Creative & production services
Books and taxes for 3D rendering studios.
A rendering package for a condo developer, a cloud render farm bill that spikes before delivery, a 3ds Max and V-Ray license renewal, and a freelance modeler on a tight deadline. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December came in at $14,400. The Ashgrove Residences package needed a heavy render push before the developer's sales launch, so that cloud render spike stayed tied to the project instead of looking like a random overage.
- Ashgrove Residences packageRendering project income
- Meridian Developer retainerRetainer income
- Cloud render farm hoursRender costs
- V-Ray license renewalSoftware
- T. Novak freelance modelingFreelance modelers
Why your books are different
3D rendering studio books go wrong at the render spike and the license renewal.
A generalist sees a design invoice and a software bill. Your business runs on cloud rendering costs that spike right before a delivery, expensive annual software licenses, freelance modelers brought in per project, and real estate developer clients who pay on their own sales launch schedule. When the books blend those, you cannot see which projects actually pay.
-
1
A cloud render spike looks like a random overage
Render farm costs sit near zero most weeks and then spike hard the week before a big developer presentation, which can make one month look like it had a runaway expense problem.
What we doTies cloud render costs to the project and delivery date that caused them, so a spike reads as normal, not a mystery. -
2
Annual software licenses get treated like a monthly expense
3ds Max, V-Ray, and similar tools often renew once a year at a large cost, and if that lump payment gets spread across a single month, it makes that month look far worse than it is.
What we doFlags large annual license renewals so a single big payment does not distort one month's real performance. -
3
A freelance modeler on a tight deadline looks like overhead
Bringing in a modeler or animator for a rush developer deadline means paying them across a few invoices that can land next to your software bills.
What we doKeeps freelance modeler payments in their own line and tracks what you have paid each contractor toward the 1099 threshold. -
4
Developer retainers and one-off project work look identical
A steady monthly retainer from a repeat developer client and a single project for a new client both show up as generic sales, making it hard to see your real recurring floor.
What we doKeeps retainer income separate from one-off project income so you can see the base you can count on. -
5
A new workstation with extra GPUs gets buried as a supply
A render-capable workstation with high-end graphics cards can run into the thousands, and filed as a supply purchase it wrecks the month and misses the equipment write-off.
What we doFlags GPU and workstation purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a 3D rendering studio.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Rendering project incomeOne-off visualization packages, billed per project.
- Retainer incomeRepeat developer clients billed on a recurring schedule.
- Rush feesCharged for a faster turnaround before a client's launch date.
- Licensing and usage feesWhen a client wants extended rights to renders beyond a single sales campaign.
Money out
- Render costsCloud render farm hours tied to a specific project's delivery.
- Software3ds Max, V-Ray, and modeling and rendering plugin licenses.
- Freelance modelers and animatorsContractors brought in for overflow or rush project work.
- Workstation and hardwareGPUs, monitors, and render-capable computers, logged so they get written off right.
- Stock assetsFurniture models, textures, and vegetation libraries licensed for client work.
What we watch for you
- Project margin
What a rendering package brought in against render and contractor costs.
- Retainer floor
Monthly retainer income against total income, the base you can count on before a new project.
- Render cost per project
What cloud rendering actually costs on a delivery, worth knowing before quoting the next developer job.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across rendering and retainer income, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things 3D rendering studio 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.
No, I tie render costs to the project that caused them, so a spike like that reads as a normal part of finishing a big delivery, not a random overage.
I flag large annual renewals so a single big payment does not make one month look far worse than it actually was.
Yes, since it crossed $2,000. I have been tracking every payment to him, so the form is ready by January 31.
The tax side
The tax side of a 3D rendering studio.
Most of what goes wrong here is annual license payments and render costs distorting single months.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Workstations and rendering hardwareBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025, which applies to most render workstations.
- Freelance modeler 1099sAny modeler or animator not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated visualization studios can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when project and retainer income is tracked cleanly.
- Self-employment tax for solo studiosA one-person studio pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both, even around a big annual license renewal.
Deductions 3D rendering and visualization studios miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Render-capable workstations
- 3ds Max and V-Ray licenses
- Cloud render farm costs
- Freelance modeler fees
- Furniture and texture libraries
- External drives and cloud backup
- Portfolio site hosting
- Continuing education courses
- Monitor and GPU upgrades
- Studio or home office share
- Design association dues
- Client presentation costs
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 rendering studio's year, kept every month.
Deliveries follow developer sales launches, not the calendar. Your books stay current no matter the timing, and the return follows. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the modeler 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as spring development launches ramp up. The set-aside covered it since January, so the bill is not a surprise.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring development launches changed the number.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at hardware or software worth buying before December and flags any license renewals coming up.
What you get
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 rendering and visualization studios. 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 rendering studio owners ask first.
My render costs spike right before every big delivery. Will that mess up my monthly number?
No. Gus ties render costs to the project that caused them, so a spike reads as a normal part of finishing a job, not a random overage.
My software licenses renew once a year in one large payment. Does that distort my books?
No, Gus flags large annual renewals so a single big payment does not make one month look far worse than it actually was.
I do a mix of retainer developer clients and one-off projects. Can Gus tell those apart?
Yes. Retainer income stays separate from one-off project income so you can see your real recurring floor.
Do I write off a new render workstation all at once?
Often you can. Render workstations can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, and sometimes spreading the cost out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements and project invoices you have. Gus sorts render costs from license renewals, 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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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
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