Cannabis, hemp & botanicals
Books and taxes for cannabis processors and manufacturers.
Raw flower bought in, extraction runs, edibles batches, and wholesale orders shipped out to a dispensary. Your own bookkeeper costs every batch correctly, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June made $20,000. The distillate batch that failed its second lab test got written off against that run instead of quietly vanishing from the count.
- Leaflink bulk order payoutWholesale product sales
- Flower purchase, bulk lotRaw material
- Solvent and extraction suppliesProcessing supplies
- Packaging and labelsFinished goods packaging
- Batch lab testingRequired testing
Why your books are different
A processor's books have to follow the batch, not the calendar.
Raw flower comes in one price, one weight, one date. What leaves as finished vape cartridges, gummies, or distillate is a different product entirely, made from several batches at once. A generalist's monthly ledger cannot follow that, but the tax return needs it to.
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1
Raw material and finished goods get blended
A pound of trim bought in March might not become finished vape cartridges until May, mixed with flower from two other purchases. Booked as one expense the day it was bought, nobody can say what a finished cartridge actually cost to make.
What we doTracks raw material into the batch it becomes, so the finished product's real cost is visible when it sells, not guessed at. -
2
Only the product's real cost survives
A federal rule called Section 280E disallows most ordinary deductions for a plant-touching cannabis business. For a processor, that means the raw material, extraction, and packaging that become the product are the deduction that matters, while marketing and most other costs generally are not.
What we doKeeps true production cost, raw material through packaging, separate from everything else, and flags it for the accountant. -
3
A failed batch disappears from the count
A distillate run that fails a pesticide or potency retest cannot be sold, but the flower, solvent, and labor that went into it were real costs. Left untracked, cost of goods sold understates what production actually took.
What we doLogs a failed or destroyed batch against its own cost, so the true cost of what the facility ran that month is accounted for. -
4
A yield swing quietly eats the margin
An extraction run that comes back at a lower yield than usual costs the same in flower and labor but produces less finished product. Without tracking yield by batch, a run of bad extraction ratios quietly eats the month's margin.
What we doKeeps yield tied to each batch's cost, so a run of thin extractions gets caught instead of blending into the average. -
5
Co-packing fees get mixed into product sales
A facility that manufactures a brand's edibles or cartridges under contract gets paid a processing fee, not a straight product sale. Booked the same as a wholesale sale, the real margin on co-packing work gets lost in the noise.
What we doKeeps co-packing and contract manufacturing fees in their own line, separate from the facility's own branded sales.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a processing license.
Set up once for how raw material becomes a finished sale. You never pick a category, he does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Wholesale product salesFinished vapes, edibles, or concentrates sold to a dispensary, often through Leaflink.
- Co-packing and contract feesA processing fee for manufacturing another brand's product under contract.
- Bulk distillate salesConcentrate sold in bulk to another processor or brand.
- Terpene and isolate salesByproducts of extraction sold separately to other brands.
Money out
- Raw materialFlower or trim bought from a licensed cultivator for extraction or infusion.
- Processing suppliesSolvents, filters, and extraction consumables used up on the run.
- Finished goods packagingCartridges, jars, child-resistant packaging, and labels.
- Required batch testingPotency, pesticide, and contaminant testing before a batch can sell.
- Extraction and edibles laborKitchen and lab staff running each batch, kept apart from office wages.
- Equipment maintenanceUpkeep on extraction rigs, presses, and commercial kitchen equipment.
What we watch for you
- Cost per unit
What a cartridge, gummy pack, or gram of distillate actually cost across raw material and labor.
- Yield rate
How much finished product a batch of raw material actually produced, tracked run to run.
- Failed batch cost
What was spent on product that never made it to a sale.
- Co-pack margin
What contract manufacturing fees actually pay against the labor and time they take.
Ask Gus
Things processors and manufacturers ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
It does now. I tied that batch's raw material cost to the actual finished output, so a thin yield shows up as a real cost hit instead of blending into the average.
It gets kept separate, as a processing fee rather than a product sale, so you can see what that contract actually nets you against the labor it takes.
Since you're touching the product itself, yes, the whole operation falls under it. I keep raw material and processing cost tracked tightly for that reason. Your accountant may bring in added 280E expertise for anything unusual.
The tax side
The tax side of processing and manufacturing cannabis.
The return follows the batch. What raw material, extraction, and packaging actually cost decides most of what this business can deduct.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Section 280E and production costA federal rule disallows most ordinary deductions for a plant-touching cannabis business, leaving what the product actually cost to make, raw material through packaging, as the deduction that survives. Marketing and office costs generally do not reduce the federal bill.
- Inventory through work in processRaw flower waiting on extraction, distillate waiting to be infused, and finished cases waiting to ship are all inventory until they sell, not an expense the day they were bought.
- Depreciation for extraction gearExtraction rigs, presses, and commercial kitchen equipment can usually be written off through Section 179 expensing, up to $2,560,000, or 100 percent bonus depreciation for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Employee or contractor in the labA technician or edibles cook working the facility's hours and using its equipment is usually an employee, not a contractor, regardless of how the pay is structured.
Deductions cannabis processors and manufacturers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Raw flower and trim purchases
- Extraction solvents and filters
- Cartridge and jar packaging
- Batch potency testing
- Extraction lab labor
- Edibles kitchen labor
- Equipment maintenance and repair
- Destroyed or failed batch cost
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A processing year, kept every month.
Raw material becomes a finished product on its own schedule, batch by batch. Your team keeps the books current through all of it, not just at tax time. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, worker classification for lab and kitchen staff gets confirmed, and a monthly set-aside is planned around the coming production schedule.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, with raw material and production cost documented the way this business needs, while spring wholesale orders keep coming in.
- July
Halfway check
Where the facility stands, what it will owe, and how this year's yield rates compare to last year's, based on the books alone.
- October
Before the order rush
Before winter wholesale orders pick up, Gus looks at any extraction or packaging equipment worth buying before December closes the year.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for cannabis processors and manufacturers. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions processors and manufacturers ask first.
We buy flower from three different cultivators. Does that complicate the books?
No. Each purchase gets tracked into the batch it becomes part of, so the finished product's real cost reflects what was actually paid, no matter how many suppliers it came from.
Our extraction yields swing a lot run to run. Can the books show that?
Yes. Each run's raw material cost gets tied to what it actually produced, so a low-yield run shows up as a real cost instead of getting smoothed over in a monthly average.
Does Gus track our co-packing contracts separately from our own brand's sales?
Yes. Contract manufacturing fees stay in their own line, separate from product the facility sells under its own brand, so you can see what each side of the business actually earns.
Does the subscription cover a specialized 280E cost accounting review?
No. It keeps raw material, extraction, and packaging costs accurate every month and gets your return filed by an accountant. A deep 280E cost study usually needs added, specialized cannabis tax help beyond a monthly subscription.
Our books have never separated raw material from finished goods. Can that be untangled?
Yes. Send what you have, even a year of mixed records. Gus sorts raw material, work in process, and finished product apart, and most owners see their real batch cost within a couple of weeks.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
More in cannabis, hemp & botanicals
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Cannabis cultivators
- Cannabis delivery services
- Head shops
- Hemp farms
- Hemp-derived THC shops
- Hydroponic & grow supply shops
- Kratom & botanical shops
- Cannabis dispensaries
- Functional mushroom brands
- Hemp & CBD brands
What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever