Custom excise administration software for a drinks wholesaler
Appfront builds software for beverage wholesalers, importers and off-licence chains that store and trade excise goods: excise rate and alcohol percentage per item, stock under suspension kept separate from stock in free circulation, every event that makes excise payable, consignments with their electronic documents, and the return for the period built up from the movements. So the return matches the stock, and a check by Customs does not turn into a search through spreadsheets.
What is excise administration software for a beverage wholesaler?
A beverage wholesaler pays excise duty on beer, wine, intermediate products and spirits, and consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks. Anyone with an excise goods warehouse stores goods under suspension: the excise becomes payable only when goods are released into free circulation. Excise administration software keeps those two stocks separate, records every movement with its reason, and builds the return from what has actually been released.
In many wholesalers, excise is buried in the ERP: a field per item, a report at month end, and a controller who checks it against the stock in a spreadsheet. A breakage that was not recorded as breakage, a shipment abroad not yet closed off, or an item with the wrong alcohol percentage, and the return does not match the count. During an inspection, the difference then has to be traced back to its source.
We build custom software because the administration has to fit your licence and your systems: whether you have an excise goods location or only trade in free circulation, which product categories you handle, which ERP and WMS you use, how you handle shipments within and outside the EU, and what arrangements you have with Customs. An ERP knows a VAT code; the excise position per item and per stock status is rarely handled properly.
Suspension and free circulation
Per article and per location, the stock under duty suspension and in free circulation, with each transfer between the two recorded as a movement with date, quantity and document.
Excise duty per movement
For every outcome, the excise duty owed, based on category, alcohol strength, volume and rate. Breakage, loss and destruction, each with its own reason and treatment.
Return and file
The return for the period, built from the movements and reconciled against the stock count, with a file per period ready for an inspection.
How we build excise administration software for a drinks wholesaler
We start with the last return: how long it took, which sources it drew on, and how large the gap with the stock that had to be explained was.
Your licence and storage locations, the product categories, the flows from purchase through to release and export, and which systems hold which data.
Items with excise category, alcohol strength and volume, and stock per location split into under suspension and in free circulation.
Receipts, results, transfers, breakage and destruction recorded as adjustments with a reason, and the link to the electronic documents for each shipment.
Building the declaration, reconciling it with the stock count, a file per period, integrations with ERP, WMS and accounting, and ongoing management afterwards.
What excise administration software for a drinks wholesaler actually does
The components below come up at almost every drinks wholesaler. Which ones you need depends on your licence and on where you deliver.
Excise item master
For each item, the excise category, alcohol strength, volume and rate, with checks on items where a detail is missing or looks wrong.
Stock by status
Stock per location and per item under suspension and in free circulation, updated with every movement from the WMS or ERP.
Movement register
Receipt, release, transfer, export, breakage, loss and destruction, with date, quantity, reason and the document that goes with it.
Consignments and documents
Consignments under suspension and in free circulation with the status of the electronic document, and an alert for consignments that have not yet been closed.
Return build-up
The excise duty and consumption tax owed over the period per category, built from the movements and ready to submit.
Reconciliation and file
The administrative stock alongside the count, differences with an explanation, and a file per period with movements, documents and the return.
Who we build excise administration software for
The software is for traders in excise goods who currently assemble their records from exports and spreadsheets.
Drinks wholesalers
Many items across all categories and delivery to hospitality and retail. The item master and return build-up are the core.
Wine and beer importers
Purchases from other member states held under suspension and storage in your own excise warehouse. Consignments and documents matter most.
Off-licence chains with a central warehouse
A central warehouse under suspension and shops in free circulation. The transfer between the two and the reconciliation are what is needed.
Distributors with export
Deliveries within and outside the EU, each treated differently. The movement register and the file per consignment are the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about excise duty administration. For the wine trade as a whole, see our page on wine trade software; for producers, our page on brewery software; and for the VAT side, our page on VAT compliance software. You can read about how we work under getting software built.
If you are a brewery with an excise warehouse, look at our software for beer excise returns.
Why choose Appfront for custom excise administration software in a beverage wholesaler?
A return that doesn't come from the movements is an estimate. That's what we build on: every movement with reason and document, two stocks kept separate, and a return that matches the stocktake.
Returns from the source
The excise duty payable follows from the releases that have been recorded. Your controller checks the figures rather than calculating them.
Differences explained
Book stock and physical stock sit side by side. Any difference is linked to a movement with a reason, or it stands out immediately.
Ready for inspection
For each period, movements, documents and the return are kept together. A request from HMRC is an export, not a search.
Security and privacy for custom excise administration software in a beverage wholesaler
The software holds stock, purchasing and sales data as well as tax positions. Access is set by role: the warehouse records movements, the controller prepares the return, and management sees the positions. Every change to a movement or a rate is logged with name, time and reason, and a submitted period is locked.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily back-ups. Data is retained for as long as the statutory record-keeping obligation requires.
Frequently asked questions about custom excise administration software in a beverage wholesaler
Questions wholesalers ask before getting started.
It keeps the excise category, alcohol strength and volume for each item, separates stock under duty suspension from stock in free circulation, records every movement with its reason and document, calculates the excise duty and alcohol duty payable, and builds the periodic return from the movements, reconciled with the stocktake.
In general, on release for consumption: when goods leave an excise warehouse into free circulation, or on entry into free circulation if you do not have an excise warehouse. Storage and transport under suspension defer that point. How this works for your situation depends on your authorisation; set up the process with your adviser and HMRC.
The software prepares the return and makes it ready to submit. Whether that happens via an integration or through the Customs portal depends on your situation; we look at this in the first step.
As a separate movement with a reason and, where needed, evidence. Breakage and destruction under suspension are treated differently from sales, and the software keeps that distinction so they do not end up as a release in the return.
Yes. Consignments under suspension and in free circulation are recorded with their accompanying electronic document and its status. A consignment that has not yet been closed remains visible until receipt is confirmed.
No. Purchasing, sales and stock stay in your ERP and WMS; the software reads the movements, adds the excise position and prepares the return. If your ERP has a good excise module, custom development may not be necessary.
Ask yourself this first. Some ERP packages for the drinks trade include an excise module, and that is enough if you have one location and simple flows. Custom development makes sense if you have multiple locations or licences, if reconciling with stock counts is currently done by hand, or if shipments to other Member States must be tracked separately.
An excise return that matches your stock?
Tell us which licence you hold, which product categories you import and which ERP and WMS you use. We'll show you what stock by status, the movement register and the structure of the return look like.