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Set up accounting categories

Updated Nov 4, 2026 · 2 min read · For Owners, finance leads and bookkeepers

Give each ingredient an accounting category (with a GL code, if your books use them), so the P&L and your food costs count the right things.

Steps

  1. 1
    On the web, go to Inventory > Menu & Recipes > Ingredients and click an ingredient.
  2. 2
    Click the Category box and pick a category. Each one shows its GL code first, like 5160 Dairy.
    The Almond Milk ingredient with the Category box open: + New Category, Search categories, Clear selection, and categories with their GL codes under headings, such as 5160 Dairy under Food Cost and 5150 Bakery under Bakery, plus Cancel and Save ingredient at the top right
  3. 3
    Choose Save ingredient at the top right.
  4. 4
    To do many at once, go back to Ingredients and tick the box next to each one. Use All vendors or All categories to narrow the list.
    Menu & Recipes > Ingredients with Almond Milk and Bacon Pork ticked, the All vendors and All categories filters at the top, each ingredient's category, cost, unit and vendor, and a bar at the bottom reading 2 selected with Clear and Categorize
  5. 5
    Choose Categorize in the bar at the bottom and pick the category.
  6. 6
    If your books use location codes, go to Settings > Locations and enter each one in the GL location code column.
    Settings > Locations: Buckhead, Buckhead Commissary, Howell Mill and Krog St with columns for GL location code, Square External ID, Seven Shifts ID, General Manager and Staff Clock-in System, and Add Location

Tip: Category missing? choose + New Category at the top of the category list and add it with its GL code if you use one.

Tip: Cleaning supplies and paper goods? they count toward food costs only if they're in a COGS category. To keep them out, pick an operating expense category.

What happens next

The P&L regroups your spend by category within a few minutes. See Reading your P&L.

Why it matters

Categories decide what lands in COGS, labor and operating expenses on the P&L, and which items count toward food costs. One wrong category throws off both the P&L and food costs.

Common questions

Do I have to categorize every invoice line?+

No. Lines linked to an ingredient take its category, so categorize the ingredient once. See Link invoice items to ingredients.

How do I set up P&L categories or GL codes and assign them in bulk?+

Each category carries its GL code, like 5160 Dairy. To assign many at once, tick the ingredients under Inventory > Menu & Recipes > Ingredients and choose Categorize.

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Food costActual vs. theoretical COGS