Personal & lifestyle services
Books and taxes for astrologers.
A one-time natal chart reading, a paid monthly horoscope subscription, a self-paced course sold online, and chart software you renew every year. Your own bookkeeper stays on 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
January cleared $4,900, your strongest month of the year. New Year course enrollments made up almost half of it, so I kept that apart from your one-on-one readings.
- Natal chart reading feesOne-on-one chart readings
- Self-paced course enrollmentsCourse and workshop sales
- Monthly horoscope subscription payoutsSubscription content
- Chart software annual renewalChart and ephemeris software
- Course hosting service feeCourse hosting fees
Why your books are different
Astrologer books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business mixes one-time chart readings, an ongoing paid subscription, self-paced course sales, and annual software renewals that hit all at once. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.
-
1
Subscription income gets counted the same as a one-time reading
A monthly horoscope subscription is a standing commitment that renews on its own, while a natal chart reading is a single paid session, and lumped together you cannot tell how much of next month is already guaranteed.
What we doKeeps subscription content revenue separate from one-time chart readings, so you can see how much income is recurring versus one-off. -
2
A course sale gets counted before students actually access it
A self-paced course sold in a January enrollment push gets paid for upfront, but the value delivers over the weeks a student works through it, so counting the whole enrollment revenue in one month can overstate that month.
What we doKeeps course revenue visible against your own delivery pattern, so a big enrollment push does not skew one month more than it should. -
3
An annual software renewal wrecks a monthly number
Chart calculation software and ephemeris data subscriptions often renew once a year in a lump sum, and paid in one month, it makes that month look far worse than a typical one.
What we doFlags annual software renewals so a one-time yearly cost does not get mistaken for an ongoing spending problem. -
4
The business side never quite gets set up
A practice that started with readings for friends and grew into paid client work often keeps informal or no books long after the money is real, which makes it hard to show the practice is run for profit and to claim its full deductions.
What we doSets up real books from the first paying client and keeps them running that way, so the practice looks and files like the business it is.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an astrology business.
Set up once for how readings, subscriptions, and courses get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- One-on-one chart readingsNatal, relationship, and transit reading sessions.
- Subscription contentRecurring monthly horoscope or forecast subscriptions.
- Course and workshop salesSelf-paced courses and live workshop enrollments.
- Corporate or media appearancesPaid speaking, media, or brand collaboration fees.
Money out
- Chart and ephemeris softwareSoftware and data subscriptions used to calculate charts.
- Course hosting feesFees paid to a course hosting service for delivering enrolled content.
- Marketing and websiteWebsite hosting, social media promotion, and advertising.
- Continuing educationCourses and training to build astrology skills.
- Business insuranceLiability coverage for client-facing work.
What we watch for you
- Subscription share
How much of revenue is standing subscriptions versus one-time readings. It shows how much of next month is already guaranteed.
- Course revenue timing
Course sales against your own delivery pattern. It flags when an enrollment push is skewing a single month.
- Software renewal cost
Annual software costs tracked apart from monthly spending. It keeps a yearly renewal from looking like a spending spike.
- The set-aside
What you owe on the year, kept current monthly, so April is not a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things astrologers 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.
Not at all. I keep course revenue tracked against your own delivery pattern, so a strong enrollment push shows up clearly without skewing how the rest of the year reads.
I flagged that as your annual chart software renewal, not a new spending problem. It happens once a year and I keep it labeled that way.
Not once you are keeping real books and treating it like a business, which is exactly what we are doing now.
The tax side
The tax side of an astrology business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and whether the practice reads as a real business. Course income counted too early, a yearly software bill, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment tax on reading incomeFor an astrology practice, self-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax when the owner is not paid through payroll, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- Form 1099-K from payment appsA payment app or course hosting service may issue a 1099-K once payouts cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. Every dollar is taxable whether or not a form ever arrives.
- Running the practice as a businessThe IRS looks at whether a practice is run in a businesslike way, with real books and a genuine effort to be profitable. Clean records support that an astrology practice is a real business, not a hobby.
- The profit-based deductionMost owner-operators can deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income before tax, a figure that depends on accurate books all year.
Deductions astrologers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Chart and ephemeris software
- Course hosting fees
- Website and social media promotion
- Continuing education courses
- Business liability insurance
- Home office space for readings
- Video call software for sessions
- Course production equipment
- Business cards and marketing materials
- Payment processing fees
- Reference books and study materials
- Professional astrology association dues
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 astrologer's year, kept every month.
New Year interest brings the busiest stretch of readings and course sales, and subscriptions run steady the rest of the year. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the tax deadlines. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Chart the year ahead
For an astrology practice, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.
- April
The return is closed
For an astrology practice, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear stock-take
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether course and reading volume changed the number.
- October
Before the new year rush
As new year reading and course interest starts building, Gus looks at any moves worth making 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 astrologers. 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 astrologers ask first.
Can Gus keep my subscription income separate from one-time readings?
Yes. Standing subscription content and one-time chart readings are kept in separate lines, so you can see how much of next month is already guaranteed.
My course enrollment payments come in all at once. Does that overstate my income?
Gus tracks course revenue against your own delivery pattern, so a big enrollment push does not make one month look bigger than the work of delivering that course.
My annual software renewal makes one month look expensive. Is that a problem?
No. Gus flags annual software renewals so a once-a-year bill does not get mistaken for an ongoing spending increase.
Do I owe tax on payments even without a 1099-K?
Yes. Every dollar counts as income whether or not a 1099-K or any other form shows up.
My books are behind from focusing on readings and courses. Is that fixable?
It is fixable. Send whatever bank statements you have and Gus works through the backlog, with the accountant checking the work, typically inside 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