---
title: "Cost of Goods: Advanced Settings Reference"
description: "Advanced Cost of Goods settings for WooCommerce: who can see costs, when order costs are recalculated, and how columns sort."
url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/cost-of-goods-advanced-settings-reference/"
updated: "2026-09-26"
category: References
---

# Cost of Goods: Advanced Settings Reference

## Advanced settings reference

The **Advanced** sub-tab of [Cost of Goods: Product Cost & Profit Calculator for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/cost-of-goods-for-woocommerce/) holds settings that control who can see costs, when order costs are recalculated, how columns sort, and how large jobs run in the background. Most stores never need to change these, but they are the right place to look when calculations fire at the wrong time or a big update times out.

## Where to find it

Go to **WPFactory > Cost of Goods** (also reachable at **WooCommerce > Settings > Cost of Goods**) and open the **Advanced** sub-tab.

## Advanced options

| Label | Option ID | Default | Free/Pro |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Restrict by user role | `alg_wc_cog_allowed_user_roles` | All roles | Pro |
| Order item costs: on order update | `alg_wc_cog_orders_force_on_update` | No | Free |
| Order item costs: on status change | `alg_wc_cog_orders_force_on_status` | No | Free |
| Order item costs: on new item | `alg_wc_cog_orders_force_on_new_item` | No | Free |
| Order item costs: on order meta update | `alg_wc_cog_orders_force_on_order_meta_update` | No | Free |
| Order calculation hooks | `alg_wc_cog_new_order_hooks_for_cost_update` | Plugin default set | Free |
| Order metadata | `alg_wc_cog_avoid_empty_order_metadata_saving` | Yes | Free |
| Infinite loops | `alg_wc_cog_avoid_infinite_loops` | Yes | Free |

**Restrict by user role** limits who can see cost and profit figures in the admin. Leave it empty to allow all roles; choose one or more roles to hide costs from everyone else. The four **Order item costs** triggers decide when an order's costs are recalculated: when the order is updated, when its status changes, when a new item is added, and when its meta changes. **Order metadata** and **Infinite loops** are safety options that are best left on unless support advises otherwise.

## Columns sorting

| Label | Option ID | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sortable columns | `alg_wc_cog_columns_sorting` | Yes |
| Exclude empty lines | `alg_wc_cog_columns_sorting_exclude_empty_lines` | Yes |

**Sortable columns** makes the cost and profit columns in the admin lists clickable to sort. **Exclude empty lines** keeps rows with no cost out of the sorted results.

## Background processing

Large jobs, such as the orders recalculation tool, run in the background so they do not time out. These options control that process.

| Label | Option ID | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum amount | `alg_wc_cog_bkg_process_min_amount` | 100 | How many items a job must exceed before it runs in the background rather than immediately. |
| Send email | `alg_wc_cog_bkg_process_send_email` | Yes | Emails you when a background job finishes. |
| Email to | `alg_wc_cog_bkg_process_email_to` | Site admin email | The address the completion email is sent to. |

## Get more from Cost of Goods

Most Advanced options are free. [Cost of Goods: Product Cost & Profit Calculator for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/cost-of-goods-for-woocommerce/) Pro adds role-based cost restriction here, plus cost and profit in WooCommerce Analytics, order emails, and the orders recalculation tool. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/cost-of-goods-for-woocommerce/).

Related articles

- [Cost of Goods: Developer Hooks and Filters Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/cost-of-goods-developer-hooks-filters/)
- [Cost of Goods: Reset a Settings Section](https://wpfactory.com/docs/cost-of-goods-reset-a-settings-section/)
- [Bulk Edit and Import/Export Issues in Cost of Goods](https://wpfactory.com/docs/cog-bulk-edit-import-issues/)
- [Profit Calculation Issues in WooCommerce Cost of Goods](https://wpfactory.com/docs/profit-calculation-issue/)
- [How to Track Cost of Goods and Profit in WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/docs/use-cost-of-goods-plugin2/)