Creative & production services
Books and taxes for church marketing agencies.
A sermon series graphics package, a year-end donor campaign for a ministry client, livestream production equipment, and a freelance editor on a Christmas promo video. 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 $10,800. Three ministry clients ran year-end donor campaigns this month, so that project income showed up clearly against your usual monthly retainer work.
- Year-end donor campaigns x3Campaign project income
- Sermon series retainer clientsRetainer income
- Livestream camera upgradeEquipment
- N. Whitfield video editingFreelance editors
- Design and streaming softwareSoftware
Why your books are different
Church marketing agency books go wrong at the campaign spike and the client type.
A generalist sees a design shop with a nonprofit-adjacent client list. Your business runs sermon series graphics on a weekly retainer schedule, year-end donor campaigns that spike hard around specific dates, livestream production equipment, and freelance editors brought in around the busiest church seasons. When the books blend those, the calendar makes no sense.
-
1
Donor campaign spikes look like unexplained revenue jumps
Year-end and Easter donor campaigns can bring in a burst of project work concentrated in just a few weeks, and if that is not tracked as its own category, those months look randomly huge compared to quieter stretches.
What we doKeeps campaign project income in its own line, tied to the season it belongs to, so a spike reads as an expected pattern, not a mystery. -
2
Your client being tax-exempt does not change your own taxes
Working mostly with churches and ministries that are themselves tax-exempt can create the mistaken impression that the agency's own income gets special treatment.
What we doKeeps your books on the same ordinary business footing as any other agency, since your client's tax status does not change yours. -
3
Livestream equipment gets filed as a supply
Cameras, switchers, and streaming encoders for a church's weekly broadcast can cost thousands, and filed as a supply purchase it wrecks the month and misses the equipment write-off.
What we doFlags camera and switcher purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off. -
4
A freelance editor around Christmas and Easter looks like routine overhead
Bringing in extra editing help around the two busiest seasons of the church calendar means paying invoices that can land next to your regular software bills instead of showing up as the seasonal cost it is.
What we doKeeps freelance editor payments in their own line, apart from seasonal software bills, and tracks each contractor toward the 1099 threshold. -
5
Weekly retainer work and one-off campaigns get mixed together
A steady weekly sermon graphics retainer and a one-time Easter campaign package both show up as generic sales, making it hard to see your real recurring floor.
What we doKeeps retainer income separate from one-off campaign income so you can see the base you can count on.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a church marketing agency.
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
- Retainer incomeWeekly or monthly sermon graphics and design work.
- Campaign project incomeDonor campaigns tied to Easter, Christmas, or year-end giving.
- Livestream production feesOngoing or one-off livestream setup and production work.
- Rush feesCharged for a faster turnaround around a specific service date.
Money out
- EquipmentCameras, switchers, and encoders, logged so they get written off right.
- Freelance editors and designersContractors brought in around busy church seasons.
- SoftwareDesign, video editing, and streaming software.
- Stock assetsStock photos, fonts, and motion graphics templates.
- Travel to client sitesTravel for on-site livestream setup or filming.
What we watch for you
- Retainer floor
Steady weekly or monthly income against total income, the base you can count on before a seasonal campaign.
- Campaign spike timing
How much of your income concentrates around Easter, Christmas, and year end, so a spike reads as expected.
- Editor spend
What you pay seasonal freelance editors against total income, tracked toward 1099 season.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across retainer and campaign income, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things church marketing agency 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 keep campaign project income tied to the season it belongs to, so a December spike like that reads as an expected pattern, not something to worry about.
No, your client's tax-exempt status does not change yours. Your agency is an ordinary taxable business, and I keep your books on that same footing.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a church marketing agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is confusion about your client's tax status and equipment filed as supplies.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Your agency is an ordinary taxable businessServing tax-exempt churches and ministries as clients does not change your own business's tax treatment. Income and expenses are handled the same as any other agency.
- Livestream and production equipmentBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025, covering most livestream camera purchases.
- Contractor 1099s for seasonal helpAny editor or designer not on payroll 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 agencies can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when the books are right all year.
Deductions church and ministry marketing agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Livestream cameras and switchers
- Design and video editing software
- Freelance editor and designer fees
- Stock photos and motion templates
- Travel to client sites
- Streaming encoders and cabling
- Continuing education courses
- Coworking or home office share
- Computer and monitor upgrades
- Portfolio site hosting
- Business insurance
- Accounting and legal fees
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 church marketing agency's year, kept every month.
Easter and Christmas drive the busiest stretches. Your books stay current no matter the season, 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 video editor 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside means 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, right around Easter season.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how spring campaign work changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday push
Christmas and year-end donor campaigns are the busiest stretch of the year. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before the rush and 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 church and ministry marketing agencies. 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 church marketing agency owners ask first.
Since my clients are tax-exempt churches, does my own business get any special tax treatment?
No, your agency is an ordinary taxable business regardless of your clients' status. Your team keeps your books on the same footing as any other agency.
My income spikes hard every Easter and Christmas. Will that look like a red flag?
No, Gus tracks campaign income against the season it belongs to, so an expected spike around those dates reads as exactly that.
Do I write off a new livestream camera setup all at once?
Often you can. Livestream cameras and switchers 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.
I bring in extra editors only during Christmas and Easter crunch time. Does that still need a 1099?
If they are not on payroll and you pay them $2,000 or more in 2026, yes. Gus tracks each one's total across the year no matter how seasonal the work is.
My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have, even mid-campaign. Gus sorts retainer and campaign income into the right lines 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