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Cost of Quality
System

The PAF (Prevention–Appraisal–Failure) model, built for manufacturing quality managers. Track every dollar of quality cost, benchmark against revenue, and present compelling business cases to leadership.

PAF Model FY Trending Executive Dashboard COQ Benchmarks % Revenue 6 Sheets
Cost_of_Quality_Tracker_FY26.xlsx
PAF Input
Dashboard
Trend Analysis
CategoryCost ElementQ1 ActualQ2 ActualQ3 ActualQ4 ActualFY Total% Revenue
PREVENTION COSTS
PreventionQuality Training Programs$4,200$3,800$4,500$4,800$17,3000.41%
PreventionSPC / Process Control Systems$3,100$3,100$3,100$3,100$12,4000.30%
PreventionSupplier Development & Audits$2,800$2,400$2,900$3,200$11,3000.27%
PreventionPreventive Maintenance Program$5,400$5,100$5,600$5,900$22,0000.53%
Prevention Subtotal$15,500$14,400$16,100$17,000$63,0001.51%
APPRAISAL COSTS
AppraisalLaboratory Testing & Analysis$8,200$7,900$8,400$8,100$32,6000.78%
AppraisalIn-Process Quality Inspections$6,400$6,200$6,600$6,500$25,7000.62%
AppraisalFinished Product Testing$4,100$3,900$4,300$4,200$16,5000.40%
Appraisal Subtotal$18,700$18,000$19,300$18,800$74,8001.80%
FAILURE COSTS
Int. FailureRework & Reprocessing$3,100$2,400$1,800$1,200$8,5000.20%
Int. FailureBlocked Stock / Holds$1,800$900$600$0$3,3000.08%
Ext. FailureCustomer Complaints (COPQ)$1,200$900$600$400$3,1000.07%
TOTAL COST OF QUALITY$39,300$36,600$38,400$37,400$151,7003.64%
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Impact

What this template helps you achieve

↓ 24%
Avg failure cost reduction in year 1
4.2×
Prevention to failure cost ratio improvement
$37K
Documented COPQ savings in sample data
3.6%
COQ as % revenue (industry benchmark: 5–8%)
Contents

All 6 sheets, explained

Sheet 01
Setup & Instructions
Enter your revenue baseline, cost categories, and reporting year. All formulas auto-populate from here.
Sheet 02
PAF Input Ledger
Enter costs by quarter across all Prevention, Appraisal, and Failure subcategories. Fully customizable rows.
Sheet 03
Executive Dashboard
Auto-generated summary with PAF ratio, % revenue, YoY comparison, and savings calculation. Print-ready.
Sheet 04
Trend Analysis
Up to 3 years of quarterly data charted over time. See exactly where improvements are occurring.
Sheet 05
Benchmarks Reference
Industry COQ benchmarks by sector. See how your performance compares to food manufacturing standards.
Sheet 06
Management Report
One-page printable report for leadership. Automatically populated. Designed to justify quality investment.
Reviews

Quality professionals love it

★★★★★
"
Used this to build a business case for expanding our quality lab. The executive dashboard made the ROI argument undeniable. Approved in one meeting.
J
James W.
Quality Director · Ingredients
★★★★★
"
The PAF model is exactly what our corporate quality review required. Populated in two hours. Presented to our VP of Operations the same week. Game changer.
A
Amara D.
Senior QA Manager · Consumer Goods
FAQ

Common questions

What revenue figure should I use as my baseline? +
Use your plant's net sales revenue for the year. The template includes a setup tab where you enter this once and all percentage calculations auto-update throughout.
Can I add custom cost categories? +
Yes. The workbook is fully unlocked. Add, rename, or delete cost line items in the PAF Input tab. The dashboard and totals will automatically pick up any changes.
How does it compare to a COPQ model? +
PAF and COPQ are related but distinct. This template is built around the PAF model, which is the standard in manufacturing quality. The Failure cost section captures COPQ (internal + external failure) as a subset.
Can this work for multi-plant reporting? +
Yes. We recommend one file per plant, then a simple consolidation tab. Contact us if you need a custom multi-plant version — we offer enterprise configurations.
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