Why a platform-powered accounting firm.
Most cannabis operators have accountants who aren't cannabis-specialized. A general bookkeeper working with a standard chart of accounts doesn't understand §280E. They'll miscategorize expenses, leave deductible COGS on the table, and produce financials that can't survive IRS scrutiny. The result: operators overpaying federal tax by $40–80K per year — quietly, consistently, with no obvious way to know it's happening.
Cannabis is not a general business category with a few unusual line items. §280E disallows the deductions every other business takes for granted — salaries, rent, utilities, marketing. The only path to a defensible tax position is a correctly structured chart of accounts, precise COGS allocation, and documentation that survives IRS review. None of that comes from retrofitting a generic accounting workflow.
So we built the infrastructure from scratch. A purpose-built accounting platform with §280E compliance, multi-state cannabis excise logic, MSO consolidations, and payroll integration native to the architecture. Then we built a firm around it. No legacy general-practice processes. No software retrofitted with a cannabis add-on. Every workflow, every category, every report format was designed specifically for plant-touching businesses.
We are headquartered in New Jersey — one of the most complex cannabis regulatory environments in the country — with deep expertise in NJ CRC compliance, quarterly SEEF filings, and NJ CBT treatment of §280E disallowance. We serve operators in 27 states, including multi-state operators whose books span multiple regulatory regimes simultaneously.
420Ledger is not a CPA firm. We are a PTIN-registered, EFIN-authorized tax preparation and bookkeeping firm that works exclusively in cannabis. That focus is deliberate. The cannabis accounting space has no room for part-time attention — the rules are too consequential, and they change too fast.
Dispensary operators across NJ and neighboring states were filing with general-practice accountants who had never read §280E. Overpayment was endemic and largely invisible to operators with no comparison point.
Rather than adopt existing software and work around its limitations, we built a purpose-built accounting platform with §280E treatment, multi-state tax logic, MSO consolidations, and payroll integration native to the architecture.
Obtained PTIN (IRS-registered tax preparer) and EFIN (IRS-authorized e-file provider) — the baseline authorization to prepare and file federal returns on behalf of clients.
Built per-state cannabis excise tax configurations, filing schedules, and §280E decoupling logic for every adult-use and medical market — so MSO clients don't outgrow us as they expand.
Monthly bookkeeping, §280E optimization, state excise filing, MSO consolidated reporting, federal estimated taxes, and year-end tax packages — under one flat monthly rate.