Controller

Position Summary

Our Client is seeking an experienced Controller with a strong background in supermarket or grocery retail accounting to join our Finance team. This is a senior, hands-on role responsible for owning all accounting operations - from general ledger management and reconciliations to financial reporting and cash management - across our 6 Greater Boston locations and central warehouse.

The ideal candidate brings deep familiarity with the financial rhythms of supermarket operations: weekly P&L cycles, shrink, margin analysis, vendor reconciliations, and multi-location reporting. A key long-term objective of this role is to absorb and internalize the full-cycle accounting and reporting work currently handled by our third-party accounting provider. Candidates with hands-on experience at a supermarket company or a grocery-focused accounting firm are strongly preferred.

What Makes This Role Unique

This is not a standard corporate accounting seat. You will need to understand the business from the inside out:

• Supermarket P&L dynamics - gross margin by department, markdowns, shrink, seasonal fluctuations
• Multi-location reporting across 6 stores with store-level accountability
• Vendor and trade reconciliations specific to grocery retail
• High-volume, fast-cycle weekly reporting tied to store operations
• A mission-driven, community-rooted culture where the work has real meaning
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Full-Cycle Accounting & General Ledger
• Maintain and manage the general ledger across all store and warehouse entities
• Prepare and post journal entries including AR, retail adjustments, and accruals
• Perform monthly bank and credit card reconciliations
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of all accounting records
• Financial Reporting & Analysis
• Prepare weekly and monthly financial reports including P&L and balance sheets for all locations
• Analyze sales, payroll, markdowns, shrink, and gross margin (GM%) to identify discrepancies and opportunities
• Provide actionable insights to improve profitability by vendor and department
• Deliver timely, accurate reporting to ownership and management
• Cash Flow & Treasury Management
• Oversee weekly cash flow planning and reporting
• Manage wire transfers, ACH, and portal payments
• Administer Positive Pay for fraud prevention
• Coordinate weekly check runs in line with budget
• Ensure proper handling and deposit of incoming checks
• Payroll & Labor Oversight
• Review and submit weekly payroll
• Run post-payroll reports and distribute to relevant stakeholders
• Monitor payroll expenses and ensure alignment with store-level budgets
• Manage administrative expense reimbursements
• Accounts Payable & Fixed Expenses
• Manage recurring payments including rent, utilities, and vendor obligations
• Ensure timely and accurate processing of all AP transactions
• Budgeting & Forecasting
• Develop and update monthly and quarterly budgets
• Track actual performance against budget and explain variances
• Support ownership in financial planning and strategic decision-making
• Store & Operational Partnership
• Conduct financial reviews and regular meetings with each store location
• Partner with store managers to identify and address financial performance issues
• Monitor KPIs across all locations and escalate concerns proactively
• Compliance & Internal Controls
• Maintain adherence to internal controls and accounting policies
• Support audits and documentation requests
• Ensure compliance with applicable financial regulations
  
  

Qualifications Required

• Supermarket experience: 3 years of accounting experience in a supermarket, grocery chain, or grocery retail environment
• Full-cycle accounting: Hands-on experience performing full-cycle bookkeeping and reconciliations - not purely supervisory
• Industry fluency: Strong working knowledge of grocery retail financials: shrink, margin analysis, vendor reconciliations, weekly P&L
• Excel: Proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, financial modeling)
• Education: Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience)
  
  

Strongly Preferred

• Experience with NetSuite or comparable ERP system
• Prior experience working with or at a supermarket-specialized accounting firm
• Familiarity with multi-location retail operations
• Experience with Positive Pay and bank portal systems
  
  

Nice to Have

• CPA or CPA candidate
• Experience migrating accounting functions from outsourced to in-house
  
  

Key Competencies

• Ownership mindset - you treat the books as your own responsibility
• Detail-oriented with high accuracy standards
• Strong communicator able to present financial data to non-finance stakeholders
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, operationally driven environment
• Proactive problem-solver who flags issues early and comes with solutions
  
  

A Note on Systems & Growth

We currently use an external accounting provider with deep supermarket expertise for reconciliation and reporting. A primary long-term goal of this role is to bring those functions fully in-house under this Controller. This is a real opportunity to build something - to take ownership of the financial infrastructure of a growing, community-driven brand and make it yours.

Experience with NetSuite is a plus but not required. What matters most is your knowledge of supermarket accounting and your ability to own the numbers end-to-end. System training will be provided.