Restaurant Accounting | Anne Napolitano Consulting

Brewery Accounting and Consulting Services

Running a brewery means mastering everything from grain bills to taproom hospitality — your finances shouldn’t be the thing pulling you away from it. At Anne Napolitano Consulting, we’re seasoned accountants who specialize in the craft beverage industry, and we handle the financial complexity that comes with it so you can stay focused on what you do best.

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We know what keeps brewery owners up at night

Growing a brewery is exciting. It’s also financially complicated in ways that most accountants don’t fully understand — and that gap costs owners real money.

Production costs that are hard to pin down Between raw materials, packaging, taproom labor, and batch yields that don’t always go as planned, your cost of goods sold can feel like a moving target. Without a clear picture of what each barrel actually costs you to produce, pricing decisions become guesswork — and margin leaks go undetected.

Taproom and wholesale don’t play by the same rules Managing revenue from a taproom looks nothing like managing revenue from a distributor relationship. When both are running simultaneously, keeping your financials accurate and meaningful requires a level of industry knowledge that most general accountants simply don’t have.

Cash flow that doesn’t match your calendar Seasonal demand swings, uneven production cycles, and the lag between brewing costs and revenue can create cash flow gaps that catch owners off guard. Without forward-looking financial planning, those gaps turn into crises.

Growth that outpaces your financial infrastructure Adding a second taproom, expanding distribution, or bringing on a new product line is exciting — until you realize your bookkeeping system wasn’t built to handle it. Rapid growth without the right financial foundation creates blind spots that can undermine the very success you’re working toward.

Brewery finances aren't a job for a generalist

Most small business accountants are competent. They know debits and credits, they can file your taxes, and they’ll keep your books tidy. But craft brewing is a production business with a hospitality component layered on top, and that combination creates financial complexities that generalists routinely underestimate.

A general accountant may not know how to structure your chart of accounts to accurately separate taproom revenue from wholesale, or how to account for the true cost of a batch that took three weeks to produce. They may not understand that your busiest sales month can also be your tightest cash month — or how to build a financial model that captures that reality.

We’ve spent years working inside the food and beverage industry. We know what healthy brewery financials look like, what warning signs tend to appear before problems surface, and how to build reporting that actually helps you make decisions — not just reporting that satisfies a tax deadline.

Accounting Services

Books that actually reflect how your brewery operates.

Accurate, timely financials start with the right foundation — a chart of accounts built for craft beverage, COGS tracking that accounts for the real cost of production, and monthly closes that happen on schedule. Our all-accountant team handles your day-to-day and month-to-month accounting so your numbers are always clean, current, and meaningful. No more scrambling at tax time. No more wondering if your P&L is telling you the truth.

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Controller Services

Financial oversight that grows with your brewery.

As your brewery scales, your financial infrastructure needs to scale with it. Our controller services go beyond keeping the books — we own your financial reporting, establish internal controls, ensure compliance, and provide the oversight that keeps your numbers accurate as your operation gets more complex. Whether you’re managing one taproom or preparing for distribution across multiple states, we make sure your financial foundation is solid enough to support what’s next.

Financial Planning and Analysis

Turn your numbers into a plan for what’s next.

Knowing last month’s numbers is useful. Knowing what the next twelve months are going to look like — and having a plan to navigate them — is what separates reactive owners from confident ones. Our FP&A services bring forward-looking tools to your brewery: cash flow forecasting built around your production calendar, budgets that account for seasonal swings, scenario modeling for big decisions like a new taproom or a packaging line investment, and pricing analysis to make sure your margins hold as your costs evolve.

Learn more about our Financial Planning and Analysis Services →

What makes Anne Napolitano Consulting different

We speak your language — because we’ve lived it When your accountant truly understands your industry, 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 at the intersection of food service and financial expertise. We already know the seasonality of a taproom, the margin challenges of a multi-channel operation, and the complexity of production-based COGS. 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 heading into a slow season or a cost creep that’s quietly compressing your margins.

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 are genuinely invested in your brewery’s 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 — not just the routine ones.

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 brewery grows, we’re ready to grow with you.

Frequently asked questions about brewery accounting

How is brewery accounting different from standard small business accounting?

Breweries are production businesses with a hospitality revenue stream — and that combination creates financial complexity that most general small business accounting doesn’t account for. From tracking true cost of goods through a production process to separating taproom and wholesale revenue properly, brewery financials require a specialized approach. Working with accountants who understand those nuances means your numbers are actually meaningful, not just technically accurate.

Can you handle both our taproom and our wholesale distribution accounting?

Yes — and making sure those two revenue streams are reported clearly and separately is one of the first things we address with brewery clients. Understanding the true margin on each channel is essential to making good decisions about where to focus your growth, and that starts with financial reporting that doesn’t lump them together.

What does a monthly close look like for a brewery working with ANC?

Every month, your dedicated ANC team reconciles your accounts, reviews your financials for accuracy, and produces reporting tailored to how you actually run your business — not a generic P&L that leaves you with more questions than answers. You’ll have current, clean numbers on a predictable schedule, and a team that can walk you through what they mean and what you should be paying attention to.

We're growing fast — at what point does it make sense to add controller or FP&A services?

A good rule of thumb: if you’re making decisions about expansion, new revenue channels, or significant capital investment without forward-looking financial data, you’re already at the point where FP&A services would pay for themselves. Controller services become especially important when your operation reaches a level of complexity where you need more than accurate books — you need someone owning your financial infrastructure. We can talk through where you are and what makes sense for your stage of growth in a free consultation.

Do you work with breweries in my region?

Yes — we work with brewery clients across the country. Our team operates remotely and is built for it, with tech-forward systems that make collaboration seamless regardless of where you’re located.

Ready to stop losing sleep over your brewery's finances?

You built your brewery to make great beer and create a place people want to be — not to spend your nights untangling spreadsheets and worrying about whether your numbers are right. Let’s change that.

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.