The accounting term for the total cost incurred to generate revenue, excluding cost of goods sold, is operating expenses.
Operating expenses, often abbreviated as OpEx, are costs of running a business during a period rather than costs directly assigned to the products sold. Typical examples include salaries for administrative or sales staff, rent, utilities, advertising, insurance, office costs and research and development. On an income statement, these expenses are deducted after gross profit to help determine operating income.
Cost of goods sold is treated separately because it represents the direct cost of the goods or services delivered. Subtracting COGS from revenue produces gross profit; subtracting operating expenses from gross profit produces operating income, before items such as interest and income tax.
The category can vary by industry and reporting format. Selling expenses and administrative expenses are usually components of operating expenses, not competing alternatives to the overall term. Operating expenses also differ from capital expenditures: buying a long-lived asset is generally capitalized, while its routine use, maintenance or depreciation affects expense reporting over time.