Solutions for delayed closes, manual data entry and unclear reports

Key Takeaways:
  • Accounting isn’t just bookkeeping—it’s the backbone of strategic decision-making.
  • You don’t need a total overhaul. A few focused updates can dramatically improve how your business runs.
  • Cleaner processes mean fewer surprises, stronger insights and more time for what matters.

 

If your accounting feels like a game of catch-up every month, you’re not alone. Manufacturing operations are complex by nature — inventory, job costing, production timelines and vendor payments all have a financial tie-in. But when the accounting side of the business can’t keep pace, it’s not just frustrating — it’s risky.

Outdated workflows and inconsistent processes don’t just slow down the back office. They distort your view of what’s really happening. And without clear financial insight, it’s nearly impossible to make confident decisions about pricing, staffing, equipment or growth.

The good news? Fixing this doesn’t always require a major overhaul. Often, a few smart adjustments can create real traction.

Why Clunky Accounting Slows Everything Down

Manufacturing isn’t an industry where you can afford guesswork. If your numbers aren’t reliable or if they’re always a week or two behind you risk underpricing jobs, missing inefficiencies or running into cash flow surprises.

Our manufacturing accounting team has seen how outdated or inconsistent accounting processes can impair decision-making, delay reporting and make it harder for leadership to feel confident about the numbers. On the flip side, when manufacturers clean up their systems, they’re often able to move faster, catch issues earlier and make decisions based on real data, not rough estimates.

Top 3 Challenges We Commonly See:

  1. Messy Month-End Close – If your accounting team is constantly catching up, that’s a red flag.
  2. Limited Visibility – Many manufacturers are operating on gut feel because their systems aren’t telling them what’s actually going on.
  3. Disconnected Systems & Manual Work – We’ve seen manufacturers still manually entering data from spreadsheets or paper and burning hours (and dollars) doing it.

Practical Fixes that Actually Work

  • Simplify your Chart of Accounts
    One of the first things our team reviews with manufacturing clients is their chart of accounts. What starts out as a simple chart becomes bloated and hard to analyze. Cleaning it up improves the usefulness of your reports and shortens the close process. We help restructure it so it’s easier to read, easier to analyze and aligned with how leadership actually thinks about the business.

Pro tip: If you want deeper insight by product line, customer type or location, use class tracking or dimensions, not extra GL accounts.

  • Automate the Pain Points
    Our manufacturing advisors don’t push automation for the sake of it. But if your team is spending hours on bank reconciliations, Accounts Payable approvals or inventory adjustments, there are simple tools that can help. We can implement everything from Bill.com to Dext and inventory apps that integrate smoothly with QuickBooks. Programs that save real time without a huge learning curve.
  • Sync Operations & Finance
    We’ve seen manufacturing clients using separate systems for production, inventory and accounting – none of which communicate. That’s a recipe for delays, duplicate work, reporting gaps and costly errors. Even if you’re not ready for a full ERP, finding ways to sync your tools — or at least standardize how data flows between them — can eliminate bottlenecks fast.

What you Can Expect When you Streamline

  • Faster closes (some clients go from 15 days to 5)
  • Real-time visibility into job profitability and cash flow
  • Better communication between finance, operations and leadership
  • More proactive decision-making and fewer surprises

Clean accounting processes lay the groundwork for everything else – stronger tax planning, better forecasting and smarter strategic moves.

Questions?

If your accounting feels more like a burden than a tool, it might be time to take a fresh look. Whether you need help cleaning up your monthly close, evaluating a new system or aligning your financials with your long-term goals, we’re here to help.

Let’s have a conversation about what’s working, what’s not and where a few smart updates could take you. No pressure. Just practical solutions that make sense for how you actually run your business.

Reach out to an Adams Brown manufacturing advisor when you’re ready to start that conversation.