Sage Intacct & Cannahub: The Compliance and Financial Backbone for Cannabis Manufacturing Executives

In the cannabis manufacturing industry, operational complexity and financial scrutiny are the norm—not the exception. For executives tasked with steering multi-state operations, aligning with state and federal compliance, and meeting investor expectations, the traditional patchwork of disconnected software simply doesn’t cut it.

Enter Sage Intacct and Cannahub—a purpose-built, fully integrated platform that merges robust financial controls with real-time operational data. For cannabis executives, this isn’t just accounting software or middleware. It’s the strategic infrastructure that enables scale, audit readiness, and tax optimization—especially under the crushing weight of Section 280E.

Let’s unpack why this integrated solution is quickly becoming the go-to financial architecture for cannabis manufacturers aiming for growth, control, and compliance.

Why Executives Need a New Kind of Infrastructure

Cannabis manufacturing isn’t like other industries. You’re not just managing inputs, outputs, and revenue—you’re juggling:

• 280E tax limitations that restrict deductions and inflate taxable income
• State-by-state compliance with ever-changing rules
• Seed-to-sale tracking across multiple platforms
• Multi-entity structures required for licensing and liability
• Investor demands for audit-ready, GAAP-compliant financials

In this environment, you need a system that does more than track expenses. You need total integration—one that connects your compliance systems, POS data, cultivation software, and financial records in a seamless, real-time flow. That’s what Sage Intacct + Cannahub delivers.

1. Financial Compliance with 280E: Automated and Defensible

The most pressing financial challenge cannabis manufacturers face is IRC Section 280E, which prohibits most business expense deductions. The only real workaround? Maximize and defend your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).

Sage Intacct makes this possible through:

• Dimensional accounting: Tag every expense with dimensions like department, location, strain, or product type. This makes allocating expenses to COGS both defensible and automated.
• Dynamic allocations: Split overhead costs like rent or labor based on real usage (e.g., square footage or time logs), giving you maximum legal deductions without manual spreadsheets.
• Multi-entity management: Each licensed entity (e.g., a manufacturing site in California and one in Michigan) operates with its own ledger, while still rolling up into consolidated financials for executive reporting or audits.

The result: You turn what’s typically a monthly compliance headache into an ongoing, automated process—ready for IRS audits at any time.

2. Seed-to-Sale Integration That Eliminates Risk

Regulators require manufacturers to trace cannabis from seed to sale. But most seed-to-sale systems (like METRC or BioTrack) aren’t built for finance—and they don’t talk to your ledger. That’s a big problem when discrepancies arise during audits.

This is where Cannahub enters the picture.

Cannahub serves as the integration layer between your seed-to-sale platform and Sage Intacct. It automatically pulls:

• Harvest weights and yields
• Waste and destruction logs
• Sales and transfer records
• Batch tracking and lab results

And feeds them directly into Sage Intacct. This creates a single source of truth between your inventory, compliance records, and financial statements. You eliminate manual data entry, reduce human error, and ensure your financials match your compliance data exactly.

3. Real-Time Inventory and Cost Controls

For executives, margin visibility is mission-critical. Without accurate inventory valuation and real-time COGS, you’re flying blind when it comes to pricing, profitability, and resource planning.

What this integration enables:

• Work-in-process (WIP) tracking: Know exactly how much value is sitting in each stage of your production pipeline.
• Automated inventory valuation: As biomass becomes oil, then a finished product, Sage Intacct calculates and allocates value at every step.
• Batch-level margin analysis: View profitability by strain, product line, or SKU across facilities.

Executives no longer have to rely on retrospective reports weeks after the close. With Sage + Cannahub, you get real-time margin intelligence that can drive faster decisions and proactive cash management.

4. Multi-State, Multi-License Financial Consolidation

As cannabis companies expand across state lines, executives face the challenge of maintaining compliance across separate legal entities while also delivering consolidated financials to investors and lenders.

Sage Intacct’s multi-entity architecture allows each facility to:

• Maintain separate books and state-specific compliance
• Automatically eliminate intercompany transactions (e.g., biomass transfers)
• Consolidate financials in real-time for executive dashboards or board presentations

Executives see the entire operation’s performance in a unified view, while still meeting the strict compartmentalization required by regulators.

5. Audit-Ready Records That Inspire Confidence

Whether it’s a state inspection, IRS audit, or investor due diligence, transparency and traceability are non-negotiable.

Sage Intacct delivers:

• Immutable audit trails: Every transaction, change, and user action is logged.
• Role-based permissions: Restrict access to sensitive data and enforce segregation of duties.
• Compliance reporting: Generate reports that reconcile financials with compliance systems like METRC, simplifying state filings and tax prep.

With Cannahub feeding high-fidelity operational data into Sage Intacct, your finance team can produce compliance reports on demand, with no last-minute data scrambles.

6. Strategic Dashboards and Executive Visibility

Forget waiting 30 days for last month’s numbers. With Sage Intacct and Cannahub working in tandem, executives can view:

• Gross margin by product line, location, or license
• Cash flow forecasts tied to real production schedules
• Cost per gram, cost per unit, and yield efficiencies
• Compliance KPIs like flagged discrepancies or license risk alerts

This kind of real-time business intelligence doesn’t just help you stay compliant—it helps you make smarter decisions about pricing, production capacity, staffing, and capital allocation.

7. Scalability Without Growing Pains

Cannabis manufacturers often outgrow their tech stacks. But Sage Intacct and Cannahub are built for growth. They integrate seamlessly with:

• POS systems like Dutchie, Flowhub, and Treez
• Cultivation tools like Canix or Trym
• CRM and e-commerce platforms like Salesforce or HubSpot
• HR and payroll systems like Gusto and Wurk

As you expand into new states, add new licenses, or bring on new tools, Cannahub’s connector library ensures your financial system doesn’t miss a beat. You scale without sacrificing compliance or control.

Executive-Level Takeaways

If you’re an executive in cannabis manufacturing, here’s why this integration matters to you:

• Compliance becomes automatic instead of manual and risky
• COGS is defensible under 280E, maximizing your tax position
• Audit preparation becomes proactive, not reactive
• Investor reports gain credibility, supporting fundraising and expansion
• You gain full visibility into your operation in real time, not after the fact

In a high-risk, highly-regulated industry, your ability to control the numbers, defend your deductions, and scale with confidence defines your competitive edge. Sage Intacct and Cannahub deliver that edge—purpose-built for cannabis.

Frequently Asked Questions