Margins made on the floor. Proven in the books.

Overhead applied by habit. A rate set years ago, applied to every unit, quietly subsidizing your worst product line and penalizing your best. Recomputing it is often the single most profitable afternoon of the year.

R&D credits left unclaimed. Owners hear "research" and picture laboratories. The credit covers process improvement: new tooling, automation, tolerance work, materials testing. If your engineers iterate, screen it — see credits & deductions.

UNICAP surprises. Cross the gross-receipts threshold and Section 263A forces additional costs into inventory — a real tax bill for a company that has not changed a thing operationally. We model the crossing before it happens.

Exemption certificates in a shoebox. Raw materials and machinery are exempt in most states — but only with current, organized certificates. Auditors assess first and listen later.

Contribution margin per constraint hour. If one machine or cell limits output, the product that makes the most money per hour on that constraint is your most profitable — regardless of what unit margin says. Pricing and scheduling should both follow this number.

Variance analysis that closes the loop. Material price, material usage, labor rate, labor efficiency, and overhead absorption variances each point at a different decision. Reported monthly and actually discussed, they turn accounting into operations.

Inventory accuracy is a tax issue as well as an operational one. Book-to-count differences move cost of goods sold, which moves taxable income — and a large year-end adjustment invites questions. Cycle counting beats an annual scramble.

Capacity decisions belong in a model. A new line, a second shift, or an automation purchase should be evaluated after tax, with Section 179 and bonus depreciation, financing structure, and the timing of the placed-in-service date all in the same spreadsheet.