“Why is our cost for chocolate chips different from what we paid on the last purchase order?”
Fishbowl is set to Average Costing, so the cost is a weighted average of everything received, not the last price paid.
Short answer: Fishbowl is set to Average Costing, so the cost on chocolate chips (CR403) is a weighted average of everything received, not the last price paid. The current cost is $4.617/lb, while the last PO (PO 9, A&B Distribution, July 11) was $6.50/lb.
How the average got to $4.617:
| Event | Qty (lb) | Unit cost | Running qty | Running avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock on hand before the POs | 47.5 | $5.00 | 47.5 | $5.000 |
| PO 2, Rocky Mountain Chocolate | 30 | $1.50 | 77.5 | $3.645 |
| PO 9, A&B Distribution | 40 | $6.50 | 117.5 | $4.617 |
Nothing since then has moved it: one pound shipped on SO 1028, and a September 4 inventory import brought in 233 lb at the existing average.
Two things worth a look:
- PO 2 at $1.50/lb is the main reason for the gap. It is far below the $5.00 and $6.50 seen elsewhere, and the part's unit was switched from Cup to Pound on July 4, so that price may be a data-entry or unit error. Without it, the average would be about $5.69.
- The September 4 import looks like a duplicate load. It added 47.5 and 69 lb to both LA and MI, which are the same quantities that were already on hand, taking stock from 116.5 to 349.5 lb (exactly triple). It didn't change the unit cost, but it means about $1,076 of inventory value has no purchase behind it.
If you want cost to track the most recent purchase price instead, that's a costing-method question (the part's standard cost is currently $0, so Standard isn't set up for it either).
What else your team could ask
“What's our inventory worth by warehouse?”
$53,860.77 at average cost, broken down across four warehouses.
Watch the answer →“can you build us a CloudPage in Fishbowl that shows what our inventory is worth at each location? show me a preview before you install it.”
The draft is ready to look at — nothing is installed yet.
Watch the answer →“can you build us a sales BI report in Fishbowl - monthly revenue trend plus our top products and top customers? let me preview it before it goes in.”
Here's the live preview of Sales Overview, running against your Fishbowl data in read-only mode.
Watch the answer →Ask this about your own Fishbowl
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