Central Valley — Independent Pharmacy Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping for Independent Pharmacies.

I owned a compounding pharmacy for a decade — bought it, ran it through the hardest years this industry has seen, and sold it on my terms. Now I keep books for independent pharmacies, and I'm still a licensed, practicing pharmacist today.

You won't have to explain DIR fees to me. Or wholesaler rebates. Or why the biggest deposit of the month is the slowest to arrive.

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The problem

Your top line can look fine while your margin quietly dies.

I know because I watched it happen from the owner's chair. Reimbursement compression doesn't announce itself — revenue holds steady while the gross margin line bleeds, and if your books lump everything together, you find out years later than you should.

Most pharmacy books are built by generalists. Wholesaler payments dumped straight to expenses. Rebates and prompt-pay discounts netted invisibly into purchases. Inventory adjusted once a year at tax time, which means your monthly margin is fiction eleven months out of twelve. The books balance. They just don't tell you anything.

What I do
Weekly categorization.

Every week, on your pharmacy's assigned day, I'm in your books. Third-party deposits categorized by payer. Wholesaler drafts, card batches, payroll — recorded while they're fresh. If a deposit goes missing or a payer's rhythm changes, it surfaces in days, not months.

Monthly reconciliation.

Penny for penny against your actual statements. Not “close enough.” Agree.

Monthly inventory true-up.

The piece generalist bookkeepers skip. Using your dispensing system's valuation report, your inventory and cost of goods get trued up every month — by service line. Rx, compounding, front-end: each margin real, each month. Rebates, prompt-pay discounts, and reverse-distribution credits each get their own line, so when a number moves, you can see which one and ask why.

Financials by the 10th.

Your P&L and balance sheet, in your inbox by the 10th of every month, with margin you can actually trust. My monthly close covers everything a full-service pharmacy CPA firm checks on the balance sheet — at the bookkeeping tier.

What stays yours

Your CPA and your recon system stay yours.

Your CPA stays your CPA — I hand them clean, categorized, reconciled books, and after filing, their year-end adjustments come back into the books so nothing ever drifts from the return.

Your claims reconciliation stays with your recon system or your team — I record what actually landed; they chase what didn't.

I don't do taxes, payroll, or billing. I do one job, completely.

Common questions

Questions owners actually ask.

What exactly do you do each month?
Four things, every month. I categorize your transactions weekly — by service line and payer, on your pharmacy's assigned day. I reconcile every bank and card account penny for penny against the statement, true up inventory and COGS off your dispensing system's valuation report by service line, and deliver your P&L and balance sheet by the 10th. Not “close enough.” Agree.
What don't you do?
I can't move a dollar — no payment authority, ever. I don't chase claims; your recon system or team owns the exceptions, and that seat matters, because an unworked claim gets silently written off around 60 days and the money is simply gone. I don't do tax or advisory — that's your CPA's seat. The lanes are clear on purpose. That's the whole reason this works.
Do you handle payroll?
I don't process it, and neither should one person alone. I place you with a payroll specialist I work with and reconcile every run independently against your books — separation of duties, the same reason your recon system stays yours. And I take nothing from that referral: use them or anyone you like. My only stake is that a specialist runs it and I'm the one checking it.
How do I know my money is safe with you?
Accountant-level access lets me see and categorize. It cannot move money — no bank credentials, no payments, no transfers. The buttons don't exist on my screen. That's structure, not a promise.
What does it cost?
No blind estimates, ever. Invite me into QuickBooks Online as an accountant, send three months of statements, and you get a firm monthly number within 48 hours — built on your actual volume, not a guess that moves later. Most single-store pharmacies land in the high hundreds monthly.
My books are way behind — is that a problem?
It's normal, and it's fixable. A cleanup is quoted separately after the review and paid up front — never buried in the monthly fee. The bonus most owners don't expect: by the time it's done, I've learned twelve months of how your pharmacy actually runs, so ongoing service starts warm, not cold.
Do you replace my CPA?
Never. I hand your CPA clean, reconciled books, and after they file, I post their year-end adjustments back so your books never drift from the return. A two-way handoff — I record, they interpret and file.
Do I have to sign a contract?
Month-to-month. If I'm not delivering, fire me — no lock-in, no notice period to wait out. The risk is mine to carry, on purpose. Certainty is the product, and certainty doesn't need a contract to hold you.
Do you only work with Central Valley pharmacies?
The Valley is home, but the work is remote-native through QuickBooks Online — statements, valuation reports, and your books all live in the cloud. Independent pharmacies anywhere in California, and beyond, work exactly the same way.
Andrew Keenan
The credential

Over 25 years in healthcare. 16 of them running my own businesses.

I co-founded a pharmacist staffing service in 2001 and owned an independent compounding pharmacy from 2007 to 2017. Payroll to make, inventory to carry, PBM contracts to survive.

My books were how I saw the squeeze coming while the bank account still said everything was fine — in time to do something about it. That's the standard I build for my clients. And I still practice as a pharmacist today, so I'm not describing your world from memory.

PharmD, University of the Pacific QuickBooks ProAdvisor Licensed & practicing pharmacist LinkedIn
How it starts

Free books review. Firm quote in 48 hours.

No blind estimates. Invite me into your QuickBooks Online as an accountant, send your last three months of bank and credit card statements, and within 48 hours you have an exact monthly price — firm, built on your actual volume, and it doesn't move.

Monthly service is month-to-month. If I'm not delivering, you fire me — the risk is mine to carry, on purpose.

Book Your Free Review

Free · Firm quote in 48 hours · Month-to-month