Paint, craft & maker studios
Books and taxes for candle making studios.
Pour-your-own sessions paid today and picked up after a two-week cure, fragrance oils that cost five times more for one scent than another, and a fall scent lineup that carries the year. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
October made $11,400. Fall scent pours carried the month, and I kept your luxury fragrance oils in their own line since they cost far more per ounce than the everyday scents.
- Pour bar sessionsCandle pouring
- Retail candle salesRetail candles
- Soy wax order, bulkWax and vessels
- Fragrance oil orderFragrance oil
- Studio rentRent and utilities
Why your books are different
A candle bar's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees pour fees and supply bills. Your business is fragrance oil that costs wildly different amounts scent to scent, wax bought by the pallet, and candles that cannot be picked up until they cure for a week or two. When the books do not know that, a strong pour month can hide a fragrance line losing money.
-
1
Fragrance oil cost gets averaged across every scent
A luxury or designer-inspired fragrance oil can cost several times what a simple vanilla or lavender scent runs, so if every pour is priced the same and every fragrance purchase is lumped together, the studio has no way to see which scents are actually profitable.
What we doKeeps fragrance oil purchases visible against pour pricing, so premium scent options can be priced to cover their real cost. -
2
Cure time separates payment from pickup
A customer pays for their pour the day they make it, but the candle needs one to two weeks to cure before it can be picked up or shipped. That gap rarely causes real problems, but it means a big group pour party paid for today may not be picked up, or the wicks trimmed and checked, until well into the next reporting week.
What we doKeeps pour income tied to the day the work was done, so the books reflect when the session actually happened. -
3
A wax and vessel order distorts one month
A bulk order of soy wax, jars, and wicks can cover two or three months of pours, but if the whole bill lands in one month's books, that month looks like it barely made money while the supplies sit on the shelf.
What we doKeeps wax and vessel purchases in one steady line and flags a bulk order so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one. -
4
Discontinued scents become dead stock nobody counts
A fragrance oil that does not sell gets pulled from the lineup, but the unused inventory sitting in the back does not disappear from what was already paid for it, and it rarely gets written off the books.
What we doFlags fragrance oil that has not moved in months, so you can decide whether to discount it, use it in melts, or write it off. -
5
Wholesale orders to gift shops blend into retail
A local gift shop that buys a dozen candles at a wholesale price rings through the same channel as a single retail sale, making it hard to see whether wholesale accounts are worth the discount you give them.
What we doKeeps wholesale orders in their own line, separate from retail and pour bar income.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a candle bar.
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
- Candle pouringPour-your-own sessions, priced by vessel size and fragrance chosen.
- Retail candlesPre-made candles and wax melts sold off the shelf.
- Party bookingsBirthday and group events paid with a deposit.
- Wholesale ordersBulk sales to local gift shops, kept separate from retail pricing.
- Gift card redemptionsMoved into revenue only when a card is actually used.
Money out
- Wax and vesselsSoy or coconut wax, jars, and wicks bought in bulk.
- Fragrance oilScent inventory, tracked since cost varies widely by fragrance.
- Labels and packagingJar labels, boxes, and gift wrap.
- Studio rent and utilitiesSpace and ventilation for the pour bar.
- Staff payPour bar assistants and party hosts.
- MarketingLocal ads, especially before fall and the holidays.
- InsuranceGeneral liability, given the melted wax and open flames.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Fragrance cost per pour
What each scent actually costs against what a pour is priced at.
- Wholesale share
How much of revenue comes from gift shop accounts versus retail and pours.
- Dead scent stock
Fragrance oil that has not moved in months, worth discounting or clearing.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things candle bar 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.
It is worth a look. I keep fragrance costs tracked by scent, so you can see which pours are barely breaking even against their fragrance cost.
As a wholesale sale, kept separate from your retail and pour bar income, so you can see whether that account is worth the discount over time.
For now, yes, but I flagged them since they have not moved. Whether to write them off is a call the accountant can help you make.
The tax side
The tax side of a candle bar.
Most of what goes wrong here is wax and fragrance treated like a flat monthly bill instead of inventory, and dead stock nobody wrote off.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Wax and fragrance as inventoryWax, vessels, and fragrance oil bought in bulk are inventory until used, then they become the cost of the candle sold. Tracking roughly what is on the shelf keeps the return accurate.
- Writing off unsold inventoryFragrance oil or vessels that will never sell can sometimes be written off as worthless inventory, which lowers taxable income. The accountant needs to see the pattern first.
- Sales tax on candles and poursMost states tax the finished candle a customer takes home. Whether a pour session fee is taxed the same way as retail merchandise depends on your state.
- Equipment and workstation depreciationPour stations, melters, and heat guns bought for the studio can usually be written off in the year they are bought, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
Deductions candle making studios and candle bars miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wax and wicks
- Fragrance oil
- Jars and vessels
- Labels and packaging
- Pour station equipment
- Studio rent and utilities
- Liability insurance
- Local social ads
- Card processing fees
- Aprons and gloves
- Gift wrap and boxes
- Cleaning supplies
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 candle bar year, kept every month.
Fall scents, holiday gift sets, and a slower spring all pull differently. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the return both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Clear the fall stock
Leftover fall and holiday scents get cleared out, last year's return gets started, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- 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 how spring scent sales and wholesale accounts have tracked so far.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Gus looks at fragrance oil and vessel stock, staffing for party bookings, and any equipment worth buying before the busiest weeks of the year.
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 candle making studios and candle bars. 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 candle bar owners ask first.
Do I need to price every scent the same if the fragrance oils cost different amounts?
That is a pricing choice, but Gus tracks fragrance cost by scent so you have the real numbers to decide with, instead of guessing which pours actually make money.
How does Gus handle candles that get paid for but not picked up for two weeks?
Income is tied to the day the pour happened, not the pickup date, so the cure-time gap does not shift which week looks busy on your books.
We sell wholesale to a couple of local shops. Does that mix in with retail?
No. Wholesale orders are kept in their own category, separate from retail and pour bar income, so you can see whether those accounts are worth the discount.
Is a bulk wax order going to make a month look bad?
Gus keeps wax and vessel purchases in a steady monthly line and flags a big stock-up, so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one.
What happens to fragrance oil that never sells?
Gus flags scents that have not moved in months. Whether to discount, repurpose into melts, or write them off as worthless inventory is a call the accountant can help with.
My books are behind from running the register off a tablet app. Can Gus still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand 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.
More in paint, craft & maker studios
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Craft party franchises & mobile craft parties
- DIY wood sign & woodworking workshops
- Flower arranging workshops
- Glass fusing studios
- Glassblowing studios
- Kids art studios & art classes
- Knitting & yarn shops
- Leathercraft workshops
- Makerspaces
- Mosaic studios
- Paint-and-sip studios
- Paint-your-own-pottery (PYOP) studios
- Painting & drawing studios for adults
- Perfume & fragrance bars
- Pottery wheel & ceramics studios
- Resin art studios
- Scrapbooking & paper craft stores
- Sewing & quilting studios
- Soap & bath bomb making studios
- Stained glass studios
- Terrarium bars
- Tie-dye & screen printing workshops
- Permanent jewelry & jewelry making studios
- Blacksmithing & forging classes
- Chocolate & truffle making classes
- Cocktail & mixology classes
- Content creator studios
- Cookie decorating classes
- Cooking schools & recreational cooking classes
- Green screen & video studios for rent
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