Here are some of the most common questions we receive about Cost of Goods Sold in Link My Books.
❓ I've adjusted the values for my COGS data in Link My Books – why aren't they updating in my accounting software?
Answer:
There could be several reasons:
✅ Check COGS is turned on: Go to Settings > Settlement Settings > Cost of Goods Sold and ensure it's enabled.
✅ Check all costs are entered:
Monthly uploads: Verify your bulk upload shows the month in green.
Average costs: Go to Inventory > Product Costs and ensure there are no zero values.
✅ Check settlements sent before enabling COGS:
Refresh the settlement in the View screen, then send the COGS data manually.
Or rollback and resend both Sales & COGS data together.
❓ What is the difference between "Average" and "Monthly" product costs?
Answer:
When you enable COGS in Link My Books, you choose how to enter your product costs. This setting can be found in Settings > Settlement Settings > Cost of Goods Sold.
Average (per SKU): You enter one cost for each SKU, and that same cost is used for every settlement until you change it. This is per SKU — each product has its own individual cost. It does not average costs across your entire catalogue.
Monthly: You upload a cost file each month, allowing you to update costs as they change (e.g. if your supplier prices fluctuate). Each month's settlements will use that month's uploaded costs.
⚠️ Why is my Product Costs page blank?
Link My Books only adds SKUs to the Product Costs page once they are detected in your settlement/payout reports. If you have just enabled COGS, the page may appear empty until your next settlement is processed. If your products have been selling and settlements have been imported but the page is still blank, please contact support so we can investigate.
❓ I sell on Shopify and my product costs are already in Shopify — can Link My Books pull them in?
Answer:
✅ Yes — we have a Shopify "Cost per item" sync feature that pulls the cost you've entered in Shopify (under each product's Cost per item field) into Link My Books automatically.
⚠️ This is currently a beta feature. The Shopify cost-per-item sync must be enabled and run by our Admin/Support team for your account. You cannot activate it yourself yet. Please contact support via the chat icon or email [email protected] to request it.
Once enabled, the sync will update the matching SKUs in your Product Costs list with the costs from Shopify. From there, the costs will flow through to your accounting software (Xero or QuickBooks) as long as COGS is set to post — not set to "Analytics only".
❓ How do we reconcile the COGS amount with invoices from suppliers and freight forwarders?
Answer:
When COGS tracking is turned on in Link My Books, we calculate the total cost of products sold each settlement and move that value from your chosen Inventory Asset account to your COGS account.
To avoid double‑counting:
Post all purchase invoices to the same Inventory Asset account you've selected in Link My Books.
As stock is sold, Link My Books will correctly reduce that balance and move costs into COGS.
❓Can I choose which currency to enter my product costs in?
Answer:
✅ Yes. On the Product Costs page, you can choose the currency for each product.
💡 Best practice: match the currency to your Xero/QuickBooks home currency.
❓ How do I account for refunds with COGS?
Answer:
Refunds can be tricky because items may:
Go back into inventory (sellable or unsellable),
Be returned but not resold, or
Be destroyed.
👉 Settlement reports don't include enough detail to track all this immediately.
Recommendation: do a quarterly or annual inventory valuation to adjust for these scenarios.
❓ Can I use Cost of Goods Sold with Seller ToolKit?
Answer:
✅ Yes! Seller ToolKit syncs product costs automatically with Link My Books.
Please see: Seller ToolKit Guide
❓ I only want to send Sales data (not COGS) to Xero/QuickBooks. How can I achieve this?
Answer:
Open each settlement on your dashboard.
Send only the Sales tab manually (ensure automation is off in Settings > Settlement Settings).
Or enable Show COGS in Analytics only in Settings > Settlement Settings > Cost of Goods Sold.
❓ Should I enter my product costs with or without VAT?
Answer:
💡 It depends on whether you are VAT registered:
✅ If you are VAT registered:
Enter your product costs without VAT (net), because your accounting software will handle VAT separately.✅ If you are not VAT registered:
Enter your product costs with VAT (gross), because VAT is part of your actual cost.
If you have any questions about this article or feedback on how we could make it better please reach out to the support team via the blue chat icon on the bottom right of the page or via email to [email protected].