Home, hobby & lifestyle retail
Books and taxes for art supply stores.
A custom framing order paid half down, a student discount at the register, a paint restock from three different manufacturers, and a weekend painting workshop. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September came in at $8,100. College students back for the semester drove the student discount line hard, so I kept that apart from full-price sales.
- Register batch, main counterIn-store sales
- Golden Paints wholesale invoiceWholesale inventory
- Framing order deposit, AlvarezCustom framing
- Weekend workshop feesClass and workshop income
- Frame moulding restockFraming supplies
Why your books are different
An art supply store's books go wrong the same handful of ways.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a register total and a supplier bill. Your shop takes a deposit on a custom frame job that takes weeks to finish, offers a student discount most shops do not track separately, and stocks paint and paper from a dozen different manufacturers. When the books miss that, your real numbers stay a guess.
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1
A framing deposit is not the whole sale
A customer pays half down on a custom frame job that will not be finished for two or three weeks. Booked as a full sale the day the deposit lands, that week's numbers get ahead of the actual work.
What we doHolds the framing order as a deposit until the piece is picked up, so the sale lands when the work is actually done. -
2
Student discounts blend into full-price sales
A student discount at the register happens dozens of times a week, but mixed into overall sales, you cannot tell how much that discount is really costing you across the semester.
What we doKeeps student-discounted sales in their own line so you can see what the program actually costs and brings in. -
3
Workshop income gets lost in retail sales
A weekend painting or drawing workshop brings in fees for instruction, sometimes with a supply kit bundled in. Blended into register totals, you cannot tell whether workshops are worth running.
What we doTracks class and workshop income in its own line, separate from retail sales of paint and paper. -
4
Frame moulding and glass get lost in general supplies
Moulding, mats, and glass bought for custom framing are a real cost of that service, but lumped into general supplies, you cannot see whether framing jobs are actually profitable.
What we doKeeps framing supplies in their own line so the true cost of each framing job is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an art supply store.
Set up once for how you sell and frame. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- In-store salesPaint, paper, and supplies at full price.
- Student salesDiscounted sales, tracked apart from full-price purchases.
- Custom framingCounted when the finished piece is picked up, not when the deposit lands.
- Class and workshop incomeFees for workshops, sometimes bundled with a supply kit.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryPaint, paper, and media from manufacturers like Golden, Canson, and Winsor & Newton.
- Framing suppliesMoulding, mats, and glass used for custom orders.
- Store rent and utilitiesThe lease, power, and water for the shop.
- Class suppliesKits and materials provided for workshops.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or your gateway keeps on every sale.
- Local advertisingSchool partnerships, local ads, and paid social.
What we watch for you
- Framing backlog
Deposits collected for frame jobs not yet finished, so you know what customers still expect.
- Student discount cost
How much the student program discounts against what it drives in traffic.
- Workshop fill rate
How full workshops are running, so you know whether to add more sessions.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across framing, classes, and retail sales, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things art supply store 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.
Next week. I hold the deposit until the framing job is actually finished and picked up, so the sale lands when the work is really done.
I keep student-discounted sales in their own line, so I can show you exactly what that discount costs against the traffic it brings in.
I track workshop income separately from retail sales, so you can see the real return before deciding to add more sessions.
The tax side
The tax side of running an art supply store.
Most of what trips up an art supply store is timing and mixed categories: a framing deposit, a student discount, and workshop income that should not blend into plain retail sales.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldWhat you paid for the paint, paper, and framing materials you actually used or sold this year reduces your taxable income, not what is still on the shelf.
- Custom framing depositsA deposit on a framing job is a liability until the finished piece is picked up, not revenue the day it is collected.
- Sales tax collectedSales tax on a sale belongs to the state the moment it is collected, whether it was a full-price sale, a student discount, or a workshop kit.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated art supply stores can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when framing, discounts, and workshops are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions art supply stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Frame moulding and glass
- Class supplies and kits
- Card processing fees
- Storefront signage
- Local advertising
- Business insurance
- Storage for backstock
- POS software subscription
- Framing equipment and tools
- Trade show travel
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Shipping and postage
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 supply store's year, kept every month.
The school year and the holiday gift season both matter, and the books stay open every month between them. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, right after the holiday gift rush.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since the spring semester began back in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer workshops changed the picture before the school year starts.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Framing supplies, gift stock, and any equipment worth buying before the year's biggest gift-buying months arrive.
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 supply stores. 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 supply store owners ask first.
Can Gus handle deposits on custom framing orders?
Yes. He holds the deposit as a liability until the finished piece is picked up, so the sale lands in the week the work is actually done, not when the customer first paid.
I offer a student discount. Does that get tracked separately?
Yes. Student-discounted sales stay in their own line so you can see exactly what the discount costs and what it brings in, semester by semester.
I run weekend workshops with supply kits included. How does that get counted?
Gus tracks workshop income in its own line, separate from retail sales, so you can see whether workshops are worth running compared to just selling supplies.
Do I need to track framing materials differently from other supplies?
Yes, and Gus does it automatically. Moulding, mats, and glass are kept in their own line so the true cost of each framing job stays visible.
My books are behind after back to school rush. Can you catch up?
Send what you have. Gus sorts through register sales, framing orders, and wholesale invoices, 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