Industries

Beverage Brand Accounting and Consulting Services

Beverage Brand Accounting and Consulting Services

Building a hemp, THC, CBD, or cannabis-infused beverage brand is hard enough without having to explain your business to every accountant, bank, and software provider you work with — or worse, getting turned away by them entirely. At Anne Napolitano Consulting, we know this space, we work in it, and we’re not going anywhere. We handle the financial complexity of running a growing beverage brand so you can focus on building it.

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We know what keeps cannabis and hemp beverage founders up at night

You’re building a real business in a fast-moving, heavily scrutinized category. The financial challenges you face aren’t just the ones every growing brand deals with — they’re compounded by an industry landscape that hasn’t fully caught up to where your business already is.

Finding financial partners who will actually work with you is exhausting
Banks, accounting software providers, payment processors, and payroll platforms have been slow — and in many cases outright unwilling — to serve cannabis and hemp-adjacent businesses. Finding partners with the knowledge and willingness to work in this space takes time you don’t have and creates instability that affects your entire operation.

Your business model is more complex than most accountants realize
Hemp-derived and cannabis-infused beverage brands typically operate as brand companies — not production facilities. That means co-packer relationships, third-party inventory, and multi-channel revenue across DTC, retail, and distribution that require a level of financial detail most generalist accountants aren’t equipped to provide.

Cash flow is unpredictable when you’re scaling fast
Large retail purchase orders and distribution deals are wins — but they come with significant upfront production costs before payment arrives. Retailer payment terms, uneven DTC demand, and the working capital intensity of scaling production create cash flow gaps that can catch even well-run brands off guard.

The regulatory and financial compliance picture is still evolving
Operating in the hemp and cannabis-adjacent beverage space means navigating a financial and compliance landscape that is still catching up to the industry. From banking documentation requirements to the financial implications of state-by-state market entry, staying on top of the financial side of compliance requires accountants who are paying close attention to this space — not learning about it from you.

Investors and retail buyers expect clean, credible financials
Whether you’re raising a round, negotiating a retail placement, or positioning for acquisition, the quality of your financial reporting is part of how your brand gets evaluated. Founders who have outgrown their DIY bookkeeping situation often discover that gap at exactly the wrong moment — when someone with leverage is asking for numbers they’re not confident in.

Hemp and cannabis beverage brands need more than a willing accountant — they need an experienced one

Plenty of accountants will tell you they’re open to working with hemp and cannabis-adjacent businesses. Fewer have actually done it. And there’s a meaningful difference between an accountant who is technically willing and one who has navigated the specific challenges your business faces — the banking relationships, the software workarounds, the co-packer accounting, the multi-channel revenue tracking — and knows how to build financial infrastructure that actually holds up in this space.

We’ve worked inside this industry. We understand the financial model of a beverage brand, the operational realities of the hemp and cannabis-adjacent category, and what it takes to build reporting that serves your business today and holds up as you grow. When you work with ANC, you’re not onboarding an accountant who needs to get up to speed on your industry. You’re working with a team that already is.

Accounting Services

Books built for the financial reality of your brand and your industry.

Accurate accounting for a hemp or cannabis-infused beverage brand starts with the right foundation — a chart of accounts built for your business model, inventory tracking that accounts for co-packed product, revenue reporting that separates your channels, and monthly closes that happen on schedule. Our all-accountant team handles your accounting so your numbers are always clean, current, and ready to support the decisions — and the conversations with investors, buyers, and partners — that come with building a growing brand in a competitive space.

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Controller Services

Financial oversight that keeps pace with your growth — and your industry’s complexity.

As your brand scales — more retail relationships, more distribution partners, more regulatory considerations — your financial infrastructure needs to keep up. Our controller services provide that oversight: accurate and timely reporting, internal controls, inventory reconciliation across your supply chain, and the financial foundation that a growing beverage brand needs to operate and present itself with confidence. We own your financial infrastructure so you can focus on growing your brand.

Financial Planning and Analysis

The forward-looking financial tools your brand needs to scale intentionally.

Growth without financial visibility is expensive guessing. Our FP&A services bring the tools that let you scale with clarity: cash flow forecasting that accounts for production lead times and retailer payment terms, budgets built around your channel mix and growth plans, scenario modeling for distribution expansions, and margin analysis that keeps your pricing decisions grounded in real numbers. When a major decision is in front of you — a new retail account, a production run commitment, a capital raise — you’ll have the financial picture to make it confidently.

Learn more about our Financial Planning and Analysis Services →

What makes Anne Napolitano Consulting different

We speak your language — and we’re not intimidated by your industry
When your accountant truly understands your business, everything changes. Conversations are faster, advice is sharper, and nothing gets lost in translation. ANC was founded by Anne Napolitano, a former chef turned accountant who has spent her career serving food and beverage businesses — including brands operating in the hemp, THC, CBD, and cannabis-infused beverage space. We already know the co-packer model, the multi-channel margin complexity, and the partner landscape that makes this category uniquely challenging. When you work with ANC, you’re not paying for us to learn your industry. You’re paying for everything we already know — and that knowledge pays for itself.

We stay ahead of your numbers — not behind them
Good accounting isn’t just about recording the past. It’s about protecting your future. At ANC, we proactively monitor your numbers, flag potential issues early, and keep you informed so nothing catches you off guard — whether that’s a cash flow gap between a production run and a retail payment or a financial documentation issue that needs to be addressed before a capital raise.

You get a dedicated team — not a solo act
Every ANC client is supported by a dedicated three-person team that knows your business, knows your numbers, and is always available. No single point of failure. No being left stranded when someone goes on vacation. Just consistent, reliable support from people who understand the pace of a growing beverage brand and are genuinely invested in your success.

A seasoned advisor in your corner — for the long haul
At many firms, the partner who sold you the engagement disappears after onboarding. At ANC, senior-level advisory isn’t reserved for your biggest questions. Anne oversees every client relationship, providing the strategic guidance and expertise that keeps your business on track. When you work with ANC, you have an experienced advisor available for the decisions that matter — from investor conversations to distribution strategy.

An experienced firm with proven systems
ANC has been operating for ten years with a dedicated team, proven processes, and a purpose-built technology stack. We’ve built our firm to be exactly what food and beverage businesses need: personal enough to know your business inside and out, and structured enough to deliver consistent, reliable results every single time. Your books are closed on time. Your numbers are accurate. And as your brand grows, we’re ready to grow with you.

Frequently asked questions about brewery accounting

Why is it so hard to find accountants who work with hemp and cannabis beverage brands?

Many accounting firms are either unfamiliar with the category or hesitant to work in it due to its regulatory history and the complexity of the banking and software landscape. The result is that founders in this space often end up underserved — working with generalists who don’t understand their business model or bookkeeping services that can’t provide the level of financial expertise a growing brand needs. ANC works in this space intentionally, and we’ve built the knowledge and partner relationships to do it well.

What banking and software challenges should hemp and cannabis beverage brands expect?

Hemp and cannabis-infused beverage brands frequently run into resistance from the partners that most businesses take for granted — banks, accounting software providers, payment processors, and payroll platforms that are either unwilling to work with the industry or unfamiliar with how to serve it. That friction creates real operational instability: accounts get closed unexpectedly, software integrations fall apart, and founders spend time they don’t have searching for partners willing to work with them at all.

Because ANC has worked with hemp and cannabis beverage brands, we’ve already navigated that landscape. We have relationships with banks and software providers who understand this industry and are willing to work in it — so when you come to us, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re getting the benefit of everything we’ve already figured out.

How do you handle inventory accounting when we use a co-packer?

Co-packer inventory accounting is one of the most common gaps we see when beverage brands come to us. Product at a third-party facility still needs to be on your balance sheet, tracked accurately through each production run, and reconciled against what you’re actually selling. We structure your inventory accounting to reflect the reality of your supply chain — so your COGS is accurate, your balance sheet is credible, and you always know what you have and what it cost you.

We're planning to raise a round — how can ANC help us prepare?

Clean, accurate, professionally prepared financials are the baseline for any capital raise. Beyond that, investors want to understand your unit economics, your channel margin structure, your cash needs, and your growth trajectory — which is precisely what our FP&A services are built to produce. Brands in the hemp and cannabis-adjacent space also need to be prepared for additional scrutiny around their financial documentation and banking relationships, and having an accounting team that has navigated that before is a meaningful advantage.

Is ANC familiar with the financial compliance considerations specific to hemp and cannabis beverages?

Our focus is on the financial and accounting side of your business — we’re not regulatory attorneys or compliance consultants, and we won’t position ourselves as such. What we do is structure your accounting to reflect the financial implications of operating in a regulated category, keep your books clean and audit-ready, and make sure your financial reporting holds up to scrutiny.

Ready to work with accountants who understand your business and aren't going anywhere?

You’ve built something real in a category that doesn’t always get the professional support it deserves. We’re here to change that. Let’s talk about what it looks like to have a dedicated team of experienced accountants in your corner.

Schedule a free consultation with our team and find out what it looks like to have seasoned accountants who actually understand your business in your corner.

Schedule a Free Consultation