Local media & publishing
Books and taxes for community and city magazines.
Glossy ad packages, a holiday gift guide issue, newsstand consignment, and the freelance writers and photographers on every masthead. 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
November brought in $13,500. The holiday gift guide print run hit this month, so I logged it as one large printing cost instead of letting it look like a normal month gone over budget.
- Meridian Press, print runPrinting costs
- Half-page ad, Riverside AutoAdvertiser packages
- Newsstand consignmentNewsstand sales
- Getty Images licenseStock photo licenses
- M. Chen, contributing photographerFreelance contributors
Why your books are different
A city magazine's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees ad revenue and a printing bill. Your magazine runs on advertiser packages sold months before an issue prints, a big seasonal issue that costs far more than a normal month, and newsstand copies that come back unsold. Miss any of that and the wrong month looks like the good one.
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1
A quarterly print run isn't a monthly cost
A holiday gift guide or a spring home issue can cost three or four times a normal print run, and if it lands as one month's printing expense, that month looks like a disaster and the following quiet months look unusually strong.
What we doFlags a big seasonal print run the day the invoice lands, so you see it for what it is, a cost tied to one specific issue. -
2
Advertiser packages sold before the issue ships
A local business books a full-page ad and a sponsored event listing for the spring issue in January, and if the whole payment counts as income the day it arrives, January looks flush and spring, when the issue actually runs, looks thin.
What we doHolds an advertiser package as unearned until the issue it runs in actually ships, so income lines up with the work. -
3
Newsstand copies get returned and credited
A distributor pays for copies placed on the rack, then credits back what did not sell weeks later. Booking the first payment as final revenue overstates the issue, and the later credit looks like a random loss.
What we doTracks the newsstand payment and the later return credit as one transaction, so circulation revenue reflects what actually sold. -
4
Freelance writers and photographers on every masthead
A single issue might credit ten different freelance writers and photographers at different rates, and without a running total nobody can say who crossed $2,000 for the year until January.
What we doKeeps a running list of every contributor paid across the year, so the 1099 list is ready before the deadline.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a city magazine.
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
- Advertiser packagesFull-page, half-page, and sponsored listing deals sold by the issue.
- Newsstand salesDistributor payments net of returns and unsold copy credits.
- Sponsored contentAdvertorial features billed at their own rate, kept apart from straight ads.
- Best of the city votingSponsor packages and reader voting fees tied to an annual awards issue.
Money out
- Freelance writers and photographersContributors paid per feature, per photo shoot, or per issue.
- Printing costsPress runs through a commercial printer like Meridian or a regional shop.
- Distribution and deliveryNewsstand placement, mail subscriptions, and delivery drivers.
- Stock photo licensesGetty or iStock images for stories without an assigned photographer.
- Design and layout softwareAdobe Creative Cloud for InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
- Editorial and event accessTickets and mileage to cover the events the magazine features.
What we watch for you
- Ad renewal rate
How many advertisers rebook the next issue, which tells you where revenue is headed before the call does.
- Print cost per issue
What a single issue actually costs to produce, since a big theme issue can double it.
- Newsstand sell-through
What share of printed copies actually sell versus get returned, before the distributor's credit shows up.
- Freelance cost
What contributors cost against what the issue brought in.
Ask Gus
Things city magazine 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.
Not to me. I flagged it as a seasonal print run tied to one issue, so it will not read as a normal month that got out of hand.
When the spring issue actually ships. I hold it as unearned until then, so the numbers match when the work happens.
If any of them cross $2,000 for the year, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that running list as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a community magazine.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A seasonal print run booked as a normal month, a contributor never tracked, and a set-aside started too late.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Freelance contributor 1099sAny writer, photographer, or designer not on staff paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list all year.
- Printing and production costsPress runs, plates, and paper stock are ordinary deductible business costs, tracked the month the bill hits regardless of when the issue was planned.
- The pass-through deductionAd package sales, newsstand revenue, and sponsored features all count toward the up to 20 percent of business profit most owner-operated magazines can deduct from their taxable income. Above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, the accountant checks how much applies.
- Self-employment taxA solo publisher not paid through payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, whether the year's profit rode on a strong holiday issue or steady ad renewals, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
Deductions community and city magazines miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Freelance writer and photographer fees
- Printing and press costs
- Newsstand distribution fees
- Stock photo licenses
- Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
- Editorial event tickets
- Mileage to cover local features
- Business liability insurance
- Website hosting and domain
- Mailing and postage for subscribers
- Awards issue trophies and printing
- Professional press 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
A city magazine's year, kept every month.
Big theme issues do not happen on a quiet schedule, and taxes do not wait for the slow months either. The books close every month, whichever issue is on press. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the issue calendar
Last year's return gets started, every freelance photographer and writer's 1099 is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed ahead of the spring issue
Your return is filed and signed well before the spring advertiser push lands, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear ad check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring advertiser renewals came in as planned.
- October
Before the big issue
The holiday gift guide print run and its advertiser packages start landing. Gus flags the costs early so November doesn't look off.
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 community and city magazines. 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 city magazine owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a print run that costs way more than a normal month?
He flags it as a seasonal cost tied to one issue, so a big theme issue does not read as a normal month gone over budget.
An advertiser paid months before their ad actually runs. Does that mess up my numbers?
No. Gus holds that payment as unearned until the issue ships, so the income shows up when the work does.
My distributor credits back unsold newsstand copies. How does that get tracked?
Gus ties the original payment and the later return credit together, so your circulation revenue reflects what actually sold.
I use freelance photographers for almost every issue. Do I need to track anything myself?
No. Send the bank statement and Gus keeps the running total for each contributor. Anyone who crosses $2,000 for the year gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
My books are behind by a couple of issues. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever bank statements you have, even if a full print cycle has passed since you last looked. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, and you will know where the magazine stands before the next issue ships.
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