Beverage Manufacturing · Growth

Accounting infrastructure rebuilt at a critical inflection point

A beverage co-manufacturer was mid-expansion — new $70M facility, active debt and equity raises — with books left in poor shape by a prior bookkeeper. A $40,000 depreciation error. Two sets of books. No reporting package.

Tools & methods

Challenge

Bank reconciliations were running in external Excel files, bypassing QuickBooks entirely. Fixed assets were tracked on inconsistent schedules. Deferred revenue had no systematic recognition process. A covenant compliance issue had delayed the financial review 30 days and triggered a refinancing need.

Approach

Rebuilt the financial infrastructure alongside the incoming fractional CFO: corrected fixed asset register with proper useful lives, systematic deferred revenue schedule, balance sheet reconciliation framework for three historically unreliable accounts, and a live reporting package connected directly to QuickBooks.

Results

• $40,000 accumulated depreciation error identified and corrected
• Three balance sheet accounts now have independent schedules and monthly journal entries
• Bank reconciliations moved inside QuickBooks — two sets of books eliminated
• Incoming controller inherited a working process, not a mess
• Equipment financing introductions facilitated to support capital structure