When to Hire an Accountant for CPG Businesses?

by Unloop

August 10, 2023

For CPG, managing your finances and bookkeeping can seem like a burdensome task. In reality, having a strong understanding of your finances will unlock opportunities for growth and increased profitability. Let’s explore the importance of hiring an accountant for CPG businesses and gain insights into making accounting a valuable asset for business success.

The Significance of Accounting for CPG Businesses

CPG businesses are unique due to their reliance on inventory management and sales cycles. Inaccurate financial records and bookkeeping can lead to serious consequences, including overstocking, stockouts, and misinformed financial decisions. Furthermore, proper accounting practices are essential for compliance with tax regulations and financial reporting standards.

Where are CPG companies missing the mark with their accounting?

Accounting really is the language of business, so the way we do our accounting matters to tell us how good or how bad our company is performing compared to something else, whatever that might be. That may be another company we are comparing to, an industry benchmark, or how we did last year.

People always ask me are my numbers good? Are my margins high? And then I ask them compared to who?

If the accounting is not done correctly and is not timely it’s hard to get any real value out of it and compare it to anything.

I think a lot of founders give up because they can’t do it on their own and don’t see the value in paying for it.

But then they run into cash flow problems, profitability issues and don’t know why.

What do CPG founders need in their bookkeeper?

Every business owner needs an awesome bookkeeper. Here’s why you need a bookkeeper if you’re a CPG business owner:

  • Be able to review the historical performance of your company
    • Identify annual and monthly trends in your business.
    • Assess the business’s financial health and financial performance (balance sheet and profit and loss) at any point since the company’s inception.
    • Look at trends, seasonality, and forecasting.
    • Understand what’s going well and what’s going poorly. Often founders will calculate their COGs once, and then never again. This can lead to incorrect numbers.

The Ideal Cost of Hiring a Bookkeeper

Acknowledging the financial constraints that many CPG companies face, you should consider the importance of prudent spending. but how much should you spend on an accountant? I recommend allocating approximately 1-2% of annual revenue for accounting costs. For example, if a business generates $1M per year, they should budget a maximum of $1,000 per month for accounting expenses.

If you’re looking for an affordable solution, Unloop offers accounting for inventory based businesses starting at $399/month.

To wrap up, CPG businesses need to recognize the significance of accounting and bookkeeping for their long-term success. Hiring an accountant or outsourcing bookkeeping to a an expert in inventory based businesses can prove to be a wise investment with invaluable benefits. Viewing accounting as the financial backbone of the business, rather than a mere formality, enables you to make data-driven decisions and turn accounting into a strategic asset.

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