MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS
You turn out the goods. We’ll help you turn a profit.
Accounting built for the real costs, tight margins, and moving parts of manufacturing and distribution.
Accounting built for manufacturers and distributors
Manufacturing and distribution businesses are complex by nature. You’re managing inventory, production costs, supply chains, customer payment terms, and capital equipment—all at once. The financial side of your business requires more than standard bookkeeping. It requires someone who understands how you actually make money.
At Lange Accounting, we know the financial realities of manufacturing and distribution, like cost accounting, inventory valuation, working capital management, and the tax strategies available to capital-intensive businesses. And we bring the same personal, concierge-level attention to every client we work with.
The Challenge
The financial pressure behind every product you ship
Manufacturers and distributors operate on tight margins with a lot of moving parts. The financial challenges are specific to your world, and they compound fast when they’re not managed well:
• Inventory that ties up working capital and is hard to value accurately
• Cost structures that are difficult to track at the product, customer, or channel level
• Cash flow gaps created by production cycles, long lead times, and slow-paying accounts
• Tax compliance complexity across multiple states and, in some cases, international operations
• Capital equipment investments that require careful depreciation and financing planning
The Solution
We know manufacturing and distribution—from cost to customer
Lange Accounting brings real expertise to an industry where the numbers have to work at every level of the business. We get into the details and stay proactive so you’re always working with accurate, useful information:
• We track costs, margins, and inventory with the precision your business requires.
• We build tax strategies around the credits, incentives, and depreciation opportunities available to manufacturers and distributors.
• We help you make smarter decisions around pricing, product mix, capacity, and capital investment.
• We stay ahead of issues, so nothing catches you off guard.
You focus on production. We’ll keep the financial side running just as smoothly.
Everything you need, from the floor to the bottom line
You’re running a complex operation; your accounting should be able to keep up. Here’s how Lange brings it all together for manufacturers and distributors.
Outsourced Accounting
Cost accounting, inventory bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, and notice handling—done for you, accurately and on time. We build your books around how manufacturing and distribution businesses actually operate, so your numbers always reflect reality.
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Business Foundation Services
From entity selection to setting up accounting systems that integrate with your ERP or warehouse management software, we build the financial infrastructure your business needs to operate efficiently and scale with confidence.
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Business Management Services
Our Virtual CFO and cash management services give you the strategic visibility to manage working capital, plan for major investments, and make the big decisions—acquisitions, new product lines, succession—with clear financial footing.
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Services built around how your business works
Manufacturing and distribution have their own financial rules, and so does the accounting that supports them. Here’s a closer look at the specialty services we offer.
- Tax compliance & planning
- Cost accounting & financial reporting
- Cash flow & working capital
- Pricing, margins & operations advisory
- Audit, controls & system
- Ownership, succession & wealth planning
The right tax strategy in manufacturing can mean serious savings.
Tax planning for manufacturers and distributors involves opportunities that most general accountants miss entirely. We handle the full picture:
• Business and personal tax preparation across LLCs, S corps, partnerships, and multi-entity structures
• Multi-state and sales and use tax compliance, including manufacturing and utility exemptions
• R&D credits, export incentives, production credits, and sales and use tax refund or exemption studies
• Depreciation and capital expenditure planning, like bonus depreciation, Section 179, and cost segregation for plants, equipment, and warehouses
Know your margins at every level, by product, customer, and channel.
Generic financial statements don’t tell you what you need to know about a manufacturing or distribution business. We build reporting that does:
• Industry-specific bookkeeping with cost accounting—standard, job, or process—and accurate inventory valuation using FIFO, LIFO, or weighted average
• Product and customer profitability reporting, including gross margin by SKU, product line, plant, or channel
• Distributor-specific reporting that captures landed cost, freight, and chargeback impact
• Management dashboards covering utilization, yield, scrap, capacity, and working capital tied up in inventory and receivables
Keep cash moving even when production cycles slow things down.
Working capital management is one of the biggest financial challenges in manufacturing and distribution. We help you stay ahead of it:
• Cash flow forecasting that incorporates production cycles, lead times, safety stock levels, and customer and vendor payment terms
• Inventory turns, reorder analysis, and slow-mover reviews to free up capital trapped in stock
• Accounts receivable strategies for large retail and wholesale accounts
• Bank- and investor-ready financials, covenant monitoring, and support for asset-based lending facilities
Better numbers lead to better decisions—on pricing, product mix, and more.
The financial data in your business can do a lot more than satisfy your accountant. We help you put it to work:
• Cost and margin analysis to support pricing decisions, quoting, make-versus-buy analysis, and product mix strategy
• Activity-based costing where standard methods don’t capture what’s really driving costs
• Scenario modeling for supply chain disruptions, reshoring decisions, new product lines, or the loss of a key customer or supplier
• Operational improvement projects reviewed through a financial lens, like inventory management, lead-time reduction, and waste reduction
Clean books, strong controls, and systems that keep up with your operation.
When you’re running a manufacturing or distribution business, financial controls and systems aren’t optional; they’re essential:
• Audits, reviews, and compilations tailored to lender, investor, or regulatory requirements
• Internal controls and fraud risk reviews covering purchasing, production reporting, inventory, rebates, and chargebacks
• ERP and accounting system selection and implementation support, including integration with manufacturing and warehouse systems
Protect what you’ve built, and plan for what comes next.
For closely held manufacturers and distributors, the business is often the most valuable asset in the owner’s financial picture. We help you manage and eventually transition it the right way:
• Business valuation, buy-sell planning, and M&A support for acquisitions, divestitures, or partial exits
• Succession planning for family-owned or closely held businesses, including tax-efficient transfers to family members or management
• Owner-level tax and wealth planning that coordinates business equity, retirement plans, and long-term exit strategy
FAQs
Do you work with both manufacturers and distributors, or just one?
Both. Many of our clients operate across both sides: manufacturing a product and distributing it through their own channels. We’re set up to handle the financial complexity that comes with either model or both together.
What is cost accounting, and why does it matter for my business?
Cost accounting tracks what it actually costs to produce or deliver your products (e.g., materials, labor, overhead) and ties those costs to specific jobs, products, or production runs. Without it, you may not know which products or customers are actually profitable. We build cost accounting into your bookkeeping so the numbers you’re working with are meaningful.
What tax credits and incentives are available to manufacturers?
There are several, and they’re often underutilized. The R&D tax credit applies more broadly than most manufacturers realize, and there are also export incentives, production credits, and sales and use tax exemptions specific to manufacturing. We look for every opportunity that applies to your situation.
How do you handle inventory valuation?
We work with FIFO, LIFO, and weighted average inventory methods and help you choose and maintain the approach that best reflects your business and minimizes your tax exposure. We also track slow-moving and obsolete inventory to make sure your books stay accurate.
Can you help us prepare for a bank loan or bonding relationship?
Yes. We prepare the financial statements, ratio analysis, and supporting documentation that lenders and bonding companies need. And we make sure your financials tell the clearest, most accurate story possible.
We’re thinking about acquiring another business or selling ours. Can you help?
Absolutely. These are some of the most consequential decisions a business owner makes, and we take them seriously. We provide valuation support, structure transactions to minimize tax impact, and walk you through every financial consideration before you commit.
Your business runs on precision. So does ours.
You’ve built something worth protecting. Let’s make sure the financial side is as solid as everything else you’ve put into it. Get in touch today and find out what Lange Accounting can do for you.