Finance for manufacturers who need to know what each product really earns
Costing, inventory, plant-level P&L, capex decisions and the working-capital squeeze of growth. We work from your BOMs, job cards and Tally data, not just the ledger.
Where manufacturing finance usually breaks
Many manufacturers have accurate books and still cannot answer the questions that decide next year.
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Quotes built on standard costs nobody has updated
Raw material rates, yields and conversion costs move every quarter. When the BOM costing does not, margin leaks out of every order before anyone sees it in the P&L.
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Profit on paper, no cash in the bank
Growth is funded first by raw material stock, WIP and debtors. A business can grow sales and run short of cash in the same year.
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One P&L for every plant and line
A consolidated profit figure hides the line or the customer that is losing money, and it keeps getting capacity.
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Capex decided on the vendor quote
A new machine gets approved on capacity and price, without a payback test, a funding plan or a view of what it does to the working-capital cycle.
What we put in place
Four areas, set up during the first months of the engagement and then run every month.
Product costing
We rebuild product and job costs from your BOMs, routing and actual consumption, and set a routine to refresh standard rates as input prices move.
What you get A costing model per product or job, and a monthly variance report showing where actual cost has moved away from standard.
Margin analysis
We split contribution by product, line, plant and customer, so pricing and capacity decisions rest on what each one actually earns.
What you get A plant-level P&L and a contribution ranking reviewed with you each month.
Capex
Before you commit, we test the proposal: payback, IRR, the funding mix between term loan and internal accruals, and the effect on your bank covenants.
What you get A capex evaluation note and funding plan you can take to your board and your bank.
Working capital
We measure the cash cycle across raw material, WIP, finished goods, debtors and creditors, and forecast cash thirteen weeks ahead.
What you get Monthly working-capital metrics and a rolling 13-week cash forecast.
What your monthly pack tracks
The measures are agreed during the Finance Diagnostic. These are the ones most manufacturers end up with.
- Contribution by product and line After variable costs, before overheads
- Material cost variance Actual consumption against BOM standard
- Inventory days Split into raw material, WIP and finished goods
- Capacity utilisation By plant, line or key machine
- Debtor and creditor days With overdue ageing
- Cash conversion cycle And its trend over twelve months
- 13-week cash forecast Receipts, payments and bank limit headroom
- Drawing power vs utilisation Against your sanctioned limits
Statutory and lender points we watch
Specific to manufacturing, and easy to miss until they cost money.
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Cost records and cost audit
Depending on your products and turnover, your company may be required to maintain cost records and, above higher thresholds, have them audited by a cost accountant. We check applicability during the Diagnostic and keep the costing model aligned with the prescribed records.
Reference: Section 148, Companies Act, 2013; Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014 -
Payments to micro and small suppliers
Amounts owed to micro and small enterprises must be paid within the agreed credit period, capped at 45 days. If a payment runs past that limit, the income-tax deduction for the expense is deferred to the year it is actually paid, so an overdue supplier ledger at year-end raises that year's taxable income. We track this in the monthly creditors review, not at year-end.
Reference: Section 15, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006; Section 37(2)(g), Income-tax Act, 2025 (formerly Section 43B(h), Income-tax Act, 1961, for tax years up to 2025-26) -
Working-capital limits from your bank
Stock statements, drawing power and the CMA data submitted at renewal all come out of the same numbers as your MIS. When they are prepared separately, they drift apart and the bank notices. We prepare them from one set of books. See our CMA data template .
Reference: Your sanction letter and bank's stock-statement format -
Input tax credit on materials and capital goods
Credit on inputs and capital goods is available only when it appears in your supplier-side statement. We reconcile it monthly so credit is not lost or reversed later.
Reference: Section 16, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; see our GST reconciliation checklist
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Applicability depends on your entity, turnover and facts, and is confirmed during the Finance Diagnostic.
Is this a fit?
A good fit if
- You are an owner-managed manufacturer, typically ₹20–200 crore in revenue, running on Tally.
- You make or assemble to a BOM and know your costing is out of date.
- You are expanding capacity, adding a plant or renewing bank limits in the next twelve months.
Probably not yet if
- Your books are several months behind. They need to be brought current first.
- You need a cost audit signed. That must be done by a practising cost accountant; we work alongside them.
- You want a one-off costing model with no ongoing review. That is specialist project work .
How engagements usually run
Most manufacturers start with the Diagnostic, then settle into a retainer that matches how much of finance they want us to own.
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Start
Finance Diagnostic
We review costing, inventory, cash and compliance and give you a prioritised action list.
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Monthly
Fractional CFO Core
We own the monthly rhythm: close review, plant MIS, cash forecast and compliance oversight.
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Expanding
Fractional CFO Growth
Adds budgets, capex evaluation, bank engagement and board reporting.
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One-off
Specialist projects
A costing model, CMA data for a limit renewal or ERP selection, as a scoped project.
Common questions
Do we need a costing system in place before you start?
No. Many manufacturers cost from a spreadsheet or not at all. The Diagnostic tells you how far your costing is from usable and what it takes to fix it.
Can you work with multiple plants or units?
Yes. Plant-level P&L is one of the first things we set up, provided each plant is tracked as a cost centre or location in your books. If it is not, we set that up.
Do you replace our CA firm or cost auditor?
No. Your CA firm keeps statutory audit and return filing, and your cost auditor keeps the cost audit. We sit above both, turning the numbers into decisions.
Will this work with Tally?
Yes. Our reporting setup is built around Tally Prime, including inventory and cost-centre data where you maintain it.
Find out what each of your products actually earns.
An intro call with a senior member of the team. We will tell you plainly what the Diagnostic would look at.