From grain to glass: Business Central for breweries

Recipes and batches in Business Central for breweries

A recipe is a production bill of materials for a standard brew length. It lists malts, hops, yeast, adjuncts and process aids. The routing covers mash, boil, ferment and condition, with the tank as a machine center. A production order for each brew records what went in and what volume came out.

Brewing yields vary, and you often blend or split a batch across tanks. Standard production orders accept a different output quantity than planned, which covers yield. However, blending, tank transfers with volume loss and harvesting yeast for the next brew fit a brewery or process add-on better.

Packaging bright beer into sellable units

Bright beer is an intermediate item measured by volume. Packaging orders use it along with cans, lids, labels, carriers and trays to make cases. They can also fill it into kegs of each size. One batch often feeds several packaging runs. Lot tracking then carries the batch number onto each packaged item.

You record a packaged-on date on the lot. An expiration date supports freshness rules, so older stock gets picked first. The planning worksheet plans packaging materials from the brewing schedule. That helps when can and label lead times run longer than a brew cycle.

Distributors, self-distribution and the taproom

Wholesale orders from distributors are standard sales orders. You keep price lists for each distributor and territory. Larger distributors may expect electronic orders and invoices through EDI. Breweries that self-distribute to bars and shops add delivery routes. They charge keg deposits as a separate line item.

The taproom and shop run on a point of sale system. It connects to Business Central, so daily sales post by product and payment type. Stock moved to the taproom location drops as staff pour it. Online merchandise and beer sales, where the law permits, can use the built-in Shopify connector.

Where Business Central for breweries needs an add-on

Brewers report production, removals and losses to tax authorities. They also pay excise on beer removed for sale. Business Central holds the underlying movements. But it has no federal or state brewer's report built in. A brewery add-on produces those reports. When your operation is simple, we build one from item ledger entries.

Keg fleets are the other gap. You need to know which keg sits at which account, how long it has been out and what deposits are owed. That calls for keg tracking by serial or by count for each customer. Dedicated keg tracking services and brewery add-ons do this and connect to shipments.

Knowing what each beer really costs

Ingredient cost is only the start. Tank time, labor, utilities and packaging all belong in the cost of a case or keg. Machine center rates add tank and brewhouse cost to each batch. Overhead rates spread indirect cost. So item cost shows the full picture, not just the grain bill.

With cost per item in place, Power BI shows margin by brand, package type and channel. Many breweries find that a popular beer in one format earns far less than expected. Budgets by brand and a cash flow forecast also help you plan hop contracts and tank purchases.

Business Central for breweries: questions brewers ask

Is Business Central for breweries too big for a craft brewery?

It depends on complexity more than volume. A brewery with wholesale, a taproom, several package formats and a growing team usually outgrows entry-level accounting software plus spreadsheets. A small brewpub that sells only over its own bar may not need it yet. We give you an honest view after a short talk about your sales channels, your package formats and your plans for growth.

Does it replace brewery management software?

It can, together with a brewery add-on. The add-on supplies tank scheduling, cellar tracking and excise reports. Some breweries keep their brewing software for the cellar and connect it. They then use Business Central for purchasing, inventory value, sales and finance. We weigh both routes of Business Central for breweries against your process. Then we recommend the one with the least double entry.

How are hop contracts managed?

A blanket purchase order records the contracted quantity and price for each variety and crop. You draw purchase orders from it as deliveries are called off. The remaining commitment is always visible. Lot tracking then records the crop and supplier lot of each delivery. So you can see how much of a contract is left before you plan the next brew.

Can it handle contract brewing for other brands?

Yes. When you brew for another brand, you hold their supplied ingredients at no value. You then invoice the brewing service per batch or per volume. When a partner brews for you, subcontracting or a purchase of finished beer covers it. The choice depends on who buys the materials. We set up whichever case you have, and the rest of your beer stays unaffected.

Which license does a brewery need?

Premium, because recipes as production bills of materials, routings and production orders belong to the manufacturing module. Meanwhile, taproom staff who work only in the point of sale system do not need a Business Central license. Microsoft's site lists current license details. We can count your users by role and tell you how many full licenses your team really needs.

Related pages for Business Central for breweries

Brewing sits inside food and beverage and process manufacturing, so both pages add context. The lot tracking and point of sale pages cover batch history and the taproom link. Read them first if you are new to the topic. Then ask us how Business Central for breweries can fit your brewhouse, your cellar and your taproom. For the product detail, see Microsoft's guide to manufacturing in Business Central.