How we think about wineries, breweries, and hospitality
These businesses make something, store it, and sell it across a counter, often all on one property. The books need a production side that tracks what is in tanks, barrels, and the cold room, and a retail side that reconciles every till and online order. When the two are kept apart, cost of goods is a guess and margin is a surprise.
In Langley the mix is particular. Township wineries and craft breweries pour for visitors in tasting rooms and on summer weekends, while Fort Langley's restaurants and cafés run on day-trip traffic that swings with the weather and the season. The busy months pay for the quiet ones.
What makes the books different
- Production inventory. Grapes, malt, hops, bottles, and labels move from raw materials through work in process to finished goods, and the cost of each batch follows it there.
- Liquor taxes. In BC, liquor sales carry PST at 10% rather than the general 7%, and food, merchandise, and tastings may each be taxed differently. Every POS item needs the right tax code.
- Daily sales. Tasting-room tills, restaurant POS, online orders, wine club charges, and event bookings each settle differently, and all of them need reconciling to deposits.
- Tips and seasonal staff. Gratuities are tracked as owed to staff until paid, and summer hiring is run through payroll so the ledger and the pay stubs agree.
What a monthly close looks like for you
Daily sales summaries come in from the POS, and production records come from the cellar or brewhouse. Each month we reconcile sales and tips, post the production and inventory movements, file sales tax, and report gross margin by channel: tasting room, wholesale, online, and food. By the 10th you can see which channel earned the month.
Tools we commonly use for these clients
QuickBooks Online or Xero as the ledger. Square, Toast, or a similar POS for the tasting room and restaurant. Your production or inventory software, where you use one, for batches and stock. Dext for supplier bills. Wagepoint for payroll with tips.
Partners we work with
We work with CPAs who understand excise duty and liquor manufacturer reporting, licensing lawyers, and lenders who finance equipment and inventory. We describe partners by type, not by name.
A good fit if
- You run a winery, cidery, craft brewery, or distillery with a tasting room or retail counter
- You run a restaurant or café that needs daily sales and tips reconciled
- You want margin by channel, not just one total for the month