What you’ll learn
How CRIBWISE values an item: the two ways standard cost can be calculated, when it is recalculated, and how usage cost is derived from it when an item is picked.
Standard cost is the value of an item. It determines the total value of items in stock and can be used to calculate the value of transactions.
Note: Standard cost is always shown in the dispense unit of measure and in the system currency.
The two calculation methods
| By average acquisition cost | By purchase price | |
| Based on | All purchase and service orders sent in the past 180 days. | The current purchase price of the item. |
| Updated when | A recalculation runs. | The purchase price changes – automatically. |
| Represents | The average cost of getting one more item into production. | What the item costs to buy right now. |
The method is common to all items – it cannot be set per item – and is chosen in system settings.
By average acquisition cost
Standard cost is the average cost of obtaining an additional item for production: the average price of new items purchased and the average price of servicing items from production, over all purchase and service orders sent in the past 180 days.
The formula behind the average acquisition cost.
The total price from purchase orders is converted from purchase units to dispense units, and from the vendor’s currency to the system currency, using the conversion ratio valid when the order was created. Standard cost then expresses the cost of a single dispense unit.
Where an item has no purchase or service orders in the past 180 days, standard cost is set to the current price per piece at the time of recalculation. For a new item, it is set from the price per piece when the item is first saved.
By purchase price
Standard cost follows the current purchase price of the item. Whenever the purchase price is updated, standard cost is updated with it, recalculated to dispense units and system currency using the conversion ratio valid at the time of the change. The purchase gross price does not affect standard cost.
Recalculation
Recalculation reflects any change that affects standard cost.
- With average acquisition cost, it re-checks all orders from the past 180 days.
- With purchase price, standard cost already updates with every price change, so recalculation picks up later changes in the currency conversion ratio between the vendor’s currency and the system currency.
Important: After changing the calculation method, run a recalculation so the new setting takes effect.
Trigger it immediately with Update Now (
) in System settings → Purchase, section Standard cost of items. Automatic recalculation is scheduled in the same section.
Usage cost
Usage cost is the cost of a pick. For consumable items, each pick generates a usage cost of 100% of standard cost. For durable items you choose how it is generated:
| Option | How usage cost is calculated |
| Percentage of standard cost of item | A percentage of the item’s standard cost per dispense unit. |
| Fixed price per pick | A manually set cost per dispense unit. Standard cost is not involved. |
| Price per time of usage | From the time the item was out in production, between pick and return. The cost for that period is set manually. Standard cost is not involved. |
| Per item state | Depends on the state of the picked item: a new item costs its purchase price per dispense unit, a refurbished item its service price, and a used item nothing. Standard cost is not involved. |
Note: For assemblies, standard cost is calculated from all the durable items used in the assembly.
Common confusion
| People often think… | But actually… |
| The calculation method can be set per item. | It is a single system-wide setting. |
| Changing the method updates the costs at once. | A recalculation must be run afterwards. |
| Usage cost always comes from standard cost. | Three of the four durable options ignore standard cost entirely. |
| Standard cost is shown in the vendor’s currency. | Always in the system currency, per dispense unit. |
Take action
Choose the method in System settings → Purchase, then press Update Now to recalculate – or schedule the recalculation in the same section.
Related articles
- System settings – where the calculation method and recalculation schedule live.
- How to configure currencies for purchasing – the conversion ratios used in the calculation.
- Understanding assemblies and bill-of-materials – how an assembly derives its cost.
- Default reports reference: 19 built-in reports – where stock value and usage cost are reported.