What Does an Outsourced Winery Controller Do?
If you’re a winery owner, managing your finances can sometimes feel like navigating a maze. With roles like bookkeepers, accountants, controllers, and CFOs all in the mix, it’s easy to get confused about who does what and which roles you really need.
You might think a CFO is what your winery needs to thrive, but for many wineries, a solid bookkeeper paired with a knowledgeable winery controller can do the trick. Or, if your focus is on long-term strategy and growth, a part-time CFO might be the better choice.
But what exactly does a winery controller do, especially when you outsource the role? Let’s dive in.
So, What Does an Outsourced Winery Controller Do?
Think of an outsourced winery controller as your financial anchor, keeping your winery’s finances in check. They’re not just crunching numbers—they’re ensuring your winery’s daily operations and long-term plans are running smoothly.
The beauty of outsourcing? You get the expertise of a full-time controller without the overhead. Here’s how they help:
Accounting System Management
A winery controller isn’t just about setting up QuickBooks and calling it a day. They manage your entire financial process from start to finish. This can mean everything from setting up accounting policies, supervising the bookkeeping, and making sure your financial statements are accurate.
One of the controller’s key responsibilities is optimizing your QuickBooks setup. They’ll make sure you’re using all the features that are relevant to your winery and none that aren’t. Your chart of accounts will be tailored for better reporting, and your inventory costs will be accurately tracked and updated each month. Additionally, they’ll establish solid, documented accounting processes with adequate internal controls.
Your controller will provide training and support to your bookkeepers, ensuring that their work aligns with your overall goals. They will be responsible for designing effective accounting procedures and policies to streamline processes and ensure compliance with industry standards.
In addition to overseeing bookkeeping, your controller handles complex accounting tasks such as tracking loans, reconciling balance sheet accounts, ensuring accurate sales tax collection, managing tip payouts, and properly accounting for payroll and benefits. They’ll also ensure that sales from your POS system are posted accurately, breaking down sales by channel and properly splitting out tips, taxes, and merchant fees.
Wine Inventory Costing
One of the most essential tasks of a winery accountant is managing your wine inventory costing.
Wine inventory costing involves accurately tracking and assigning costs to each batch of wine as it moves through the production process—from grape harvesting and fermentation to aging and bottling. Unlike typical inventory items, wine has a complex production cycle, and the costs can vary significantly depending on factors like the quality of the grapes, the length of aging, and the specific production methods used.
A winery accountant ensures that all these variables are tracked and reflected in your financial records. This involves not just recording the direct costs, such as raw materials and labor, but also allocating overhead costs, such as utilities, equipment depreciation, and storage expenses.
Beyond compliance and reporting, precise wine costing helps you make informed business decisions. For instance, it allows you to analyze the profitability of different wine varietals or production methods, helping you decide where to focus your resources. It can also inform your sales and marketing strategies, ensuring that your pricing aligns with your costs and market demand.
Monthly Financial Statements
Your winery controller is the go-to person for month-end closing processes and preparing financial statements. A good controller will make sure your reports are GAAP compliant, that is, reported on a full accrual basis. This provides a more accurate snapshot of your business’s income, expenses, and profitability.
Controllers can also provide custom financial reports tailored to your needs, like sales performance (best-selling products, sales by region), cost analysis (labor costs per bottle, overhead allocation), or inventory management (turnover rates, aging inventory).
A good controller can also create custom reports to track key performance indicators (KPIs) that are crucial for wineries, like revenue growth, annual revenue, and operating profit.
Compliance
A good controller has a firm grasp on the complex rules and regulations that wineries need to follow. While you might work with a compliance specialist for specific tasks like licensing, permitting, and TTB or state liquor board filings, your controller maintains an overarching view of all compliance matters, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
Your controller will ensure that your 1099s are filed correctly at the end of the year and that your business licenses are always up to date. They can also manage the filing of sales tax, recognizing when it’s time to bring in a specialist for more complicated issues.
Additionally, your controller may assist with basic payroll compliance, ensuring that you’re meeting all necessary requirements. However, in more complex situations, they’ll know when to recommend consulting an HR specialist or payroll attorney.
Tax-Ready Books
Tax season can be a nightmare for many business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. An outsourced winery controller keeps your books “tax-ready” throughout the year, so when tax season rolls around, everything is in order.
They work closely with your tax accountant to manage year-end financials, helping you avoid last-minute scrambles and unexpected penalties.
When Do You Know If You Need a Winery Controller?
Deciding whether you need a bookkeeper, a winery controller, or a CFO depends on your winery’s size, complexity, and goals.
Here’s a quick guide to help you figure out what’s right for you:
Bookkeeper:
Role: Manages daily financial transactions, including recording sales, expenses, and receipts.
Focus: the present work at hand.
When to Choose: If you need someone to handle routine bookkeeping tasks and keep your financial records accurate.
Winery Controller:
Role: Oversees financial processes, prepares detailed reports, manages accounting systems, and ensures compliance. Handles cost analysis, financial planning, and internal controls.
Focus: the historical financials and the system as a whole.
When to Choose: If you need someone to dive deep into financial details, provide custom reports, and keep everything running smoothly.
CFO (Chief Financial Officer):
Role: Focuses on high-level financial strategy, including planning, budgeting, forecasting, and advising on overall business strategy.
Focus: the future.
When to Choose: If you need strategic financial guidance and a big-picture perspective on growing your winery and achieving long-term goals.
Final Thoughts
A winery controller bridges the gap between your bookkeeper and CFO, especially in larger operations. For small to medium-sized wineries, a controller can cover all your accounting needs, ensuring your financial operations are well-managed and compliant.
If offloading these responsibilities sounds like a relief, that’s exactly what we’re here for.
Learn more about how we handle winery controllership at Northwest Wine Accounting, or head over to our Getting Started page to schedule a call with our team.
