Manufacturing & Distribution

Key Takeaways

• Primary focus: manufacturing and distribution accounting services built for CPA firms and EAs that need scale without sacrificing control.
• What you get: offshore staffing, taxation support, and back-office execution that covers cost accounting, inventory, close, reconciliations, and complete tax prep.
• Why it matters: connect SKU-level profitability, cost-to-serve, and freight to pricing and capital decisions, while keeping close cycles short and filings clean.
• Compliance and trust: IRS compliance, GAAP standards, cash basis capability, and SOC 2 certified processes baked into every engagement.
• Modern stack: ERP, WMS, and CRM integrations, API-first data flows, and RPA that reduce manual work by up to 70%, improving speed and control.
• Tax clarity in 2025: immediate expensing for domestic R&D under new Section 174A and restored 100% bonus depreciation for most qualified property acquired after Jan 19, 2025, subject to law-specific rules and elections. (cbh.com)

Who We Serve, How We Work

Built for CPA Firms, EAs, and Accounting Practices

You run point with the client. We provide the bench strength. Accountably’s offshore professionals integrate with your team for:

• White-label bookkeeping, close, and management reporting.
• Cost accounting design, standard costing, and variance tracking.
• Inventory accounting that aligns with FIFO, LIFO, or weighted-average.
• Tax preparation and review for 1040, 1065, 1120, 1120-S, 1041, and 990.
• Property tax, payroll tax, sales and use tax, and multi-state returns.
• Audit-ready workpapers and tie-outs that back every filed number.

Why CPA Firms Choose Accountably

• You get capacity on demand, with your controls and your review notes enforced.
• We maintain a consistent chart of accounts, master data, and posting rules across entities and locations.
• Our close package is standardized, searchable, and linked, so you can review faster and move on to advisory work.

Service Highlights

Core Accounting For Plant, Warehouse, and Field

• Period close, intercompany eliminations, and multi-entity consolidation.
• Standard cost updates, variance analysis, and contribution margin reporting.
• Reconciliations for inventory, AP, AR, bank, payroll, and fixed assets.
• Rolling 13-week cash forecasts, DSO, DIO, and DPO monitoring, and weekly cash conversion dashboards.

Tax Preparation, Compliance, and White-Label Support

• Federal, state, and multi-state returns, including 1040, 1065, 1120, 1120-S, 1041, and 990.
• Property and payroll tax filings, notices, and responses.
• Documentation for R&D credits and manufacturing incentives, coordinated with financial reporting and transfer pricing when needed. For 2025, domestic R&D can be immediately deducted under new Section 174A while foreign R&D remains amortized, and the research credit remains available with evolving documentation standards. (cbh.com)

Inventory and Costing That Protects Margin

• Job, process, or activity-based costing mapped to routings and BOMs.
• FIFO, LIFO, or weighted-average valuation aligned to your tax method and pricing strategy.
• Barcode or RFID controls, cycle counts, and variance thresholds that limit shrink and keep service levels high.

Outcomes You Can Use In The Room

• Sharper pricing and quotes: SKU-level profitability and cost-to-serve analysis to back rate cards and discount policies.
• Cleaner close: role-based access, automated postings, and documented approvals that shorten reviews.
• Cash visibility: 13-week views that surface shortfalls 4 to 6 weeks out, with scenario testing for supply and demand shocks.
• Tax certainty: current-year expensing choices modeled against state conformity and future cash needs, explained in plain English for your clients. For 2025, 100% bonus depreciation is back for qualified property acquired and placed in service after Jan 19, 2025, with transition rules for earlier acquisitions. (grantthornton.com)

Cost Accounting And Inventory, Explained Simply

You win or lose margin on the shop floor and in the aisle. We help you connect activity to cost so pricing and mix are not a guess.

Cost Accounting Design

• Select and implement job, process, or ABC, then document drivers so allocations make sense to operations.
• Maintain standard costs with quarterly true-ups, and monitor material, labor, and overhead variances.
• Use contribution margin and break-even analysis when volumes or yields change.

Inventory Accounting Methods, Side by Side

Always align the book and tax approach, and document the rationale. Proper policies reduce audit friction and keep your team consistent.

Controls That Stick

• Cycle counts with defined tolerances and root-cause logs.
• Receiving to put-away timestamps, freight accruals, and landed cost rules.
• Obsolescence reserves tied to last-move, last-sale, and forecast aging, reviewed quarterly.

Forecasting, Budgeting, And Cash

Demand-Driven Forecasting

• Pull signals from POS, customer orders, and backlog, then use SKU lead times and service targets to set dynamic reorder points.
• Move from monthly to weekly planning when volatility rises, and tie forecasts to rolling 13-week cash so purchasing and production are funded.

Zero-Based Budgeting, Done Without Drama

• Rebuild spend from the ground up and tie each line to a throughput, uptime, or shipment driver.
• Standard templates and workflow approvals keep teams honest, and variance reviews enforce course corrections.

Working Capital Targets

• Segment AR terms and consider early-pay discounts for key accounts, then measure the lift in DSO.
• Push for smart DPO gains with dynamic discounting where cash allows.
• Aim for 6 to 12 turns on inventory, based on mix and service goals, and revisit targets every quarter.

The goal is simple, protect service, protect cash, and protect margin, in that order.

2025 Tax Changes Manufacturers And Distributors Ask About

Your clients will ask, what changed, what can we deduct, and how fast can we claim it. Here is the short version you can use in meetings, with references.

Domestic R&D Expensing Is Back

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, new Section 174A allows immediate deduction of domestic R&D. Foreign R&D continues to amortize over 15 years. The research credit under Section 41 still applies, and the IRS has updated Form 6765 timelines and documentation expectations for certain filers. Coordinate expensing choices with the credit and your financial statement presentation. 

Practical tips:

• Keep project-level records of wages, supplies, and contract research.
• Decide early if you will elect immediate deduction or capitalize for specific planning outcomes.
• If you capitalized 2022 to 2024 domestic R&D, transitional options may allow acceleration in 2025, subject to elections and small business rules. (wiss.com)

Bonus Depreciation, Transition, And Planning

The 2025 law restores 100% bonus depreciation for most qualified property acquired and placed in service after Jan 19, 2025. Property acquired before that date may still follow phasedown rules, so track contract dates and acquisition terms. This is a cash timing benefit, pair it with Section 179 and state conformity modeling. (grantthornton.com)

Section 179, Mind The Limits And States

Several firms report increased Section 179 limits beginning with tax years after Dec 31, 2024, often citing a 2.5 million deduction cap with a 4 million phaseout. The IRS inflation tables issued in late 2024 showed 1.25 million and 3.13 million before subsequent legislative updates. Check your client’s facts, state conformity, and filing year before making promises, then document your election. (rsmus.com)

Note, some states decouple from bonus depreciation, but often allow Section 179, which is useful for improvements like roofs, HVAC, and security systems that do not qualify under Section 168(k). Model both at federal and state levels for manufacturers with multi-state presence. (grantthornton.com)

Technology Enablement And Systems Integration

Modern manufacturing and distribution accounting runs through your ERP. We help your firm connect the dots so numbers move automatically and controls are clear.

ERP Roadmaps That Deliver Value

• Current-state assessment that inventories modules, data quality, and integration points.
• Sequenced migration, start with financials and inventory, then pull in MES, WMS, and EDI.
• Role-based access, automated postings, and auditable approvals that shorten the close and cut review time.

What changes on the ground:

• Inventory valuation updates feed COGS without manual journals.
• Intercompany flows eliminate on schedule with support for eliminations and consolidations.
• Tax-ready data is captured at source, so R&D and asset additions are documented as you go.

Data Integration And Automation

• API-first connections between ERP, WMS, MES, freight, and billing reduce rekeying by up to 70%.
• RPA handles AP and AR posting, bank recs, and recurring allocations, so staff can focus on exceptions.
• Near-real-time KPIs, cycle time, yield, and cost per unit, refresh every 5 to 15 minutes so you can catch variances quickly.

Security, Controls, And Compliance

Accountably runs SOC 2 certified processes with strict access governance, logging, and review trails. We build to your firm’s policies and document the entire chain so your reviewers see exactly what changed, when, and by whom. We operate under IRS compliance and GAAP standards, and we support cash basis accounting where your engagement requires it.

White-Label Staffing And Back-Office Execution

How We Slot Into Your Firm

• You keep the client relationship, we work under your brand.
• We align on your PBC lists, close checklists, and review notes.
• We share weekly progress trackers and escalation paths so nothing slips.

What We Deliver

• Close package with trial balance, reconciliations, flux analysis, and variance commentary.
• Cost rollups and inventory tie-outs matched to physical activity and valuation method.
• Tax packages with schedules for fixed assets, bonus and Section 179 elections, R&D support files, and multi-state apportionment.
• Support across federal, state, and local filings, including 1040, 1065, 1120, 1120-S, 1041, and 990.

Where We Save You Time

• Standardized workpapers that are audit-ready.
• Consistent naming for SKUs, BOMs, and locations so cross-entity reporting works every month.
• Issue logs with owner and due date, so everyone knows the next move.

Think of us as the operational backbone that lets your firm spend more hours advising and fewer hours chasing variances.

Advisory For Growth, M&A, And Resets

Growth And Capacity

• Map capital spend to unit economics, throughput, and maintenance windows.
• Align pricing and discounts to cost-to-serve and margin contribution by channel.
• Use scenarios to plan staff, overtime, and supplier lanes ahead of peak.

M&A, Carve-Outs, And Integration

• Quality of Earnings support, revenue and margin bridge, and working capital normalization.
• Rapid integration of chart of accounts, item masters, and inventory policies.
• Tax and incentive mapping, including R&D expensing, bonus depreciation, and Section 179, with state modeling. For 2025 planning, several large companies expect a cash windfall from the new law’s expensing and depreciation rules, a reminder to model cash taxes, even when book rates are unchanged. (wsj.com)

Turnarounds And Restructuring

• Reset standards, fix routings, and renegotiate lanes that are out of market.
• Weekly cash meetings, monthly reforecasts, and quarterly budgets to rebuild control.
• Prep lender packages with clean KPIs and defensible assumptions.

Proof Points And Results

Clients highlight fast access to decision-makers, measurable impact, and precise execution. Over multi-year cycles, that translates to fewer surprises, stronger EBITDA, and steadier cash. Your team looks prepared in meetings because the files are clean and the story is clear.

“Responsive teams, clean workpapers, and a straight answer when we need it most.”

FAQs

How does onboarding work and how long does it take?

Most firms finish onboarding in 2 to 4 weeks. We start with discovery and data intake, then set up systems access, controls, and a pilot month. You get weekly checkpoints, a clear RACI, and an executive summary at the end of the first close.

Can you work with our existing CPA review process and ERP?

Yes. We plug into your review notes, PBC lists, and ERP, including NetSuite, SAP Business One, and Dynamics 365. We follow your controls, and we document every step so your reviewers can approve faster.

What security and compliance standards do you follow?

We operate with IRS compliance and GAAP standards, support cash basis accounting when you need it, and our processes are SOC 2 certified. Access is role-based, MFA is enforced, and all activity is logged for audit review.

How do you price white-label work?

We match effort to complexity. Most firms start with a base scope and add modules as volume and risk grow. We share SLAs and usage thresholds so you can set expectations with your client and avoid overbuying.

Can you support R&D credits and 2025 expensing choices?

Yes, we prepare the support files you need, project lists, wages, supplies, and contract research, and coordinate with your chosen tax positions. For 2025, domestic R&D may be immediately deducted under Section 174A, subject to elections and documentation, and the credit under Section 41 remains available with evolving IRS form requirements. Always confirm state conformity before finalizing returns. (cbh.com)

What about bonus depreciation and Section 179 in 2025?

The law enacted in July 2025 restored 100% bonus depreciation for most qualified property acquired after Jan 19, 2025, and several firms note increased Section 179 limits applicable to tax years beginning after Dec 31, 2024. We model both, and we flag state differences that can change the cash outcome. (grantthornton.com)

Compliance Note And Date Stamp

This industry page provides general information for CPA firms and EAs. It is not tax or legal advice. Facts vary by client and jurisdiction, and state conformity may differ. Content reflects guidance and public commentary available as of October 9, 2025, including IRS updates on the research credit process and widely reported 2025 federal tax law changes affecting R&D expensing and bonus depreciation. (irs.gov)

Ready To Add Capacity Without Losing Control?

You focus on advisory and client strategy. We handle the repeatable work with discipline and care, and we do it under your brand.

• Book a discovery call to scope your first month.
• Send a sample close checklist, we will share a mapped workflow.
• Pick one entity or one plant to pilot, then scale once you are happy.