbers look great but your bank account doesn't line up. Tracking spoilage separately lets you see it for what it is (a real cost, not a bug in your math) and lets Statistics flag it when it's creeping up.

02 How do I log spoilage?

  1. 1
    Open Expenses

    Click + Add expense.

  2. 2
    Amount

    Sum of the COGS of what you threw away — not menu prices.

  3. 3
    Category

    Spoilage.

  4. 4
    Save

    Done.

03 What does the spoilage pattern tell me?

Most owners log spoilage weekly — Sunday-evening sweep. After a few weeks, Statistics shows spoilage as a percentage of revenue. If that percentage climbs from 2% to 5%, something's wrong (over-ordering, demand drop, freshness failure). The category exists so the signal is visible.

A typical café's spoilage runs 1-3% of revenue when things are healthy. Below 1% might mean you're running too lean (selling out early, missing late-day demand). Above 5% means systematic over-supply. The exact range varies by shop type — bakeries naturally run higher than salons.

04 Is spoilage only about food?

No — anything that became unsellable counts as spoilage, not just food. Pastries tossed at close, milk that turned, bottled drinks past expiration, packaging damaged in transit, and open packs of supplies that went stale before use all belong here. The test is simply whether the item became unsellable through no sale of your own; the full list of examples is below.

  • Pastries tossed at close-out.
  • Milk that turned in the fridge.
  • Bottled drinks past expiration.
  • Damaged packaging (boxes crushed in transit, bags torn).
  • Open packs of supplies that went stale before use.
Don't log staff meals as spoilage. A pastry eaten by your staff isn't spoilage — it's Meals. Spoilage is for things that nobody could consume.

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Still stuck? Email support@nouz.co — a founder replies, usually the same business day.