Reduce Beverage Production Costs with Smart Accounting
There’s something rewarding about seeing your beverage business grow. More batches brewed, new flavors launched, and loyal customers coming back for more. Growth brings excitement, but it also adds layers of complexity behind the scenes.
According to a recent manufacturing industry survey, cost control has now become the top priority for food and beverage manufacturers, surpassing food safety for the first time in 24 years. That shift says a lot: knowing where your money is going has never been more critical to staying profitable and sustainable.
Good bookkeeping and accounting aren’t just about tracking expenses. They’re also about understanding the full scope of your production line. Your financial data shows the heart of your operation. It includes the hops and grains you use. It also reflects the time your cellar team spends transferring, cleaning, and packaging.
When those numbers are accurate, timely, and easy to interpret, they can guide more informed decisions about your batches, your team structure, and your long-term goals.
Where Are Your Costs Hiding?
It’s easy to tally up obvious expenses like barley, bottles, or payroll. But even when production feels steady, profit margins can quietly shrink without clear visibility into your true overheads. Many adult beverage producers unknowingly absorb charges that go unnoticed on financial statements but absolutely show up in the bottom line.
Let’s break it down:
Utilities & Equipment Inefficiencies
Brewing and distilling are energy-intensive by nature. If you’re not tracking energy use by production cycle or maintaining equipment properly, utility fees can spike. Upgrading to more energy-saving equipment or even simply adjusting production schedules can make a difference. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, businesses that implement energy efficiency measures can save as much as 30% on energy bills.
Inventory Waste
Poor tracking of perishable ingredients can lead to spoilage or overstocking. This is common in breweries where hop oils and specialty grains degrade quickly without proper storage or planning.
Workforce Hours and Salaries
Are you spending too much on overtime? Are production bottlenecks leading to wasted time? Labor inefficiency is one of the biggest silent profit drains in small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses. Accounting insights can reveal which production stages or times of year are least productive, giving you a chance to restructure schedules or staffing plans.
Regulatory Compliance & Tax Penalties
From the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) excise filings to state sales tax regulations, failing to track and report accurately can result in hefty penalties. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) enforces strict reporting standards that many small producers underestimate. Inaccurate reporting can lead to fines, while missed opportunities (like the Craft Beverage Modernization Act) could deprive you in unrealized savings.
How Better Accounting Helps You Regain Control
1. Know What It Really Takes to Make Each Product
Not all beers or spirits are created equal. A seasonal Belgian tripel may require higher-priced ingredients and longer fermentation time than your year-round IPA, which impacts profitability.
Knowing your true spending per product helps you:
- Break down ingredient usage and investment per batch
- Track equipment time and depreciation
- Allocate manpower more accurately
- Factor in packaging and distribution per SKU
With this clarity, you can refine pricing, prioritize high-margin products, and stop pouring profits down the drain. Our team of accountants helps adult beverage producers analyze production budgets that fit your setup, whether you’re managing bottling plants, distributing to top alcohol retailers, or running taprooms.
2. Manage Your Supplies Strategically
Did you know that ingredient shrinkage and stock mismanagement are among the top reasons breweries lose money?
Better inventory systems help you:
- Avoid overstocking perishables that may expire
- Prevent mid-batch ingredient shortages
- Improve your cost of goods sold (COGS) accuracy
- Streamline ordering cycles and avoid last-minute spending
We help beverage clients implement streamlined systems, including real-time tracking software integrations and periodic audits. These reduce waste, improve accuracy, and make ordering cycles more predictable, helping you avoid surprises that can slow down operations.
3. Stay Compliant and Tax-Savvy
Let’s be honest: tax compliance in the alcohol industry is complicated. Every pint, bottle, or barrel sold may trigger excise taxes, sales tax, or alcohol control regulations, varying by state and distribution channel.
If you’re expanding across state lines, adding new SKUs, or running a taproom, you’re also increasing your reporting burden.
Common tax complexities beverage producers face include:
- Preparing and filing excise taxes with the TTB and state agencies
- Identifying and applying eligible tax credits, like the Craft Beverage Modernization Act benefits
- Structuring your business to reduce tax liability across operations
Having tax professionals like MBE CPAs with extensive experience in the beverage manufacturing industry can ease the burden of tax planning and compliance while providing more opportunities for savings.
4. Make Labor Work for You
Your team is the backbone of your business, but rising employee expenses can eat into your margins fast if left unchecked.
A good accounting system can help you:
- Analyze payroll performance by role or department
- Track production vs. administrative labor
- Spot overtime trends and seasonal staffing needs
- Staffing patterns by shift and season
Manufacturers can gain deeper visibility into workforce trends and how they impact production outcomes through partnering with accounting professionals who understand their business. That means you can streamline schedules, avoid burnout, and get more out of the team you already have.
Final Pour
Your brews tell a story. It’s crafted with care, refined over time, and shared with pride. The same intentionality should carry over into your numbers.
When you understand the real value of a pint, you gain the power to price it, scale it, and grow your beverage manufacturing with confidence. From stronger pricing to more sustainable growth, better accounting helps you make decisions that move your business forward.
Schedule a consultation with us and take the first step toward smarter financial control.