Beer Business Finance – Details, episodes & analysis

In this financial workshop with with RJ Martucci from PKF O’Connor Davies, we explore powerful and practical ways for beer wholesalers to get more value from their financial statements.

Instead of just glancing at the P&L each month, RJ encourages a layered approach to financial analysis—using multiple tools and perspectives to uncover the full story behind the numbers.

From trend analysis to dashboards, it’s all about building a clear picture of performance and spotting opportunities to improve profitability.

RJ shared several specific techniques for sharpening your financial analysis.

These methods don’t require complex software—just a commitment to consistency, curiosity, and clarity.

By using these tools together, businesses can get a much deeper understanding of where they’re winning, where they’re falling short, and what levers to pull for better financial outcomes.

Key takeaways from the workshop:

• Financial trend analysis: Tactics to analyze sales, gross profit, and key expenses over time to spot patterns or warning signs.
• Budget vs. actual comparisons: Shortcuts to measure performance against targets to manage proactively, not reactively.
• Year-over-year or period-over-period comparisons: Tips to better understand where the business is growing or falling short.
• Per case financial metrics: How to normalize sales, costs, and profit data to understand unit economics.
• Dashboard development: How to build a custom, visual dashboard to track critical KPIs and monitor your real-time financial health.

Do this next:

1. Watch the video workshop: Beer Wholesaler Financial Analysis
2. Connect with RJ Martucci, RMartucci@pkfod.com, and learn more about how PKF O’Connor Davies can help your beer wholesaler identify profit opportunities
3. Learn more about the network of beer wholesaler owners and managers working together to drive profits and cash flow

In today's podcast you'll hear the audio version of our Wholesaler Financial Round Table meeting. 

This month's topic is on financial analysis techniques and wholesaler financial benchmarks. 

Summary of Key Points

• Financial analysis basics: How to focus on the most important numbers
• How to follow a financial month-end process to speed up production of the financial statements
• Standard set of reports and financial benchmarks 

Resources

• Connect with RJ Martucci at PKF O'Connor Davies, RMartucci@pkfod.com
• Sign up for the FREE wholesaler financial newsletter 

In today's podcast you'll get best practices, tools, and inspiration to build your 2025 beer wholesaler financial plan.

Topics Covered:

• Open Q&A: What is your BIG budget challenge right now?
• 3 Steps to take right now to build a great budget
• Budget prep outline template to keep you organized
• 6 Budget questions you need to answer
• Sample wholesaler budget templates - sales, GP, OPEX, etc.

​Key Takeaways

• How to overcome analysis paralysis in the budget process
• Tactics to consolidate multiple business entities
• Best practices to overcome the 'unknowns' of financial planning
• One wholesaler's process to achieve a 2-day financial close

Resources

If you need 1-on-1 help to create your best beer wholesaler budget ever, learn more about my financial coaching package. We'll work together to build your 2025 financial plan.

Today on the podcast we dive deep into the world of supplier incentives. What they are, how they work, and how to get alignment between these incentives and bottom line company goals.

Summary

• How supplier incentives fit into the bigger picture of compensation
• The ideal compensation mix: Base, commissions, PFP, and supplier incentives
• The complexity of managing different categories of supplier incentives: Volume, placements, facing, displays, etc.
• The potential for misalignment of incentives: Is the supplier incentive aligned with your wholesaler business goals?
• How VxP helps you calculate, measure, and manage supplier incentives 

Resources

• Connect with Bud Dunn to learn more about how VxP can help manage supplier incentives and sales compensation - bud@vxptech.com

Today on the podcast we hear from Sean McLaren and Adam Bush from OMAC Beverage Advisors.

OMAC has worked on hundreds of transactions in the beverage industry, and understand the unique considerations for these types of deals.

Sean and Adam share insights and analysis on the state of wholesaler consolidation, trends in valuation multiples, and best practices to make ready for a sale. 

Summary

• Multiples of EBITDA steadily rising from 7x-9x to 10x-15x
• Annual transactions remain consistent at 20-30/annually
• The main driver of business sales: Family dynamics

Resources

• Connect with Sean and Adam: sean@omacbeverage.com, Adam@omacbeverage.com
• Learn more about OMAC Beverage Advisors

Tom DeMayo is a partner with PKF O'Connor Davies, specializes in cybersecurity, and is a self-described 'ethical hacker'.

Cybercrime is a $10 trillion problem globally, and beer wholesalers are target.

In today's podcast, Tom shares how these crimes occur, how to find out if your company is vulnerable, and what steps you can take right now to prevent a ransomware attack. 

Key Points

• Terms defined: Dark web, deep web, surface web, ransomware
• How hackers break in to your systems and what you can do to prevent this
• Basics of compliance testing and risk assessment
• Tips for creating and managing those pesky login credentials 
• The case for a cybersecurity committee 

Resources

• Connect with Tom and learn how to protect your beer business from cybercrimes, TDemayo@pkfod.com

Want smarter wholesaler analytics to get better results?

Then you'll want to learn more about VxP, the best tool for guided selling strategies to increase sales and gross profits while decreasing finished product loss.

A powerful 1-2-3 combo to supercharge your income statement.

In this recorded workshop you'll learn how VxP provides the tools for real-time execution, automated workflows, and smarter analytics.

Workshop Overview

• Review of VxP: Who it's for, why it's important, how it works, and the problem it solves.
• Compensation planning process: What considerations are made prior to diving into a comp plan? What are the typical components of comp? How are components prioritized? How does VxP align compensation between route sales/team lead/sales management?
• Look under the VxP hood. We build sample compensation structures using a blend of base, commission, bonus, and pay for performance.
• Hear success stories. Results that have been achieved. And they are impressive $$$.

Do This Next...

1. Watch the sales workshop video below
2. Listen to the Tapped In Podcast, Sales and Strategy for Beer Distributors
3. Learn more about VxP and join over 1,500 high-performing distributor sales reps. Book a demotoday, or reach out to Bud Dunn directly, bud@vxptech.com, c: 269-317-5209

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Orman Anderson, CFO from Glazer’s Beer and Beverage, and RJ Martucci, a partner with PKF O’Connor Davies.

You'll hear the audio version of our NBWA presentation on A Practical Guide to Beer Wholesaler Mergers and Acquisitions.

Our presentation covers four key issues -

1. Target identification: Selling or buying, who are you valuable to, and who is valuable to you
2. Due diligence: Research, homework, what you need to do
3. Valuations and models: Current market, quantitative and qualitative measurements
4. Post acquisition: What happens after the deal is done, and how to combine the right way

Do this next:

• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, we are a network of beer industry professionals who come together to network, share ideas and best practices to build a stronger beer business

Today on the podcast we hear from Lester Jones, Chief Economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Lester takes us through his 2024 U.S. Economic Outlook and Beer Industry Trends report.

His bottom line: "The economy is resilient, people are spending money, just in different ways. We need to react to that in a dynamic way."  

Key Points

• How to make data driven decisions using macro economic and market data
• Consumer purchasing trends on-premise and off-premise (total spending away from home now exceeds at home spending)
• Labor and productivity data results and analysis

Resources

• Download Lester Jones' U.S. Economic Outlook and Beer Industry Trends
• Learn more about the beer wholesaler financial network

Today on the podcast we talk mergers and acquisitions and wholesaler consolidation with RJ Martucci from accounting firm PKF O'Connor Davies.

Key Points

• How to generate the maximum return on a sale
• Strategies to make the sale tax efficient
• State of mergers and acquisitions in the beer industry
• Primary motivations for sellers

Resources

• Learn more about PKF O'Connor Davies
• Get the free beer business finance newsletter