Built on restaurant accounting practice, adapted for a counter-service operation. No published standard exists for coffee retail, so this follows USAR grouping without claiming to be USAR.

Download the coffee shop chart

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What is different

One Food Cost line cannot tell you why your drink margin moved

A latte is coffee, milk and a cup. Those three move independently. Green coffee is a commodity, dairy tracks its own index, and packaging jumped when your supplier changed. Averaged into one Food Cost line, a bad month looks like a bad month and nothing more.

Split, the answer is usually obvious within a minute. This chart carries Coffee & Tea Purchases, Milk & Dairy, and Cups, Lids & Packaging as separate accounts, because those are the three levers and they almost never move together.

The chart

The full Coffee shop chart of accounts

All 48 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Counter, retail and wholesale revenue.
4010	Beverage Sales	Income	All drink sales where you do not split alcohol from non-alcohol.
4020	Food & Pastry Sales	Income	Prepared food and bakery items sold over the counter.
4030	Retail Beans & Merchandise	Income	Retail bags of coffee, brewing gear and branded merchandise.
4040	Wholesale Sales	Income	Product sold to retailers and distributors at wholesale.
4050	Catering	Income	Revenue from catered food and drink, on or off premise.
4060	Delivery & Mobile Orders	Income	Orders placed through delivery apps and your own mobile ordering.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Coffee, dairy and packaging cost, the drivers of drink margin.
5010	Coffee & Tea Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Green and roasted coffee, tea and brewing stock bought for resale.
5020	Milk & Dairy	Cost of goods sold	Milk, cream and dairy alternatives used in drinks and food.
5030	Pastry & Food Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Bakery, pastry and prepared food bought for resale.
5040	Cups, Lids & Packaging	Cost of goods sold	Cups, lids, sleeves and carry-out packaging.
5050	Retail Merchandise Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Retail stock bought for resale through a shop or front desk.
5060	Barista Labor	Cost of goods sold	Barista wages for the hours that produced the drinks sold.
5070	Delivery Platform Commissions	Cost of goods sold	Commission retained by delivery marketplaces on their orders.
5080	Syrups, Sauces & Toppings	Cost of goods sold	Syrups, sauces, powders and toppings used to build menu items.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	Operating costs of running the business, below the gross profit line.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	Equipment Leasing	Expense	Leases on equipment rather than outright purchase.
6220	Loyalty & Ordering App Fees	Expense	Fees for loyalty programmes and your own ordering app.
6230	Cleaning & Pest Control	Expense	Contracted cleaning and pest control.
6240	Water Filtration & Service	Expense	Water filtration systems and their servicing.
6250	Waste Removal	Expense	General waste, recycling, food waste and confidential shredding.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income earned outside normal trading activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Coffee shop chart of accounts questions

How should a coffee shop track cost of goods sold?

Split it at least three ways: coffee and tea, dairy, and packaging. Those are the three inputs in almost every drink and they move independently. A single Food Cost line averages them together, which is exactly when a dairy price rise becomes invisible.

Should retail bean sales be separate from drink sales?

Yes. A retail bag and a brewed cup have completely different margins and completely different cost structures. Kept in one Sales line, growth in retail can mask a fall in drinks, or the reverse. This chart separates counter sales, retail and wholesale.

How do I account for wholesale coffee accounts?

As its own revenue line with its own cost. Wholesale runs on much thinner margin than retail, so blending the two produces a gross margin that describes neither. If wholesale becomes significant, consider tracking it as a separate class as well.

Where do loyalty and mobile ordering app fees go?

Operating expenses, not cost of sales. They are a cost of taking the order rather than a cost of making the drink. This chart carries Loyalty & Ordering App Fees separately from card processing, since the two are usually different vendors on different rates.

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