In AccountRight, standard cost is the tax inclusive purchase price of an inventory item. You can set this cost as the default price for purchases, instead of the last purchase price. You can change this cost manually on each purchase.
If you would like a default price to be entered on purchases for an item, rather than the last purchase price (which can vary), you can activate a preference that will force this behaviour.
To activate the standard cost preference
Go to the Setup menu and choose Preferences.
Click the Inventory tab.
Select the option Use Standard Cost as the Default Price on Purchase Orders and Bills.
Click OK.
How standard cost works
If you activate standard cost, then the Standard Cost (the price entered for the item in the Buying Details tab of the Item Information window) is the price that will appear automatically for the item when you enter a purchase. You can change the price on the purchase, if you want.
If you activate standard cost but no price is entered in the Standard Cost field for an item, that item's price will be $0.00 when entering a purchase (but you can change this when entering the purchase).
If you don't activate standard cost, the Last Purchase Price (the price that was recorded for the item the last time you purchased it (not including any discount)) will appear automatically for the item the next time you enter a purchase. You can change the price on the purchase, if you want.