Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for non-alcoholic beverage brands.
A co-packer run that forces you to buy a full pallet at once, an ad spend that outweighs your ingredients, a grocery distributor payout that lands short, and investor money that is not a sale. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
January came in at $13,300. A Dry January bump helped both channels, and I kept your ad spend separate from production costs so you can see what it actually costs to earn a new customer.
- KeHE distributor payoutWholesale grocery sales
- Amazon FBA payoutDirect-to-consumer sales
- Cott Beverages production runCo-packing and production
- Meta Ads spendMarketing and advertising
- ShipBob fulfillment feeWarehousing and fulfillment
Why your books are different
A beverage brand's books go wrong around the production run and the ad spend.
A generalist sees a can on a shelf. Your business runs a co-packer that only produces in full pallet runs, an ad budget that can outweigh your ingredients, and grocery distributor fees that quietly shrink every payout. When the books do not separate all that, you cannot tell if the brand is actually working.
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1
A co-packer's minimum order forces a huge inventory buy
Most co-packers only run a batch at a minimum quantity, so one production run can cost as much as several months of sales. Expensed the day it is paid, that month looks like a disaster and the months it actually sells through look artificially strong.
What we doKeeps finished inventory from a production run on the books until it actually sells, so one big co-packer run does not distort the month it was made. -
2
Ad spend gets blended into cost of goods
Paid social, influencer fees, and sampling events are often the single largest cost in this business, but lumped in with production costs, you cannot tell what it actually costs to make a can versus what it costs to sell one.
What we doKeeps marketing and advertising spend in its own line, separate from production costs, so both numbers are visible on their own. -
3
Grocery distributor payouts arrive short
Getting a new brand onto a grocery distributor's list usually means paying a slotting fee up front, and later invoices can carry chargebacks or spoilage credits on top of that, so the deposit rarely matches what you billed.
What we doTracks the slotting fee separately from ongoing invoice deductions, so you can see the one-time cost of getting listed against the ongoing cost of staying there. -
4
Amazon and direct-to-consumer fees erode online margin differently
Referral fees, storage fees, and fulfillment costs on Amazon or a direct-to-consumer order eat into margin in ways a wholesale case sale never does, and blended together, you cannot tell which channel is actually more profitable.
What we doKeeps online marketplace fees separate from wholesale costs, so each channel's real margin is visible. -
5
Investor money looks like a sale
Money raised from an investor or a crowdfunding round is real cash in the bank, but it is not revenue from selling your product, and booking it as a sale makes the business look like it is earning more than it is.
What we doKeeps investor and outside funding in its own category, separate from sales, so your real revenue is never overstated.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a non-alcoholic beverage brand.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Wholesale grocery salesThe full invoice billed to grocery accounts, with distributor deductions booked on their own line.
- Direct-to-consumer salesOrders through Amazon, Shopify, or a similar online store.
- Specialty retail salesDirect sales to independent grocers and specialty shops.
- Investor and outside fundingKept apart from sales, since it is capital, not revenue.
Money out
- Co-packing and productionFull production runs from a contract manufacturer like Cott Beverages.
- Marketing and advertisingPaid social, influencer fees, and sampling events, kept apart from production.
- Distributor feesThe listing fee to get on a distributor's roster, plus any chargebacks after the fact.
- Warehousing and fulfillment3PL storage and shipping costs from services like ShipBob.
- Amazon and marketplace feesReferral, storage, and fulfillment fees on online marketplaces.
- Packaging and designCans, labels, and package design work.
- Product liability insuranceCoverage for a business selling packaged food and drink.
What we watch for you
- Channel margin
Wholesale, Amazon, and direct-to-consumer sales each carry different real costs, so you know where to put your effort.
- Cost to acquire a customer
Ad spend against new customers gained, so a growing ad budget is a choice, not a surprise.
- Inventory from the last production run
What is sitting in a warehouse from a co-packer's minimum order, so it does not look like the month it was made was a disaster.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things non-alcoholic beverage brand owners 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.
No. That inventory is sitting in your warehouse, not sold yet. I kept it on the books as inventory rather than an expense, so this month is not really as bad as it looks.
I keep ad spend separate from production cost, so you can watch it against new sales over time. Whether the current spend is worth it is a call for you and your marketing plan, not something the books alone can answer.
No. I booked it as outside funding, not a sale, so your real revenue stays honest. That distinction also matters for how the accountant handles it at tax time.
The tax side
The tax side of running a non-alcoholic beverage brand.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A big production run expensed too soon, ad spend hidden in cost of goods, and investor money booked like a sale.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Co-packed inventoryA production run from a co-packer only reduces taxable income when the finished product actually sells, not when the run is paid for. An accurate count of what is still in the warehouse at year end matters.
- Marketing and advertising costsAd spend, influencer fees, and sampling are generally deductible business expenses, and keeping them separate from production cost makes the return, and your own decisions, clearer.
- Investor capital is not taxable incomeMoney raised from an investor is not revenue and is treated differently on the books and the return than a sale. Getting the categories right from the start avoids a mess later.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated beverage brands can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when wholesale, direct, and marketplace sales are kept separate all year.
Deductions non-alcoholic beverage brands miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Co-packer production runs
- Paid social and influencer fees
- Sampling event costs
- Cans, labels, and packaging design
- 3PL warehousing and shipping
- Amazon and marketplace fees
- Distributor slotting fees
- Product liability insurance
- Trade show booth fees
- Recipe and formula development
- Website and subscription software fees
- Freight for raw ingredients
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 non-alcoholic beverage brand's year, kept every month.
Production runs, ad campaigns, and grocery resets rarely follow a neat calendar, but your return still comes due every April. Your team keeps you ahead of it. 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, ad spend and production runs from the past year get reviewed, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January regardless of how the ad budget moved.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a new distributor account or a bigger ad budget changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday push
Before holiday gift sets or a seasonal flavor launch, Gus looks at production and marketing plans worth timing before December.
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 non-alcoholic beverage brands. 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 non-alcoholic beverage brand owners ask first.
A big production run just wrecked our cash. Does it also wreck the books?
No. Gus keeps that inventory on the books until it actually sells, so a big co-packer run does not make the month it was paid for look like a disaster.
Can Gus separate our ad spend from production costs?
Yes. Marketing and advertising get their own line, apart from what it costs to actually make the product, so you can see both numbers clearly.
We raised a small investment round. Is that counted as sales?
No. Gus books it as outside funding, separate from revenue, so your real sales are never overstated.
How does Gus handle Amazon fees versus wholesale costs?
He keeps them in separate categories, so you can see which channel, wholesale, Amazon, or direct-to-consumer, actually earns you more per sale.
Do we owe federal alcohol excise tax since we make beverages?
No. That tax applies to alcohol producers. A non-alcoholic beverage brand does not have that obligation.
Our books have never separated production, marketing, and marketplace fees. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them into production, marketing, and channel categories from here forward, and the accountant checks it.
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 craft beverage producers
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- Hookah lounges
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