Personal & lifestyle services
Books and taxes for closet and wardrobe consultants.
A full-day closet edit, a capsule wardrobe built from what a client already owns, a consignment commission on the clothes she let go of, and drives between homes across the city. 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
April brought in $4,600. The consignment commission on a client's donated designer pieces landed in its own line, apart from your session fees.
- Closet edit session feesCloset edit sessions
- Capsule wardrobe project feeCapsule wardrobe building
- Consignment shop commissionConsignment and resale commissions
- Storage bins and garment bagsCloset organizing supplies
- Shell fuel, client home visitsVehicle and mileage
Why your books are different
Closet and wardrobe consultant books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is closet edit sessions, capsule wardrobes built from clothes a client already owns, a commission when donated or consigned pieces sell, and driving between homes all day. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.
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1
Consignment commissions arrive weeks after the closet edit
A commission on client clothes sold through a consignment shop often lands weeks or months after the actual edit session, so an owner tracking income by the visit cannot tell what a given month actually earned.
What we doBooks consignment commission income to the month it is received and keeps it in its own line, so a delayed payout does not get lost or double-counted. -
2
Session fees and project-based capsule work blur together
A single closet edit session prices very differently than a full capsule wardrobe project built over several visits, and lumped into one line, you cannot tell which kind of work is actually worth your time.
What we doKeeps closet edit sessions and capsule wardrobe projects in separate lines so you can see what each is really worth. -
3
Organizing supplies get filed as a personal purchase
Bins, matching hangers, and garment bags bought for client closets are real business supplies, but run through a personal card during a shopping trip they often never make it onto the books at all.
What we doFlags organizing supplies bought for client work and keeps them apart from personal spending. -
4
Driving between closets adds up unnoticed
Driving to two or three client homes a day across a metro area racks up real mileage that is a legitimate write-off, but if nobody logs it, it disappears every year.
What we doKeeps a running note of client visits and vehicle costs so mileage does not quietly disappear from the return.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a closet and wardrobe consulting business.
Set up once for how sessions and commissions get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Closet edit sessionsSingle-day or half-day closet edit and decluttering sessions.
- Capsule wardrobe buildingMulti-visit projects building a wardrobe from existing pieces.
- Consignment and resale commissionsCommission earned when a client's donated or consigned pieces sell.
- Seasonal closet swapsFees for rotating a client's wardrobe between seasons.
Money out
- Closet organizing suppliesBins, hangers, and garment bags used in client closets.
- Vehicle and mileageFuel and maintenance for driving between client homes.
- Marketing and portfolioWebsite hosting, before-and-after photos, and promotion.
- Continuing educationCourses in wardrobe consulting or professional organizing.
- Business insuranceLiability coverage for in-home work.
What we watch for you
- Consignment commission timing
How much commission income is outstanding versus received. It keeps a delayed payout from looking like a slow month.
- Session versus project mix
Single closet edits against multi-visit capsule projects. It shows which kind of work is worth taking more of.
- Mileage cost
What driving between homes costs against sessions completed. It flags when travel is quietly eating into a session's real value.
- The set-aside
The running tax bill, tracked every month, so April is already a known figure.
Ask Gus
Things closet and wardrobe consultants 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 book it to the month it actually arrived and kept it in its own line, so you can still see it clearly against your session fees.
Per hour, yes, capsule projects are running a bit ahead right now. I keep them separate so you can watch that as you decide what to book more of.
Yes, if it was bought for that client's project. I flag organizing supplies so they do not get lost as personal spending.
The tax side
The tax side of a closet and wardrobe consulting business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and what counts as a business expense. Consignment payouts arriving late, supplies mixed with personal spending, 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 session feesFor a closet consulting business, 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.
- Mileage between closetsTime behind the wheel going from closet to closet counts: 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026, and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026.
- Form 1099-K from consignment appsA consignment or resale 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.
- The pass-through profit breakFor a closet consulting business, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.
Deductions closet and wardrobe consultants miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Closet organizing bins and hangers
- Garment bags and labels
- Vehicle mileage or fuel and repairs
- Portfolio and before-and-after photography
- Website and marketing
- Continuing education courses
- Business liability insurance
- Phone and tablet for client sessions
- Home office space for planning
- Professional association dues
- Storage for client donation pickups
- Client welcome guides or style materials
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 closet and wardrobe consultant's year, kept every month.
Seasonal closet swaps and New Year decluttering bring the busiest stretches, and sessions run steadily the rest of the year. 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
Reset for the year
For a closet consulting business, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.
- April
Filed and wrapped up
For a closet consulting business, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
The summer checkpoint
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring closet swaps changed the number.
- October
Before holiday closet swaps
Households prepping closets for holiday travel and events bring more session requests. 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 closet and wardrobe consultants. 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 closet and wardrobe consultants ask first.
My consignment commissions arrive late. Does that throw off my books?
No. Gus books commission income to the month it is actually received and keeps it in its own line, so a delayed payout does not get lost or confused with your session fees.
Can Gus tell my closet edits apart from capsule wardrobe projects?
Yes. Closet edit sessions and capsule wardrobe projects are kept in separate lines, so you can see what each kind of work is really worth.
Can I write off bins and hangers I buy for client closets?
Yes, if they are bought for a specific client's project. Gus flags those purchases so they do not get lost as personal spending.
Do I need to log mileage between client homes exactly?
A running estimate is enough for me to work with. Gus keeps vehicle costs in their own line so the deduction does not get missed.
My books are behind from a busy season of client sessions. Is that fixable?
No, that is fine. Send whatever bank statements you have and Gus catches up the backlog, with the accountant checking the work, usually 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