Marketplace sellers & custom goods

Books and taxes for 3D printing businesses.

A batch of custom prototype parts, spools of filament and bottles of resin, a bank of printers running around the clock, and a failed print that wastes hours of machine time. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
JuneExample month
$6,800
what you made

June came in at $6,800. Two printers went down mid-run on a big order, so I flagged the wasted filament separately instead of letting it blend into your normal material cost.

  • Etsy Payments depositProduct sales
  • Prototype contract paymentCustom prototype work
  • Filament and resin orderMaterials
  • Printer nozzle replacementEquipment maintenance
  • Electricity, printer farmUtilities
Money in$21,600
Money out$14,800
Set aside for taxes$1,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

3D printing books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees a materials invoice and a customer payment. Your business is a bank of printers running for hours per job, failed prints that waste real material and machine time, and custom prototype work priced very differently from repeat product runs. When the books do not know that, a failed batch quietly eats into margin nobody notices.

  1. 1

    Failed prints get buried in normal material cost

    A print that fails partway through wastes filament or resin and hours of machine time, but if that waste is not tracked apart from successful runs, it just looks like your material cost is naturally higher than it should be.

    What we doFlags failed print waste as its own cost, so you can see how much a print farm's failure rate is actually costing you.
  2. 2

    Printer time never gets weighed against job price

    A large or detailed print can tie up a printer for many hours, but if machine time is not tracked against what the job actually pays, it is easy to underprice long, slow prints.

    What we doKeeps job costs visible so you and the accountant can see whether long print jobs are priced to match the machine time they use.
  3. 3

    Custom prototype work and repeat product runs get blended

    A one-off engineering prototype and a batch of the same keychain repeated a hundred times carry very different costs and pricing logic, and blended into one number, neither reads clearly.

    What we doKeeps custom prototype work and repeat product sales in their own lines, so you can see which side of the business is actually paying.
  4. 4

    A bulk filament and resin order covers months of jobs

    A large order of filament or resin gets used across dozens of future jobs. Booked all at once, that month looks like a loss and the following months look artificially strong.

    What we doKeeps bulk material buys visible against the jobs they actually go into, so one big order does not read as a bad month.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a 3D printing business.

Set up once for how a job gets billed and printed. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Product salesRepeat items sold online through Etsy or a direct storefront.
  • Custom prototype workOne-off engineering or design prototypes billed per project.
  • Batch production contractsA business ordering a repeat run of the same part or item.
  • Design and modeling fees3D modeling done for a customer separate from the print itself.

Money out

  • MaterialsFilament, resin, and support material bought from suppliers.
  • Equipment maintenanceNozzles, build plates, resin tanks, and printer repairs.
  • UtilitiesElectricity for running a bank of printers, often around the clock.
  • Design softwareCAD and slicing software subscriptions.
  • Post-processing suppliesSanding, painting, and finishing materials for printed parts.

What we watch for you

  • Failed print rate

    How much material and machine time gets wasted on failed runs, so it can be tracked instead of hiding in normal costs.

  • Printer time per job

    How long a job actually ties up a machine, so long, detailed prints are priced to match.

  • Materials cost per job

    What each job actually costs in filament or resin, so pricing keeps up as supplier costs change.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things 3D printing owners ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

A big print failed halfway through overnight and wasted a full spool of filament. Does that just disappear into my costs?

No, I keep failed print waste in its own line, so you can see how much your failure rate is actually costing you, not just a vaguely higher material cost.

I take on one-off prototype work and also sell the same keychain design over and over. Should those be tracked differently?

Yes, I keep them apart, since they carry very different costs and pricing. That way you can see which side of the business is actually paying.

I bought a big batch of resin and filament this month. Does that expense hit all at once?

I keep it tracked against the jobs it actually goes into, so one big supply order does not make a good month look thin.

The tax side

The tax side of a 3D printing business.

Most of what goes wrong here is materials cost and equipment. Get both tracked and the rest is straightforward.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Inventory and materials costWhat was actually paid for filament and resin used in jobs sold during the year, not just what was spent stocking up, is what counts against sales. Unsold materials at year end change what the return shows as profit.
  • Equipment and Section 1793D printers and related equipment can usually be written off up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
  • Contractor 1099s for design workA freelance modeler or designer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions 3D printing businesses miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Filament and resin
  • Nozzles and build plates
  • Printer maintenance and repairs
  • Electricity for the printer farm
  • CAD and slicing software
  • Post-processing supplies
  • Ventilation equipment for resin work
  • Business insurance
  • Home workshop space
  • Packaging and shipping supplies
  • Freelance design and modeling fees
  • Photography for product listings

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A 3D printing year, kept every month.

Prototype and product jobs come in whenever a client needs one. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, unsold materials are counted, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the failed print rate is eating more margin than it should.

  4. October

    Before the holiday product rush

    Personalized and gift product orders spike before the holidays. Before it hits, Gus looks at what materials to stock up on and whether equipment needs attention first.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for 3D printing businesses. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions 3D printing owners ask first.

Can Gus track how much failed prints are actually costing me?

He keeps failed print waste in its own line apart from successful jobs, so the cost is visible instead of just blending into your normal material spend.

Do I owe sales tax on 3D printed products?

Usually, yes, depending on your state and where customers are. A marketplace like Etsy may collect it on its own sales, and the accountant checks what applies to direct sales.

I do both custom prototype work and repeat product sales. Will Gus keep those separate?

Yes. They carry very different costs and pricing, so they are tracked apart, letting you see which side of the business actually pays.

My printer runs almost around the clock. Does electricity cost get tracked as a real expense?

Yes, utilities for running the printer farm are a real business cost, kept in their own line rather than folded into rent or materials.

I bought a big batch of filament before a price increase. Will that tank this month's number?

It will not read that way. Gus keeps a bulk buy visible against the jobs it actually fills, so one big purchase does not make a good month look bad.

My books are behind because I never tracked printer time against job pricing. Is that fixable?

Yes. Send the bank statements and job records you have. Gus sorts through it and most owners know where they stand within a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever