Cannabis Bookkeeping Services
GreenGrowth CPAs provides monthly cannabis bookkeeping with management reporting: 280E-ready books, KPI dashboards and CPA-reviewed financials for dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers and MSOs. Every month we reconcile your point of sale, your seed-to-sale system and your bank to the ledger, so the numbers you run the business on are the same numbers the IRS will test.
Reviewed by Daniel Sabet, CPA, Senior Manager, CFO · Updated November 2026
What Is Different About Cannabis Books
Cannabis bookkeeping follows the same accounting rules as any other business, but three things change how the books have to be kept.
The 280E Cost of Goods Sold Split
Under Section 280E, adult-use operators can only reduce federal tax through cost of goods sold. Inventory costs have to be captured in the right accounts every month, not reclassified at year-end.
Cash
Many dispensaries still take most sales in cash. Daily cash counts, deposits and cash payments over $10,000 for Form 8300 all need a clean trail in the ledger.
Seed-to-Sale Tracking
State tracking systems such as Metrc record every unit. Your inventory in the ledger should agree with it, or cost of goods sold and your 280E position are both wrong.
Books not built for 280E? We rebuild the chart of accounts and the monthly close around it.
Talk About Your BooksHow to Choose a Cannabis Accounting Service for Monthly Closes
When choosing a cannabis accounting service for monthly closes, look for 280E-ready books, Metrc and POS reconciliation, cash controls, a fixed close timeline, management reports you can act on, and a CPA review of every close. GreenGrowth CPAs runs monthly cannabis closes for dispensaries, cultivators and MSOs.
| What to check | Why it matters | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| 280E cost of goods sold split | COGS is the only federal offset for adult-use activity, so it has to be right every month. | How do you separate inventory costs from other expenses? |
| Metrc and POS reconciliation | Inventory that doesn't tie to seed-to-sale records weakens COGS and invites questions on exam. | Do you reconcile POS, Metrc and the ledger every month? |
| Cash controls | Cash-heavy businesses need daily counts, deposits and Form 8300 tracking that hold up. | How do you reconcile cash sales to deposits? |
| Close timeline | Late books mean late decisions and rushed tax planning. | When will I get my statements each month? |
| Management reports | Owners need margin, cash and inventory figures they can act on, not only a P&L. | What reports come with the close? |
| CPA review | A CPA review catches 280E and tax issues before they reach a return. | Does a CPA review every close? |
Want to see how your close measures up? We review your last month-end against this checklist.
Get a Close ReviewOur Monthly Close Process
The same steps every month, so problems surface while they are small.
Collect and record
Sales, purchases, payroll and bank activity are recorded from your POS, vendors and bank feeds.
Reconcile
POS sales tie to cash and deposits, inventory ties to Metrc or your state system, and every bank and card account is reconciled.
Cost inventory
Inventory is relieved at cost and cost of goods sold is booked under the Section 471 rules that apply to your license type.
Review
A CPA reviews the close for 280E, excise and sales tax issues before statements are released.
Report
You get financial statements and a management report with the numbers that matter for your business.
What a Monthly Close Catches
A dispensary's POS reports $412,000 of sales for the month. Bank deposits total $405,500, a $6,500 gap.
| Card processor fees netted from deposits | $4,100 |
| Deposit in transit on the last day of the month | $2,400 |
| Unexplained difference | $0 |
The same close compares Metrc to the ledger and finds 18 units recorded as waste in Metrc but still on the books. They are written off at cost, so the inventory and cost of goods sold behind the 280E return are right. Found in month one, each fix takes minutes; found at year end, they take days. Official references: IRS Form 8300 guidance for cash over $10,000, IRS Publication 538 on inventories, and Metrc for seed-to-sale reporting. Illustrative example with rounded numbers, not a client result.
Cannabis Chart of Accounts Setup
A cannabis chart of accounts separates the costs that can go into inventory from the ones that can't, so 280E is handled in the books rather than at tax time. We build or rebuild it around your license type.
What a cannabis chart of accounts separates
- Product purchases, freight-in and vendor discounts for resellers
- Direct production labor and production overhead for cultivators and manufacturers
- Selling, marketing and general administrative costs
- Medical and adult-use revenue and directly related costs
- Cannabis excise and sales tax collected and paid
- Each license, store or entity, for multi-location operators
Cleaning up messy books? We catch up and rebuild prior months before tax season.
Talk About a CleanupCannabis Bookkeeping Software
Most of our clients keep their general ledger in QuickBooks Online, connected to their point-of-sale system and their state seed-to-sale system such as Metrc. The point is not the brand of software but that the three systems agree: sales in the POS, units in seed-to-sale and dollars in the ledger.
We set up the integrations and the monthly reconciliation between them, and we work with the POS your stores already use.
Records a Dispensary Must Keep for Tax
Keep these organized and easy to hand over
- Purchase and freight invoices behind cost of goods sold
- Inventory counts tied to your seed-to-sale records and the ledger
- Daily cash counts, deposit records and Form 8300 filings
- POS sales reports, including discounts, voids and returns
- Payroll records and time tracking used to allocate labor
- State excise and sales tax returns and payment records
- From April 28, 2026, the split between medical and adult-use sales and costs
Keep records at least as long as the IRS and your state can assess tax. See what cannabis business owners should track each month.
Not sure your records would hold up? We organize them before an auditor or the IRS asks.
Get Exam-ReadyManagement Reporting With Every Close
Financial statements tell you what happened. A management report tells you what to do about it.
Margin by Category
Gross margin by product category and by store, so discounting and product mix decisions use real numbers.
Cash Position
Cash on hand, in the bank and set aside for federal and state tax under 280E.
Inventory Health
Inventory value, turns and shrink, reconciled to your seed-to-sale records.
Tax Exposure
Federal tax under 280E and state excise and sales tax owed, so nothing surprises you at filing time.
Case study
A Chicago dispensary got 2 years of books current in 45 days
After a sale fell through, the owner took back a dispensary with more than 24 months of neglected books. Our team reconstructed the records, reconciled bank activity and cash logs, and flagged a $75,000 cash discrepancy for investigation.
Read the full case study →Cannabis Bookkeeping FAQs
Straight answers on cannabis books, monthly closes and records.
Talk About Your BooksWhat is different about cannabis bookkeeping?
Cannabis books have to capture cost of goods sold correctly every month because of Section 280E, handle large volumes of cash, and agree with the state seed-to-sale system. A general bookkeeper can record transactions, but cannabis books also need the inventory costing and reconciliations that support the federal tax position.
How do I choose a cannabis accounting service for monthly closes?
Look for a firm that keeps 280E-ready books, reconciles Metrc or your state system and your POS to the ledger, controls cash, closes on a fixed timeline, delivers management reports you can act on, and has a CPA review every close.
What does a marijuana bookkeeper do?
A marijuana bookkeeper records sales, purchases and payroll, reconciles cash and bank accounts, ties inventory to the seed-to-sale system, and prepares monthly financial statements. With 280E in play, the bookkeeper also has to keep inventory costs in the right accounts so cost of goods sold holds up on the federal return.
What software do cannabis businesses use for bookkeeping?
Many use QuickBooks Online as the general ledger, connected to a cannabis point-of-sale system and the state seed-to-sale system such as Metrc. What matters most is that the three systems are reconciled every month.
What records does a dispensary need to keep for taxes?
Purchase and freight invoices behind cost of goods sold, inventory counts tied to seed-to-sale records, daily cash and deposit records, Form 8300 filings, POS sales reports, payroll and time records, state excise and sales tax filings, and from April 28, 2026, the split between medical and adult-use activity.
Do you work with cultivators and multi-state operators?
Yes. We keep books for dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers and multi-state operators, with reporting by license, store or entity and consolidation for groups.
Get Books You Can Run the Business On
GreenGrowth CPAs keeps 280E-ready books, reconciles POS, seed-to-sale and the bank every month, and sends CPA-reviewed statements with a management report. See also our dispensary accounting services.
