Fl. Oz. vs Oz.

[soapbe99]

Hello, I am new to the soap making world! I am trying to calculate COGs, and all things cost in Excel to make sure I'm efficient and making a profit.
I currently purchase all oils by weight. (7-8 lbs.) I'm trying to comprehend the difference in net weight and volume...or lbs. vs fl. oz.
I've calculated cost per fl. oz. for each type of oil however I'm stumped when it comes to figuring out how to calculate my cost of each amount of oil per recipe.
Prior, when making my soap, I have always measured by ounces...however I've calculated my cost based on fl. oz.
How would I calculate cost of each oil by specified amount in fluid ounces for each recipe?
Sorry if this is confusing and hopefully I'm not overthinking it!

Thx!

 

[Zing]

Welcome to the forum! It's a great and supportive community.
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking but you should skip all fluid ounces and volumes completely. When I make soap, I use only weights of each ingredient. Even if the bottle/brand uses fluid ounces, you should figure out weight instead.
I personally use metric now because grams are more concise and accurate than ounces -- just my personal OCD preference.
Good for you doing this. I've been soaping a few years now and keep wanting to create a spreadsheet but never get around to it.

 

[gladysjones]

I wonder about that too. If you buy a bottle it has fl Oz. So does that mean you have to convert every bottle into reg oz before you enter it into your spreadsheet? The accuracy is all wonky for me. I was taught grams for powder and oz for liquids. But the thing is, when I use my scale and switch units back and forth. The values change. Idk, I think it's just above my pay grade.

 

[lsg]

Soapmaker3 has the choice of entering fluid or ounce by weight in their inventory section. This is to help you keep track of the cost per item. When you enter a recipe, you should choose ounces in weight for the recipe.

 

[earlene]

The soap calculator here at SMF will calculate costs for you after you enter your inventory and make batches of soap. I believe you can adjust the unit of measure, and although ounces is an option, I am confident that is a weight measure and not a volume measure. Bar Soap is sold by weight, so if you enter your inventory by ounces, it should be weight rather than volume. Reference to proper labeling: Product Label Requirements (See Net contents section) & Net Contents - Weight and Volume - Marie Gale

HOWEVER, As indicated in the above references, Liquid Soap may be labeled (therefore sold) by volume, so in that case, volume measure is appropriate.

However, the weight of oils versus volume (fluid ounces, for example) can be calculated if you are so inclined. See this link to look up the weight of different oils. Notice that if you choose the unit of measure as fluid ounces, and then choose the oil, you get the result (which is probably standardized, but not necessarily 100% accurate 100% of the time) of how much a particular oil weighs.

There may be a better or more oil-targeted conversion calculator out there than this one, but it shows you that not all oils weigh the same when fluid ounces are used in the conversion of fluid ounces to weight. It does appear that some liquid oils do fall into roughly the same range, when measured in small amounts, but if measured in quite large amounts this could skew your calculations exponentially. (See examples below)

Examples:

Rice bran oil: 1 fl oz = 27.3 grams (one US gallon = 3494.4 grams)

Lard: 1 fl oz = 28.9 grams (one US gallon = 3699.2 grams)

Olive oil: 0.99 fl.oz = 28 grams (one US gallon = 3584 grams)

Beef tallow: 1 fl oz = 28 grams

Palm oil: 0.96 fl.oz = 27.25 grams

Coconut Oil: 1 fl oz = 28 grams

Canola oil: 1 fl oz = 28 grams

Cocoa Butter: 1 fl ounce = 27.3 grams

I do hope this helps, @soapbe99
Proper labeling is important and often makers of bar soap, such as myself, forget that volume measure is the norm when it comes to liquid product labels.

Bonus: Recent changes to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (with links to specific areas of interest)

 

[Quanta]

Good for you doing this. I've been soaping a few years now and keep wanting to create a spreadsheet but never get around to it.

You could cheat and just borrow mine:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-spreadsheets-for-formulating-cost-testing.83570/
The one for inventory will calculate your cost by weight if you input the volume you purchased and the specific gravity of the oil. The specific gravity should be available from the vendor or you can search the internet. This is the number you use to multiply by the volume to get the weight.

The spreadsheet doesn't track lot numbers or anything that fancy, I guess I should get around to fixing that. Tracking lot numbers is important once you start selling.

 

[TheGecko]

How would I calculate cost of each oil by specified amount in fluid ounces for each recipe?

Put a 2-cup measuring cup on your scale...tare it out. Then measure out 8 oz of say Olive Oil and weigh it and divide by eight. 8 fl oz of OO weighs approximately 7.5oz. 7.5 / 8 = 0.9375. So that 3 litre bottle of OO I bought from Costco works out to be 95.1 oz.

Water is the only liquid that has the same weight and volume. *8 fl oz = 8 oz.