Print, sign & promo
Books and taxes for commercial print shops.
Net-30 accounts, walk-in counter sales, rush surcharges, and a stockroom full of paper and toner. 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
February came in at $11,400. The folder-inserter you picked up is in there as equipment, not a repair, since it will run every bindery job this year.
- Client net-30 paymentRepeat accounts
- Counter sale, cardsRetail counter
- Midland Paper #4471Paper stock
- Konica Minolta leaseEquipment lease
- FedEx GroundShipping
Why your books are different
Commercial print shop books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is paper bought by the skid, bindery time, rush charges, and accounts that pay thirty days apart from customers who pay at pickup. When the books do not know that, a good month and a bad month can look identical.
-
1
A pallet of paper buries the month
Buying a skid of cover stock or a case of toner to get a bulk discount can double one month's costs and make the next look unusually clean, so you cannot tell if a slow month was really slow.
What we doKeeps paper and toner in one steady line and flags a stock-up month so it does not read as a bad one. -
2
Bindery labor hides inside supplies
Folding, cutting, and stitching time on a big brochure run often gets lumped in with the paper cost, so you cannot tell whether a job's margin came from the stock or the labor.
What we doKeeps bindery labor separate from materials so job margin is visible by the type of work. -
3
Rush fees disappear into the invoice total
A same-day business card or banner rush gets billed as one lump sum with the base job, so what a customer paid extra for speed never shows up on its own, and you cannot tell if rush work is worth the overtime.
What we doKeeps rush surcharges in their own category so you can see if rush work actually pays for the trouble. -
4
The digital press looks like a repair bill
A used digital press or bindery machine bought secondhand for $28,000 often gets coded as repairs and maintenance instead of equipment, missing a deduction that could usually be taken the year it was bought.
What we doFlags equipment purchases the day they land and logs them as equipment, then lets the accountant decide how to write it off. -
5
Net-30 accounts blur with same-day cash sales
A law firm's thirty-day invoice and a same-day walk-in counter sale get dumped into the same income line, so you cannot see how much of the month is guaranteed against what still has to be collected.
What we doKeeps invoiced accounts and counter sales in separate lines so you always know what is paid and what is still owed.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a commercial print shop.
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
- Repeat accountsNet-30 invoices from law firms, real estate offices, and other regulars.
- Retail counter salesSame-day business cards, flyers, and small runs paid at pickup.
- Rush surchargesWhat customers pay extra for same-day and next-day turnaround.
- Bindery and finishing add-onsFolding, cutting, and binding billed apart from the base print job.
- Wide-format add-onsBanners and posters ordered alongside a regular print job.
Money out
- Paper and cover stockFrom suppliers like Midland Paper, bought by the ream or the skid.
- Toner and inkFor the digital press, restocked in cases.
- Bindery suppliesStaples, glue, and coil for finishing.
- Equipment leasesThe digital press, folder-inserter, and cutter.
- Shipping and deliveryFedEx and local courier runs to client offices.
- Shop rentIncluding paper and stock storage.
- Card processing feesOn counter sales paid by card.
What we watch for you
- Materials cost ratio
Paper and toner against sales. Catches a supplier price hike before it eats a quarter's margin.
- Rush job share
How much of the month came from rush surcharges, so you know if speed work is worth chasing.
- Net-30 backlog
What is invoiced but not yet paid, so a busy month of orders is not mistaken for a busy month of cash.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things commercial print shop 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not a repair, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
You stocked up on cover stock and toner that month. I kept it in one line so you can see it was a stock-up, not a slow month.
If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I have been keeping that list as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a commercial print shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is paper sitting in the stockroom and equipment filed the wrong way. Both get fixed by keeping the books straight all year.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Paper stock and cost of goodsPaper, stock, and toner sitting in your storeroom count as inventory, not an immediate write-off. It becomes a deduction as cost of goods sold once it is actually used on a job.
- Equipment write-offsA digital press, folder-inserter, or cutter usually counts as business equipment that can often be written off the year it is bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA freelance designer or proofer who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions commercial print shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Paper and cover stock
- Toner and ink cartridges
- Bindery supplies and staples
- Press and cutter maintenance
- Design software subscriptions
- Shipping and delivery costs
- Rush order overtime
- Shop rent and storage
- Card processing fees
- Sample and proof printing
- Trade publication subscriptions
- Delivery van fuel
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 commercial print shop year, kept every month.
Orders come in steady most of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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
Set up the print year
Last year's return gets started, the freelance designer's 1099 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed, with a year of paper stock and rush surcharges already sorted into what counted against a job.
- July
Midyear read
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether that spring rush of rebrand jobs changed the number.
- October
Before year-end orders
Corporate clients often push brochure and collateral jobs through before their budgets expire. Gus looks at any equipment worth buying 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 commercial print shops. 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 commercial print shop owners ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between a rush job and a regular one?
Yes. Rush surcharges get their own category, so you can see how much of a month came from same-day and next-day work instead of it disappearing into the total.
I run most jobs through shop management software on my computer. Does that change anything?
No. Keep working the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is not clear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I have to separate my walk-in counter sales from my net-30 accounts?
You do not have to do anything differently. Gus splits invoiced accounts from same-day counter sales automatically, so you can see what is already paid and what is still owed.
My paper supplier gave me a bulk discount, so I bought a lot at once. Will that mess up my books?
No. Gus keeps paper and toner in one steady line and flags a stock-up month so it does not read like your business had a bad month.
Should I write off my new press all at once?
Often you can. A press or bindery machine bought for the shop usually qualifies for a full write-off the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading the deduction out works out better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
My books are a mess from last year. 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.
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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