Licensed California cannabis operators only
Speak directly with a California Cannabis Accounting Specialist.
A cannabis CPA is a specialized accountant who helps cannabis businesses manage industry-specific accounting, tax, inventory and compliance issues. We provide California cannabis operators with 280E tax planning, COGS and inventory accounting, bookkeeping, METRC reconciliation, CFO advisory and audit support.
Cannabis accounting
A cannabis accountant is not a generalist with a few extra clients. The work is inventory accounting under a punitive tax regime, where the same cost can be deductible or disallowed depending on how it is documented and where in the operation it is incurred. Our cannabis accounting services are built for that reality: monthly closes that produce defensible financial reporting, cannabis-specific bookkeeping that keeps the chart of accounts aligned to 280E, and internal controls that reduce cash and inventory risk for licensed operators.
Cannabis tax
A cannabis tax accountant does more than file returns. The role is to build the documentation and cost methodology that defines the federal tax base before the return is ever prepared. We work as 280E CPAs and 280E accountants for California operators, structuring cost of goods sold under IRC Section 280E, defending inventory capitalization, and keeping CDTFA and IRS compliance on the same evidence trail.
Retail cannabis
Dispensary accounting is the highest-risk area in California cannabis retail. A dispensary accountant has to reconcile POS data, METRC package activity and bank deposits daily, manage cash custody across registers and vaults, and report gross margin by category in a way that survives 280E scrutiny. Our dispensary accounting services combine daily controls with monthly financial reporting so retailers can see real profitability.
Bookkeeping
Cannabis bookkeeping services are the foundation of every tax position and every management decision. Without a clean chart of accounts, consistent reconciliations and a disciplined monthly close, even the best 280E strategy collapses. We deliver cannabis bookkeeping that is structured for the industry: transactions are coded by function, reconciliations tie to track-and-trace, and the monthly close produces financial statements you can actually use.
Advisory
Cannabis CFO services are for operators who need senior financial leadership without a full-time salary. A fractional CFO cannabis engagement focuses on forecasting, budgeting, profitability analysis and capital planning under the constraint of federal tax disallowance. We build driver-based models, report unit economics, and prepare the financial narrative lenders and investors require.
2026 Advisory
Federal cannabis scheduling and its tax consequences are evolving. We do not assume Section 280E has stopped applying to a California cannabis operator unless current federal law and guidance clearly support that treatment for the specific business. Our approach is to maintain defensible accounting under current law, document open tax years, and evaluate planning opportunities as federal guidance develops.
Review Our 280E Restructuring FrameworksMedical cannabis
California cannabis licenses generally authorize both medical and adult-use retail activity under the same license, so medical marijuana accounting and adult-use accounting rest on the same underlying framework. A medical cannabis accounting engagement still requires inventory reconciled to METRC, a chart of accounts that separates inventoriable from non-inventoriable cost for the 280E computation, accurate cost of goods sold, payroll compliance, and timely local cannabis business tax filings — the same disciplines that support any licensed operator.
What can differ operationally is the treatment of certain medical-designated sales. Under current California law, qualified patients who present a valid state-issued Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) may, depending on the specific transaction and the rules in effect at the time of sale, be eligible for a sales tax exemption that does not apply to adult-use retail sales. Because these rules can change and eligibility depends on the facts of each sale, operators should confirm current treatment before relying on it rather than assuming it carries over year to year.
Beyond that point-of-sale distinction, accounting for medical marijuana businesses is built on the same records as any other licensed operator: inventory rollforwards, COGS support, METRC reconciliation, payroll and local tax compliance. A medical marijuana accountant who understands both the patient-facing exemption mechanics and the underlying 280E inventory accounting can help a dual-use retailer document each sale category correctly and keep the tax position defensible.
Explore dispensary accounting servicesRegulatory & accounting frameworks
Our corporate compliance frameworks seamlessly trace operational data back through current Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) mandates, alongside strict alignment with legacy Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) licensing protocols for cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors to ensure an unbroken regulatory audit defense trail.
Operating with the meticulous precision of a tier-one accounting practice like Andersen CPA, we deliver specialized systems and software selection, high-risk merchant account setup, and dedicated banking solutions built exclusively for small- to medium-sized cannabis and CBD operators.
Under IRC Section 280E and California cannabis excise, sales and cultivation tax rules, plant-touching operators face immense margin compression. We establish comprehensive, inventory-grade financial accounting and advanced cost management frameworks that meticulously isolate deductible cost allocations from disallowed corporate expenses.
Core practice areas
Each practice area below has a dedicated page covering the methodology, the documentation standard and the questions California operators ask most.
Defensible cost-of-goods-sold positions, inventory capitalization and year-round planning under IRC Section 280E.
Read moreDaily close, POS-to-ledger reconciliation, cash controls and margin reporting built for California retail and delivery.
Read moreCost-per-pound modeling, harvest costing and inventory capitalization for licensed California cultivators.
Read moreFederal and California returns for licensed operators, prepared from reconciled books with a documented tax position.
Read moreSenior financial leadership on a fractional basis: forecasting, unit economics, capital readiness and board reporting.
Read moreTrack-and-trace to financial reconciliation that closes inventory variances before they become compliance findings.
Read moreIRS and CDTFA examination representation for cannabis operators, from first notice through appeals.
Read moreStandard costing, yield and conversion tracking, and inventory capitalization for California Type 6, Type 7 and shared-use manufacturers.
Read moreTechnical depth
Cannabis accounting is inventory accounting under a punitive tax regime, layered on a state METRC track-and-trace system and a cash-intensive operating environment. These are the areas that determine whether an operator keeps its margin.
Visit the resource centerIndustries served
Storefront retail with high transaction volume, cash exposure and the narrowest COGS profile under 280E.
Producers with long cycles, heavy indirect costs and the best available inventory capitalization position for a cultivation accountant.
Extraction and infusion operations where conversion costing and yield allocation determine unit cost for cannabis manufacturer accounting.
Throughput operations where tolling arrangements and inventory ownership drive the accounting model.
Logistics operations with thin margins, heavy receivables risk and complex manifest reconciliation.
Non-storefront retail where driver labor and order economics decide whether volume is profitable.
Capital-intensive service businesses with a materially different tax profile from plant-touching licensees.
Asset-light operators whose costs sit almost entirely in categories 280E disallows.
Non-plant-touching companies that serve the industry and are generally outside 280E.
Consolidated groups needing uniform close, intercompany discipline and multi-state tax coordination.
Full service list
Resource center
Why a two-sentence tax provision from 1982 determines the economics of every licensed cannabis business in California — and what lawfully reduces its impact.
A transaction-level manual for licensed California producers: how to isolate cost under IRC Section 471-11, code the general ledger so cultivation labor, packaging inputs and extraction utilities never blend, close the period in ten to fifteen days under DCC disclosure rules, and reconcile physical warehouse weight to Metrc so manufacturing shrink survives examination.
The daily, weekly and monthly bookkeeping routines that keep a licensed cannabis business audit-ready and decision-ready.
An accounting-focused guide to California's track-and-trace system and how its data ties to inventory, COGS and the general ledger.
How financial leadership differs in a 280E business, and what an operator should expect from CFO-level support.
A working guide to the retail-specific accounting routines that keep a California dispensary compliant and profitable.
Questions
Statewide coverage
Delivering statewide cannabis CPA, fractional CFO, and business growth consulting across all primary California market centers, including Sacramento, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, San Francisco, San Jose, Palm Desert, and San Diego.
Consultation
Bring your license types, current books and open deadlines. We will tell you what needs to happen first and in what order.
