Crafting bookkeeping, tax plans that keep you brewing

It’s one thing to hone your brewing skills to create a unique brew that people enjoy. It’s another taking that product and building it into a brand with loyal customers. Business issues are at the heart of a brewery’s success or failure. On Craft Brewing Business, we’ve talked at length about craft beer trademarks, but business basics like bookkeeping and taxes are just as important at keeping your business moving forward.

While the North Bay Business Journal, serving the Sonoma, Marin and Napa, California, counties, obviously knows its way around wine country, the site posted an excellent article offering tips and insight to craft brewers who should be aware of bookkeeping inner-workings. When it comes to complicated tax codes, your brewery could be one step away from owing more than you think.

From the North Bay Business Journal:

As one aspect of financial planning, the tax code has continued to evolve in respect to craft brewers in recent years. While aging beer in wooden barrels once used for wine or spirits has become a widely adopted brewing technique, those beers were until recently subject to the higher excise tax reserved for liquor in California. That changed last year, when North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro’s proposal to reclassify those beverages as beer was signed into law.

That’s just one of the examples of the ever-evolving tax code. Things get even more complicated as breweries grow and expand distribution into states with different regulations and requirements. Alcohol content, volume measurement and more can all play a role in how it impacts your finances as you send your beer into another state.

Professional accounting help can be expensive for many start-up breweries. The business journal also mentioned the availability of brewery management software such as OrchestratedBEER (which recently announced a new mobile brewery packaging application designed to run on an iPad.)

For the full story, check out the North Bay Business Journal and keep it tuned to Craft Brewing Business for all your craft brewery news and info. Because what you don’t know can impact your business.