Manufacturers and industrial companies
Manufacturing FP&A for more than one plant, entity or ERP
Someone exports each entity's trial balance, stitches them together, and is the only one who can explain the hardest line in the consolidation. We set up one model with the general ledger detail behind every number.
One entity, one ERP, and a reporting package that already ties? This page won't add much. Start with the budget or the close.
Where does manufacturing FP&A break down?
Usually once there is more than one entity, plant or ERP. Add a currency or an acquisition and the reporting package takes longer every month.
Entities on different ERPs. An acquisition or a foreign subsidiary brings its own system and its own chart of accounts.
Trial balances without the detail. When the consolidation doesn't tie, nobody can see what is rolling up into the account.
Lines nobody can explain. Currency translation gets worked out in a side file.
Margin by plant or product line, built by hand. Every month, from exports.
Equipment debt modelled outside the P&L. So covenant headroom is a surprise at quarter-end.
13 of the 55 companies in our review of sales calls (September 2026) named multi-entity and intercompany pain. The most common trigger was an acquisition, for 12 of the 55.
What MCC sets up for manufacturing finance teams
We build in Vena, the planning platform that works inside Excel, so your team keeps the tool it already knows. Why we use Vena.
Consolidation and group reporting
Entities, ERPs and currencies in one model, eliminations included. At Samson Rope: three entities and a 24-page reporting package.
Budgeting and the people plan
Budget templates by cost center that your own team can extend.
Forecasting and scenarios
A monthly reforecast, with base, upside and downside cases that don't need a rebuilt file.
Covenant and lender reporting
Equipment loans and revolvers calculated from actuals, with headroom visible before quarter-end.
Reconciliation and the close
Every balance sheet reconciliation with preparer and reviewer sign-off in one place.
What manufacturing finance teams say
Three entities, two ERPs, and the hardest line in the consolidation finally shows its math, after moving from Planful to Vena.
“I think Vena is much more flexible for our needs and more robust than Planful was. All we did with Planful was upload trial balances. So the fact that Vena has all of our general ledger detail right there is extremely helpful.”
Karen Maderas
Controller, Samson Rope
A working P&L model in the first week, still growing with the business
“Within the first week, MCC provided a working P&L model we could actually use. As the business grew, the model grew with us instead of needing to be rebuilt. They didn’t just build a model - they acted like a true partner and focused on helping us get it done.”
Tony Ehrbar
Owner & CEO, American Tent
Monthly reporting moved out of manual Excel and into Vena, and now it flags when someone changes a closed period in NetSuite.
“I found inconsistencies from how I was doing things before, and now this forces a level of consistency. And frankly it better highlights when I find things that we have gone back and changed in NetSuite in closed periods. All of a sudden, wait a minute, this looks different than how I reported last month. So it helps me catch things that we shouldn't have done.”
Jim Jenkins
CFO, Essex Finishing
A 30-minute call to check whether MCC fits your finance team. Bring whoever builds the file. We'll tell you plainly if it's not a fit.
See whether this fits your teamQuestions from manufacturing finance teams
Can we consolidate entities that run on different ERPs?
Yes. Samson Rope consolidates three entities in the US, Spain and France, and France runs on a different ERP from the other two. In Vena they now have full general ledger detail and a 24-page reporting package, and the team can drill down to see exactly what rolls up into any account.
We already use another planning tool. Is moving to Vena worth it?
Samson Rope did exactly that. In Planful they only uploaded trial balances. In Vena they have all of the general ledger detail, and their controller calls Vena much more flexible for their needs. Reports start from an existing report or spreadsheet, so nothing gets rebuilt from scratch.
Will our team depend on MCC after go-live?
No. At Samson Rope, since go-live, the assistant controller has built cost center reports and the 2027 budget templates herself, with MCC support hours behind her. We build so your team can maintain the model, and we stay close while they learn it.
Do we need to clean up our accounting system first?
Not necessarily. Essex Finishing built its financial reporting in Vena on top of NetSuite as it was. The build showed where reports built by hand in Excel had not matched, and now Vena uses the same logic every time and shows right away when someone changes a closed period in NetSuite. The build shows you what needs cleaning up, so you don’t have to fix everything first.
Is this only for larger manufacturers?
No. American Tent had a working P&L model from MCC within the first week, and as the business grew, the model grew with it instead of being rebuilt. A smaller manufacturer usually needs a model the owner can use now and the finance team can extend later.
How long does it take, and how much of our team's time?
The foundation takes five business days once readiness is confirmed. Your next month-end or forecast is the first real cycle, and tailoring runs over the weeks after. On your side: you own access and exports, answer mapping questions fast, ideally the same day, and run the first cycle with us beside you. At Air Carbon, with MCC coaching, their FP&A lead was building templates and reports within a few days.
Further reading
- Samson Rope: from Planful to Vena. Three entities, two ERPs and a 24-page reporting package the team now runs itself.
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See whether this fits your team
A 30-minute call with someone who has done this build before. Bring whoever builds the file. You'll leave knowing whether we're a fit, which problem is really yours, and what the first five days would build.