At a holiday party, the owner of a legal medical marijuana company told me, Finding a cannabis bookkeeper is as hard as finding a babysitter in San Francisco.  Once you have one, you don’t want to share the name, because Cannabis Bookkeepingeveryone you know needs one.  Your friends and competitors will steal yours if they can.

After weeks of interviewing people, I now have recommendations for bookkeepers who work with legal cannabis business. These cannabis-aware bookkeepers work under the supervision of an experienced tax accountant, and will be generating reports that help the business owner manage the business AND manage the tax challenges associated with 280E.  Their team has over 30 years of financial and accounting experience.

There are 5 keys to successful bookkeeping for companies in the cannabis industry:

  1. Setting up the accounting records correctly in the first place.  Whether you are a dispensary, a cultivator or a manufacturer of marijuana infused products, there are specific ways information should be captured.  Some of these accounting issues are specific to the industry, but others are specific to legal cannabis company bookkeeping.
  2. Find a team with experience broader than cannabis.  Setting up the books for a dispensary, for example, requires knowledge of best practices for retailers.  Similarly, MIPs (manufacturers of marijuana infused products) have many of the same record keeping needs as food manufacturers.
  3. Skills, Competencies, Education. More than a competent bookkeeper, you want cost effective accounting and financial resources that you can leverage to improve your profits and cash flow.  Overseeing the bookkeeper, a team with a CPA, an MBA and experience problem solving, reconciling statements and presenting the results to various stakeholders (lenders, investors, IRS auditors, etc.)
  4. Communication Skills. You need the financial information for your legal cannabis business recorded and available.  But you also want information without MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over).  This may mean customized reports showing you, graphically, in text or with ratios, the key drivers for your business.
  5. A Partner. Finally, in your accounting help, you want a reliable partner who you can trust.  Competence and integrity are the keys to trust and reliability.

Business owners have plenty of urgent and important issues on their plates.  Their time is better spent on sales, operations and staffing issues.  Yet, accurate accounting is the lifeblood of your firm.  Business survival is dependent upon using a competent bookkeeper who specialize in legal cannabis businesses.

While bookkeepers for cannabis business may be hard to find, I have been doing due diligence and have found several.  My business, financial consulting with business owners, relies on having good data.  So contact me if you would like a recommendation of a cannabis bookkeeper.

EPearce Consulting