Agri-Business
Bookkeeping for farms and agricultural operations that need clean financials for lenders and accurate records for tax time.
The Industry
Farming runs on credit and timing. You borrow against the harvest to buy seed and inputs in the spring. You spend money for six months before you see any come back. The operating line renewal in February depends on financials that prove the operation is sound.
Northwest Ohio is corn, soybeans, wheat, and livestock. Family operations that have been working the same ground for generations. The farming knowledge runs deep. The bookkeeping usually doesn’t. Receipts pile up in the truck. Personal expenses mix with farm expenses. By tax time, nobody knows what the numbers actually are.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Row crop operations, livestock farms, dairy, poultry, produce growers, and agricultural services. Any operation filing Schedule F and managing equipment, land, and operating debt.
What Makes It Different
What Makes It Different
Cash flow that doesn’t match calendar months. Equipment worth more than most businesses’ total revenue. Inventory that’s standing in a field or sitting in a bin. Personal and business finances tangled together because you live where you work.
What We Handle
Monthly bookkeeping that keeps the farm’s finances separate from the household’s. A chart of accounts built for Schedule F so the categories match what your tax preparer needs. Equipment and improvements tracked as assets with proper depreciation instead of dumped into expenses.
When the bank wants updated financials for your operating line, you have them ready. Balance sheet showing assets and liabilities. P&L showing what the operation actually made. Numbers that hold up when the loan officer asks questions.
Schedule F Categories
Schedule F Categories
Seed, fertilizer, chemicals, feed, vet bills, fuel, repairs, custom hire. Expenses sorted into the right buckets throughout the year so tax prep is straightforward, not a reconstruction project.
Equipment Tracking
Equipment Tracking
Tractors, combines, implements, buildings, improvements. Asset schedules maintained with purchase dates, costs, and depreciation. The information your CPA and your lender both need.
Common Problems
The farm account pays for groceries. The personal card buys parts at the dealership. The line between household and operation gets blurred because it’s all coming from the same place. By December, untangling what’s deductible from what’s personal takes longer than the actual farming did.
The other problem is timing. Farmers know their income by fall, but most don’t know their actual expenses until someone sits down and adds them up. By then it’s too late to prepay inputs or defer grain sales to manage the tax bill. Decisions that could have saved thousands get missed because the numbers weren’t ready in time.
Mixed Finances
Mixed Finances
Personal and farm expenses running through the same accounts. Makes the books unreliable and the tax return harder. Creates problems when lenders want to see the farm’s actual performance.
Year-End Surprises
Year-End Surprises
Net income unknown until late December. No time left to make moves that would reduce the tax bill. Equipment purchases made in panic instead of strategy.
What Changes
The bank meeting becomes routine. You walk in with a balance sheet and P&L that match what they expect to see. The conversation is about the operation’s plans, not about whether the paperwork is in order. Operating line renewals stop being stressful.
You know your cost of production. What it actually costs to put in an acre of corn or carry a head of cattle through the year. When it’s time to price grain or sell livestock, you’re working from real break-even numbers, not estimates. Tax planning happens in November when there’s still time to do something about it.
Lender Ready
Lender Ready
Financials prepared and current. Asset schedules documented. When the bank asks for an update, you send it the same day instead of scrambling for two weeks.
Tax Strategy
Tax Strategy
Books current enough to plan. Prepay expenses, defer income, time equipment purchases. Decisions made with real numbers while there’s still time to act on them.
Northwest Ohio’s Trusted Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A 15-Minute Discovery Call
Let's talk about your current bookkeeping situation. We'll assess your needs, outline a plan of action, and give you a clear quote.
