Accounting made easier for independent cannabis companies. A dedicated 280E module sets up a cannabis chart of accounts, says what Section 280E does with every account by tax year, and builds the 280E schedule and a tax estimate straight from your ledger. Inventory costs land in COGS, medical and adult-use stay apart, and your CPA starts with clean books.

Start your books Get Smokin’Check it out

Greenback is accounting software, not a tax adviser. Work with your CPA on your return.

web.greenbackapp.com/business/280e

SAMPLE BUSINESS · SAMPLE DATA

Northfield Botanicals

280E summary · Q3 2026

	Amount	Treatment
Revenue	$412,300
Cost of goods soldInventoriable costs	$238,940	Allowed
Gross profit	$173,360
Selling & admin · medicalSchedule III	$18,420	Deductible
Selling & admin · adult-useSchedule I	$61,880	280E

Allocation: 23% medical / 77% adult-useTax reserve funded2 accounts need review

$29.1B

in state-legal U.S. cannabis sales in 2025

30–40K

licensed operators across cultivation, processing and retail

$1K–$5K

a month: what dedicated 280E bookkeeping and CPA retainers typically cost

Sources: NORML / Vangst–Whitney Economics U.S. Cannabis Jobs Report 2026; IBISWorld marijuana growing data; published cannabis CPA retainer pricing.

What changed in 2026, and what didn't

In April 2026 the Justice Department moved state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, effective April 28. Adult-use cannabis is still Schedule I and still subject to Section 280E, while the broader rescheduling hearing remains on hold. Treasury and the IRS have said guidance will limit 280E to Schedule I and II activity, including by apportioning expenses. If you sell both, you'll need that split. Greenback tags every line by license, so it's ready when your CPA asks. Status as of October 2026.

The 280E module

Deductible and nondeductible, sorted as you go.

Section 280E disallows deductions and credits for businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II substances, everything outside cost of goods sold. Greenback's 280E module sets up a cannabis chart of accounts, says what 280E does with every account by tax year, and builds the 280E schedule and a tax estimate from the ledger, so you see your real tax-adjusted margin every month, not once a year.

Cannabis chart of accounts, set up for you
280E treatment of every account: COGS, deductible or nondeductible, by tax year
The 280E schedule, built from your ledger
Monthly 280E-adjusted P&L and a tax estimate next to your book P&L

Book vs. 280ESeptember 2026

SAMPLE DATA

Book net income

$38,420.00

Add back: nondeductible S&AAdult-use share

+$21,960.00

Taxable income after 280E

$60,380.00

Estimated tax reserve@ 21% · move to Tax Reserve Savings

$12,679.80

Estimates for planning only. Confirm with your CPA.

Inventory & COGS

Capture every dollar that belongs in COGS.

Under 280E, cost of goods sold is where legitimate tax savings live. Track inventoriable costs (cultivation labor, nutrients, grow-room utilities, packaging, testing) and roll them into inventory and COGS with a clean audit trail.

Inventory by product, batch and location
Direct and indirect production costs allocated to inventory
Lab testing, packaging and inbound freight captured in COGS
Reconcile book inventory to your seed-to-sale counts each month

COGS buildBatch NB-0921 · Flower

SAMPLE DATA

Cultivation laborDirect

$8,240.00

Nutrients & mediaDirect

$1,915.00

Grow-room utilitiesIndirect · by sq ft

$2,380.00

Lab testingDirect

$650.00

PackagingDirect

$1,120.00

Capitalized to inventory

$14,305.00

Medical vs adult-use

Running medical and adult-use? Split them cleanly.

With state-licensed medical on Schedule III and adult-use still under 280E, many operators now have two tax treatments under one roof. Tag sales and expenses by license, pick an allocation method, and Greenback apportions shared costs every month.

Tag revenue and expenses by license type
Allocate shared rent, payroll and utilities by sales mix, square footage or headcount
Separate P&Ls for medical and adult-use operations
An allocation history your CPA can review and defend

Shared cost allocationSeptember · by sales mix 23 / 77

SAMPLE DATA

Rent$14,000.00 shared

M $3,220 · A $10,780

Admin payroll$22,600.00 shared

M $5,198 · A $17,402

Retail utilities$1,850.00 shared

M $425.50 · A $1,424.50

Adult-use shareNondeductible under 280E

$29,606.50

Licenses & locations

A P&L for every license and location.

Set up cultivation, processing and each dispensary as its own department, then tag any invoice, bill or journal line to it. Run the P&L for one department or the whole company, and keep medical and adult-use apart if you run both.

Departments for each license, location or program
Tag income and expenses on any line
P&L by department or for the whole company
Separate medical and adult-use lines for your CPA

By departmentQ3 2026 · net

SAMPLE DATA

Cultivation$186,400 in · $121,850 out

$64,550

Processing$58,900 in · $41,320 out

$17,580

Retail · Main StMedical + adult-use

$52,290

Retail · Route 30Adult-use

$22,340

CompanyAll departments

$156,760

Cash & reconciliation

Cash-heavy? Make every dollar tie out.

Keep the vault and the safe as their own accounts, record every deposit, and reconcile every bank account against its statement. Payouts shows what a processor took and what it actually paid over, and holds anything that does not add up instead of forcing it to balance.

Vault, safe and petty cash as accounts of their own
Reconcile every account against its last statement
Payouts and deposits in transit, tied out to the penny
Categorization rules that never post into closed books

ReconcileWhere every account stands against its last statement

SAMPLE DATA

Operating checkingStatement Sep 30 · difference $0.00

Reconciled

VaultCount Oct 9 · deposit matched Oct 10

$1,240.00

Payouts in transitTies outTaken and not yet paid over

$0.00

Bank lines to reviewEntries the bank has not confirmed

Sales tax & basis

Sales tax and excise, held as what they are.

Tax you collect is money you are holding for the state, never revenue. Charge sales tax by jurisdiction, see where you owe, and keep state and local cannabis taxes in their own liability accounts until they are paid.

Sales tax by jurisdiction on every invoice
Where you owe: sales into each state against its threshold
Cannabis excise and local taxes as liabilities
Prepare statements on a cash, tax or GAAP basis

Taxes payableAs of Oct 15

SAMPLE DATA

Sales tax payableIllinois · September

$24,680.00

Cannabis excise payableDue Oct 20

$38,215.00

Local cannabis taxDue Oct 20

$6,140.00

Accounting basisStatements prepared on

GAAP

Close & your CPA

Close the month. Lock it. Hand over the packet.

Work the month-end close checklist, lock the period so its numbers stop moving, and hand your accountant a close packet. Cannabis CPA retainers often run $1,000 to $5,000 a month, and much of that time goes to cleanup. Give them clean books instead.

Month-end close checklist: reconcile, review, report, lock
Close packet generated when you finish
Period lock, with a history of every reopen
Accountant logins, requests, messages and an activity log

Month-end closeSeptember 2026

SAMPLE DATA

ReconciliationEvery bank, card and vault account

3 of 3

ReviewAR, AP and unposted documents

4 of 4

ReportsP&L, balance sheet, cash flow

3 of 3

Lock the periodBooks closed through 2026-09-30

Done

The dashboard

Know where you stand every morning.

Cash across every account and the vault, what customers and vendors owe, net income, inventory value and what needs you today.

demo.greenbackapp.com/business

Business

Your books at a glance

+ ReceiptNorthfield Botanicals ▾

Cash on hand$184,220.153 bank accounts and the vault

Accounts receivable$12,480.002 wholesale customers

Accounts payable$38,915.00$4,200.00 past due

Net income$412,880.00Year to date

Income vs expenses6 months · accrual basis

MayJunJulAugSepOct

IncomeExpenses

By departmentQ3 2026

Cultivation$186,400 in · $121,850 out

$64,550

Processing$58,900 in · $41,320 out

$17,580

Retail · Main St$248,700 in · $196,410 out

$52,290

Retail · Route 30$162,300 in · $139,960 out

$22,340

Needs attention

23 transactions to reviewCategorize them and post them to the ledger

›

Cannabis excise due Oct 20Liability · $38,215.00

›

Oct close in progressFinish the checklist to close the period

›

280E · SeptemberEstimate

Book net income

$38,420.00

Nondeductible add-backAdult-use share

+$21,960.00

Taxable income after 280E

$60,380.00

Payoutsas of Oct 15

Deposits in transitTies outTaken and not yet paid over

$0.00

A sample cannabis business with illustrative data, shown on the same dashboard as every Greenback business. Try a live sample →

Built for cannabis

Compliance-grade books, without the retainer.

Everything an independent operator needs for clean, defensible books, with 280E next.

Cannabis & 280E module

Cannabis chart of accounts, 280E treatment and schedule.

Inventory & COGS

FIFO costing and an inventory valuation report.

Medical / adult-use split

Shared costs allocated by the method you choose.

Vault & cash accounts

Counts and deposits reconciled to the bank.

Payouts reconciliation

What the processor took vs. what it paid over.

Sales tax & excise

Collected by jurisdiction, held as liabilities.

Month-end close

Checklist, close packet and period lock.

Cash, tax or GAAP basis

Statements on the basis your CPA files on.

CPA access & activity log

Every change, who made it and when.

Pricing

General ledgers weren't built for 280E.

QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks leave cannabis operators to build 280E on top with spreadsheets and outside CPA hours. Greenback does the 280E work in the same books you run the business on.

Software	What you get	Published pricing
QuickBooks Online	General small business accounting. Payroll, payments and time tracking are paid add-ons; 1 to 25 users depending on plan.	$38–$340/mo
Xero	General small business accounting. The entry plan is capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month.	$25–$90/mo
FreshBooks	Invoicing-first accounting for service businesses, priced by how many clients you bill.	$23–$70/mo
Cannabis CPA retainers	Done-for-you 280E bookkeeping (e.g. GreenGrowth CPAs, DOPE CFO)	~$1,000–$5,000/mo
Greenback	Double-entry books with a dedicated 280E module, inventory and COGS, medical and adult-use split, department P&Ls, payout reconciliation and close	$20/mo + Cannabis & Dispensary module $49/mo, 280E included. Total $69/mo.

Greenback Business$20/month

Real double-entry books, banking, invoicing, bills, reports, month-end close and accountant access. Add the module for your industry.

Industry modules

Real Estate & Rentals$5/mo+ $2 per property

Contractor Services$20per technician

Cannabis & Dispensary$49/moincludes the 280E module

Personal Care & Wellness$5/mo

Accounting Firm ManagementFree for accountants+ $1/mo per client · Greenback Personal included

Switching takes one import.Bring your chart of accounts, contacts and transactions across from QuickBooks Online or Xero. Then invite your accountant.

QuickBooks Online pricing reflects Intuit's August 2026 list-price increase as reported; Xero and FreshBooks pricing from third-party comparison sites, August to October 2026. Greenback pricing is per month, billed in US dollars. Prices change often and vary by billing term and add-ons, so check each vendor's site for current rates. QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks are trademarks of their owners.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Something else? Visit Help.

What does the 280E module do?

It sets up a cannabis chart of accounts, shows what Section 280E does with every account by tax year, and builds the 280E schedule and a tax estimate from your ledger. Inventory and COGS, department P&Ls and month-end close feed it directly.

Does 280E still apply after rescheduling?

As of October 2026, state-licensed medical marijuana moved to Schedule III effective April 28, 2026, which generally removes 280E for those activities. Adult-use cannabis remains Schedule I and subject to 280E while the broader rescheduling hearing is on hold. Confirm your treatment with your CPA.

Does Greenback replace my seed-to-sale or POS system?

No. Keep Metrc, BioTrack or your state's system for compliance, and your POS for checkout. Greenback is the books underneath them. Point-of-sale connections are on the way.

Does Greenback file my taxes?

No. Greenback is accounting software. It keeps your books the way your CPA needs them to prepare and file your return.

Can I move my books over from QuickBooks or Xero?

Yes. Greenback imports your chart of accounts, contacts and transactions from QuickBooks Online or Xero, so you don't start from zero. Then invite your accountant and pick up where you left off.

How does Greenback compare with QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks?

All three are general-purpose: you bolt on add-ons, apps or spreadsheets to handle the parts that are specific to your industry. Greenback is real double-entry accounting with those parts built in, and you can import your chart of accounts, contacts and transactions from QuickBooks Online or Xero. Greenback Business is $20 a month, plus the module for your industry.

Get started

Start your books. 280E included at $69 a month.

Bring your licenses and your chart of accounts. Greenback Business is $20 a month, and the Cannabis & Dispensary module with 280E adds $49 a month. We'll help you set it up.

$20/mo + $49/mo module, 280E includedImport from QuickBooks or XeroDirect line to the team

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