Arts & music education
Books and taxes for art academies and portfolio prep.
Portfolio prep tuition, a gallery show commission, fronted application fees, and a kiln that costs more than a supply order. 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
November came in at $6,000 once the kiln repair and critique night were counted. I kept the gallery show sale as your commission only, not the full sale price, so the number stays honest.
- Portfolio prep tuition draftCourse tuition
- Gallery show commissionGallery sale commissions
- Blick Art Materials orderArt supplies
- Kiln repairStudio equipment maintenance
- Guest critique honorariumInstructor pay
Why your books are different
Art academy books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist sees tuition and a supply order. Your academy runs a portfolio deadline crunch every fall, sells student work at a commission, and depends on a kiln that costs far more than paint and canvas. When the books do not know that, the monthly number hides more than it shows.
-
1
Gallery sale commissions get booked as the full sale price
When a student's piece sells at the winter show and the academy keeps a percentage, it is easy to deposit the whole sale and sort out the student's share later. Booked that way, the academy's revenue looks bigger than what it actually kept.
What we doBooks only the academy's commission share as revenue, with the rest passed through to the student rather than counted as income. -
2
The portfolio deadline crunch hides inside a flat monthly average
One-on-one critique sessions triple in the months before January application deadlines, and if the books assume a steady year-round pace, a packed November looks unsustainable and a quiet summer looks alarming for no real reason.
What we doTracks tuition and critique hours against the actual deadline season, so the swings make sense instead of looking like a problem. -
3
A kiln purchase reads like an art supply order
A kiln for the ceramics room can cost several thousand dollars, and filed alongside clay and glaze, it muddies the month and misses a bigger write-off it usually qualifies for.
What we doFlags a kiln or major studio equipment purchase separately, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write it off. -
4
Fronted application fees look like the academy's own expense
An academy that pays college application or exhibition entry fees for students up front, then gets reimbursed later, can end up with a cost on the books that never shows the income that offset it.
What we doKeeps fronted fees and student reimbursements paired, so nothing reads as an unexplained expense. -
5
Guest critique honorariums get lumped with staff pay
A working artist paid a flat fee for one critique night can look the same as a staff instructor's regular weekly wage if the two are not kept apart.
What we doKeeps guest critique pay in its own line, separate from staff instructor wages.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an art academy.
Set up once for how your academy gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Course tuitionPortfolio prep and regular studio class payments.
- Gallery sale commissionsThe academy's cut of student work sold at an end-of-term show.
- Reimbursed application feesCollege application and exhibition entry fees fronted for students and paid back.
- Workshop and critique feesOne-off sessions with a visiting artist, billed apart from regular tuition.
Money out
- Instructor payStaff wages and guest critique honorariums, kept in separate lines.
- Studio rentLease for classroom and studio space.
- Art suppliesPaint, canvas, and clay from Blick Art Materials or a local supplier.
- Studio equipment maintenanceKiln repair, glaze, and easel upkeep.
- Fronted application feesCollege application and exhibition entry fees paid on behalf of students.
- MarketingOpen house events and local ads before each enrollment season.
What we watch for you
- Active student count
The base your tuition rests on. A steady count matters more than one strong month.
- Portfolio season share
How much of the year's income lands in the fall crunch, so a quiet summer does not look like a bad year.
- Gallery commission net
What show sales actually bring the academy, separate from what students are owed.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things art academy 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.
Only your commission counts as your income. I book your cut as revenue and keep the rest that goes back to the student out of your books.
I keep the fee you paid and the reimbursement paired together, so it never looks like an expense with no explanation.
Usually you can. I logged it as equipment, not a supply purchase, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of an art academy.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and who counts as staff: gallery commissions booked as full sales, a kiln filed like a supply, and a guest critique artist paid like a regular instructor.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Employee or contractorA staff instructor on a set weekly schedule usually counts as an employee. A visiting artist brought in for a single critique night, paid a flat honorarium, usually counts as a contractor.
- Contractor 1099sAny guest artist or contractor paid $2,000 or more across the year who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps a running total for each one.
- Studio equipmentA kiln or other major studio equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost academy owners 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 art academies and portfolio prep studios miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Paint, canvas, and clay
- Kiln maintenance and glaze
- Guest critique honorariums
- Studio liability insurance
- Portfolio review hosting
- Open house and marketing costs
- Payment processing fees
- Business phone line
- Easels and studio furniture
- Continuing education for staff
- Exhibition entry fees
- Website hosting
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
An art academy year, kept every month.
Your busiest months are the fall portfolio crunch, and your taxes come on a schedule either way. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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 right as application deadlines wrap and the portfolio crunch eases.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the fall crunch and any gallery sales changed the number.
- October
Before the crunch
Before portfolio season ramps back up, Gus looks at kiln or studio equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December.
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 art academies and portfolio prep 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 art academy owners ask first.
We sold student work at our winter show and kept a commission. How's that counted?
Only your commission counts as your income. Gus books your cut as revenue and keeps the rest that goes back to the student out of your books.
We front application fees for students applying to art school and they pay us back. How does that work?
Gus keeps the fee you paid and the student's reimbursement paired together, so the fee never shows up as an unexplained expense with no offsetting income.
We bought a new kiln for the ceramics room. Can we write it off this year?
Usually, in the year you bought it. Gus logs it as equipment and the accountant confirms how to write it off.
Our busiest months are September through January because of portfolio deadlines. Does that mess up the monthly number?
No. Gus tracks tuition and critique hours against the actual deadline season, so a packed fall and a quiet summer both read as exactly what they are.
We bring in a working artist for one critique night a few times a year. Does she need a 1099?
If she is paid $2,000 or more across the year and is not on payroll, yes, by January 31. Gus keeps a running total so nothing crosses that line unnoticed.
Our books are a season behind. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have, and Gus sorts a season of tuition, gallery sales, and fronted fees so you know where the academy stands within about 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