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Industries

Manufacturing

Short answer

Finbryn tracks landed cost, work in progress and multi-country VAT for EU manufacturers moving goods between plants, warehouses and customers across member state borders. We reconcile Xero or QuickBooks Online against SAP Business One or Sage weekly, apply the right VAT and Intrastat treatment per shipment, and prepare data toward the EU's coming e-invoicing standard.

Management report

Illustrative client · August 2026

EUR

Reviewed before sending
Profit and loss
LineAugJul
Revenue142,380131,904
Cost of sales(51,260)(48,115)
Gross profit91,12083,789
Payroll(46,300)(45,900)
SoftwareNoted(6,480)(5,490)
Rent(8,000)(8,000)
Other operating(9,215)(9,870)
Net income21,12514,529

Reviewer's note

Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.

Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.

Exceptions report

Where the books usually hurt

  • Raw materials, work in process and finished goods get tracked as one inventory number instead of three stages

  • Landed cost from freight and duties never makes it into the per-unit cost of inventory

  • Standard cost variances between what a product should cost and what it actually cost go unreviewed

  • Bank reconciliation and inventory counts fall out of sync as production volume grows

Cost tracking gets harder the moment goods cross a border

An EU manufacturer moving raw materials, work in progress and finished goods between plants in different member states is managing landed cost, duty, freight and intra-EU VAT on every transfer, not just at final sale. When that cost data lives in a production system that does not talk to the accounting file, margin by product line becomes a guess reconstructed at month end.

Finbryn reconciles cost and inventory movements from SAP Business One, Sage or the client's ERP against Xero or QuickBooks Online weekly, tracking landed cost by SKU or batch rather than one blended overhead rate. Work in progress is valued against actual production stages, so a margin problem on one product line does not disappear inside a plant-wide average.

VAT on intra-EU goods movement

Goods sold and shipped between VAT-registered businesses in different EU member states are generally zero-rated at the point of sale under the intra-Community supply rules, with VAT accounted for by the buyer in their own country, distinct from the reverse charge applied to most cross-border services. Getting the paperwork and Intrastat declarations wrong on high-volume manufacturing shipments creates exposure that compounds fast. We track shipment documentation and prepare Intrastat and VAT return data for the client's credentialed local filer, rather than leaving it to be assembled retroactively from delivery notes.

Under the EU's VAT in the Digital Age reform, structured e-invoicing on the EN 16931 standard becomes mandatory for cross-border intra-EU B2B transactions from mid-2030; manufacturers invoicing plants or distributors in other member states are squarely in scope, and we build toward that format now.

What stays in the client's hands

The ERP and accounting file stay owned by the client, with a named pod running the account and a recorded handover memo on any change. Books are reconciled weekly and closed by business day five, with pricing published on the pricing page and terms set out in your engagement letter. Statutory accounts certification and VAT filing run through a credentialed local partner in the relevant member state; Finbryn's role is the preparation and reconciliation work behind that filing.

Questions

Frequently asked questions: Manufacturing

Do you work with SAP Business One or Sage for manufacturing clients?

Yes, we reconcile cost and inventory data from either one, or your existing ERP, against Xero or QuickBooks Online weekly.

How do you handle VAT on goods moved between our EU plants?

Intra-Community supplies are generally zero-rated at the point of sale, with VAT accounted for by the buyer; we track the shipment documentation and Intrastat data your credentialed filer needs.

Can you track landed cost by product or batch?

Yes, using supplier invoices, freight and duty documentation, so a margin problem in one line does not hide inside a plant-wide average.

Are we ready for the EU's mandatory e-invoicing rules?

We build cross-border B2B invoice data toward the EN 16931 standard now, ahead of the mid-2030 mandatory date under the VAT in the Digital Age reform.

Do you handle VAT on stock moved between our own EU warehouses?

We record intra-community stock transfers and flag the VAT and reporting treatment they trigger, then pass the underlying data to a credentialed local partner for any return that treatment requires, so nothing is missed between one warehouse and the next.

Can you track inventory by stage: raw materials, work in process and finished goods?

Yes, when the manufacturer's inventory or production system provides stage-level detail.

Do you include freight and duty in landed cost?

Yes, landed cost components can be built into per-unit inventory cost where source documents support it.

What are the common bookkeeping challenges for a manufacturing business?

Beyond the basics, standard cost variances between what a product should cost and what it actually cost go unreviewed and bank reconciliation and inventory counts fall out of sync as production volume grows come up often in this industry. We build the chart of accounts and reconciliation process around those specific patterns rather than a generic template that ignores how the business actually operates.

What software do you support for manufacturing?

We work inside QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with the other tools listed on this page that are common in the manufacturing industry. If you have no file yet, we set one up in your name so you own it from day one.

Next step

Talk to the team that would run your books

A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.