Breweries, Wineries & Distilleries
We track inventory from raw materials through production and across every sales channel. Excise taxes stay filed. You know which batches and taproom pours actually turn a profit.
The Craft and the Complexity
You started this business because you love making great beer, wine, or spirits. The recipes, the fermentation, the flavor profiles. That is where your expertise lives. But behind every barrel and every batch is a financial operation that demands precision. Inventory transforms from raw materials into finished product. Revenue flows through multiple channels. Excise taxes require exact reporting.
The accounting for a craft beverage producer is not the same as a retail store or a restaurant. You have production costs that span weeks or months before anything gets sold. You have a taproom generating one type of income and wholesale accounts generating another. You have federal and state excise taxes calculated on gallons produced, not dollars sold. This complexity requires bookkeeping that understands the industry.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Craft breweries with taprooms, wineries with tasting rooms, distilleries producing spirits, cideries, and meaderies. Any beverage producer in the Merrimack Valley or Greater Boston area that makes product onsite and sells through multiple channels.
Where It Gets Complicated
Where It Gets Complicated
Raw materials like grain, hops, grapes, and botanicals become finished goods over time. Your inventory has multiple stages. Your sales happen through your taproom, through wholesale accounts, and possibly through retail distribution. Each channel has different margins and different tax implications.
What We Handle
Inventory is the foundation. We track raw materials purchased, production batches completed, and finished goods sold. This allows you to calculate true cost of goods sold by product line. You can see whether your flagship IPA actually makes more money than that seasonal stout, or whether the margins are tighter than you assumed.
Revenue tracking is equally critical. Your taproom POS system generates sales data that needs reconciling against bank deposits, tips, and credit card processing fees. Wholesale invoices to bars and restaurants operate on net-30 or net-60 terms. Distribution sales might involve a third party handling logistics. We keep these channels separated so you can see the real performance of each part of your business.
Batch Costing and COGS
Batch Costing and COGS
We allocate ingredient costs, labor, and overhead to individual production batches. When you sell a pint or a case, you know exactly what it cost to make. This data feeds directly into pricing decisions and tells you which products deserve more tank space.
Taproom Operations
Taproom Operations
Daily POS reconciliation catches discrepancies immediately. Tip reporting gets handled properly for payroll. Credit card fees and processing delays are tracked so your deposits match your recorded sales. The taproom numbers are clean and auditable.
Common Problems
Excise tax errors are expensive. Federal TTB reports require accurate tracking of production volumes, and state excise taxes add another layer. Miscounting gallons or misclassifying alcohol content leads to penalties or overpayment. Many producers just estimate these numbers because the tracking feels overwhelming. That approach works until it doesn’t.
The other hidden problem is untracked shrinkage. Samples given at the taproom, breakage during production, product used for promotional events. When these losses aren’t recorded, your inventory counts never match your financial records. Your COGS looks wrong, and you can’t tell whether you have a theft problem or just poor tracking.
Channel Confusion
Channel Confusion
Without separation, taproom revenue and wholesale revenue blur together. A busy month at the bar might mask declining wholesale accounts. You think the business is healthy because total revenue looks good, but you can’t see which channel is carrying the load and which one is slipping.
Equipment Decisions Without Data
Equipment Decisions Without Data
A new fermenter, a canning line, or expanding your tasting room requires capital. Without clean financials showing actual profitability, you are guessing. Banks and investors need reliable numbers. Your own gut feeling is not enough for a six-figure equipment purchase.
What Changes
You stop guessing about margins. When you know the true cost of producing each product and the actual revenue from each channel, you make better decisions. Maybe that labor-intensive barrel-aged release needs a higher price. Maybe your wholesale accounts are more profitable than you thought. The data tells you.
Compliance becomes routine instead of stressful. Excise tax reports are prepared from accurate production records. Your chart of accounts is organized for the industry. When it comes time for tax preparation, your CPA receives clean financials with proper inventory valuation and COGS already calculated. You spend your energy on making great product and running the taproom, not reconstructing numbers.
Growth with Confidence
Growth with Confidence
Whether you are adding distribution to new states, building out a production facility, or opening a second taproom location, you have the financial data to support the decision. Lenders see organized books. You see the real numbers before committing capital.
Time Back to the Craft
Time Back to the Craft
The reason you started this business was the product. When the financial side runs smoothly in the background, you get to spend more time in the production area and less time chasing receipts. The books get handled. You focus on what you do best.
The Merrimack Valley's Trusted Accounting Partner
The Next Step:
A 15-Minute Call
Tell us about your business and what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a straightforward quote.