Manufacturing · Austin, TX · Serving business owners nationwide

Your shop floor knows what each product costs to make. Your books should know it too.

Material prices move, labor shifts between lines, and inventory changes every day. When the accounting system can’t keep up, pricing turns into guesswork and the tax return is built on rough estimates. We set up your books to show real product costs, keep inventory in line with what’s on the shelves, and look for the deductions and credits manufacturers often leave behind.

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What manufacturers get from working with us

  • Product costs that reflect reality. We make sure materials, labor, and overhead flow into cost of goods sold, so you know your margin on each product line.
  • Inventory that matches the warehouse. We reconcile counts to the books and set up a process that keeps them aligned between counts.
  • Credits worth checking for. We review whether your process improvements, prototypes, or new products may qualify for the research credit.
  • Someone who understands production. You work with Eric directly, and he takes the time to learn how your operation actually runs.

The cost and inventory problems we find most, and how we resolve them

What we seeOverhead sitting in expenses instead of being built into product cost, so margins look better than they are.
How we helpWe set up an overhead allocation that follows how your plant really runs.
What we seeStandard costs set years ago and never updated as material prices climbed.
How we helpWe review your cost standards against current purchasing and update them, so pricing decisions start from accurate numbers.
What we seeInventory counts that never match the books, with a large year-end adjustment.
How we helpWe trace where the differences come from, usually receiving or scrap, and close the gap at the source.
What we seeLarge equipment purchases made without a look at the tax timing.
How we helpWe review major purchases with you before you commit, so the deduction lands in the year that helps most.
What we seeResearch credits never claimed because nobody thought the work counted.
How we helpWe walk through your engineering and improvement projects with you to see what may qualify.

Texas gives manufacturers tax breaks, but only when the paperwork supports them.

Texas exempts many purchases used directly in manufacturing from sales tax, though the line between qualifying and non-qualifying items is narrow. Equipment and inventory also show up each year on the business personal property rendition your appraisal district uses to set your property tax. We make sure you’re claiming the exemptions you’re entitled to and that what you report matches your books.

When your production system and your books disagree, the books lose.

Many manufacturers track production and inventory in one system and keep the books in another, such as QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite. If those systems use different item lists or post costs at different times, inventory and cost of goods drift apart every month. We connect them, so a completed work order updates the books correctly without manual entries.

Already facing an IRS or Comptroller letter? We handle that first.

Manufacturers with big purchases and complex inventory tend to draw questions from the IRS and the Texas Comptroller, especially around sales tax exemptions and cost of goods. If a letter has arrived, we help you understand it, gather what’s needed, and respond. Then we tighten up the records so the next review is routine.

How we start working with a manufacturer

  1. Talk it through.In a free, confidential consultation, tell us what you make, how you track costs, and which numbers you don’t trust.

  2. Walk the floor together.We can tour your facility to see how materials, labor, and finished goods move before we touch the books.

  3. Rebuild the cost picture.We align inventory, update cost standards, and prepare your returns with the right deductions and credits.

  4. Keep costs current.Regular reviews keep product margins visible as prices and volumes change.

Central Texas manufacturing is growing, and so is the complexity behind it.

We’ve worked with Austin owners since 2005, and more manufacturers are setting up or expanding across Central Texas every year. After your free consultation, we are glad to meet in person anywhere in the Greater Austin area, including at your plant. Manufacturers anywhere else in the country work with us by phone and video.

Austin

Questions manufacturing business owners ask us

Possibly. The credit isn’t limited to labs. Designing new products, improving processes, and building prototypes can count. We’ll review your projects during your free, confidential consultation and tell you whether it’s worth pursuing.

Know what every product really costs before you set the next price.

The first conversation is free and confidential. Tell us what you make and where the numbers feel off, and we’ll show you where we’d begin.

Call or text (512) 996-5845
Austin, TX 30.27° N · 97.74° W Based in Austin, TX · Serving business owners nationwide · In-person meetings available across Greater Austin

This firm is not a CPA firm, and its services are not regulated by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.

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