IT & tech services

Books and taxes for copier and printer dealers.

A copier leased to a law office through a financing company, a per-page click charge billed quarterly, toner sold between service calls, and a service contract that covers parts and labor. Your own bookkeeper sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
MayExample month
$11,300
what you made

May came in at $11,300. Quarterly click charge billing landed for eight clients this month, so I kept that apart from the leasing commissions, they run on different clocks.

  • Leasing company commissionLease commissions
  • Click charge billing, 8 clientsClick charge income
  • Toner and supply salesToner and supplies
  • Konica Minolta parts orderParts and toner cost
  • Copier technician wagesWages
Money in$42,800
Money out$31,500
Set aside for taxes$2,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Copier dealer books go wrong at the lease commission and the click charge.

A generalist sees a sale and a service bill. Your business runs on a commission from a leasing company instead of owning the machine outright, click charges billed on a quarterly cycle, and toner sales that happen between service calls. When the books blend those, you cannot tell which stream actually funds the business day to day.

  1. 1

    A lease commission is not the same as a hardware sale

    When a copier is placed through a financing company and you earn a commission instead of the full sale price, booking it like you sold the machine outright overstates what that placement actually earned you.

    What we doBooks lease commissions as their own income, separate from any machines you sell outright.
  2. 2

    Click charges run on a different clock than everything else

    Per-page click charges often bill quarterly rather than monthly, so a quarter's worth of income landing in one month can make that month look unusually strong and the two before it look thin.

    What we doKeeps click charge income in its own line and flags which months are actually a quarter's worth landing at once.
  3. 3

    Toner sold between service calls gets lost in service revenue

    A toner cartridge sold to a client outside of a service contract is a straightforward retail sale, but if it is lumped in with service contract billing, you cannot tell how much toner sales alone are worth to the business.

    What we doKeeps toner and supply sales in their own line, apart from service contract income.
  4. 4

    A service contract's cost creeps past what it was priced for

    A flat service contract covering parts and labor can start costing more than it brings in if a machine needs more visits than expected, and without tracking parts and labor against the contract price, a bad contract can run for months unnoticed.

    What we doTracks parts and labor cost against each service contract's price, so a contract running behind shows up before it becomes a habit.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a copier and printer dealer.

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

  • Lease commissionsPayouts from financing companies on placed machines.
  • Click charge incomePer-page billing, often on a quarterly cycle.
  • Toner and suppliesRetail sales of toner and parts outside service contracts.
  • Service contract feesFlat fees covering parts and labor for a fleet of machines.

Money out

  • Parts and toner costDistributor invoices from Konica Minolta, Xerox, Canon, and similar suppliers.
  • WagesPay for field technicians, kept apart from contractor pay.
  • Vehicle costsFuel and repairs for techs driving to client sites.
  • Business insuranceGeneral liability and equipment coverage.
  • Warehouse or shop rentStorage for demo units and parts inventory.

What we watch for you

  • Contract margin

    Parts and labor cost against each service contract's price, so a losing contract shows up early.

  • Click charge timing

    Which months carry a quarter's worth of click billing, so those months are not mistaken for growth.

  • Toner sales share

    Toner and supply income against total income, worth knowing on its own from service contracts.

  • The set-aside

    The set-aside tracks lease commissions and click billing together, even though they land on different schedules.

Ask Gus

Things copier dealer 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.

A machine got placed through a leasing company and I only got a commission. Does that count the same as a sale?

No, I book lease commissions as their own income, separate from machines you sell outright, so the numbers stay honest.

Click charges for a bunch of clients all landed this month. Does that mean business is booming?

I flagged that as a quarter's worth of click billing landing at once, not new growth. The last two months were just waiting on this one.

One client's service contract seems to need way more visits than it used to. Would I even notice that in the numbers?

Yes, I track parts and labor against each contract's price, so a contract that is running behind shows up before it becomes a habit.

The tax side

The tax side of a copier and printer dealer.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing: click charges landing on their own cycle, and lease commissions counted like a full hardware sale.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Equipment write-offsDemo machines and shop equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them.
  • Inventory of toner and partsToner and parts kept in stock are inventory, and their cost usually counts against income when a sale or service call uses them.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when commissions, click charges, and service costs are tracked apart all year.
  • State sales tax on hardware and suppliesSelling toner, parts, or machines can trigger sales tax obligations that vary by state, worth confirming directly rather than assuming either way.

Deductions copier and printer dealers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Demo units and loaner machines
  • Toner and parts inventory
  • Technician vehicle mileage
  • Business insurance
  • Shop or warehouse rent
  • Diagnostic and repair tools
  • Business phone and mobile data
  • Certification and training fees
  • Trade show travel
  • Local advertising
  • Contractor and referral payments
  • Card and financing processing 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 copier dealer year, kept every month.

Click charges bill on their own cycle and service calls come whenever a machine jams. Your team stays on the books every month, not just at tax time. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Leases reset

    Last year's return gets started, and a monthly set-aside is planned around commissions and click billing so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed, contracts steady

    Your return is filed and signed, with lease commissions and click charges already sorted apart.

  3. July

    Halfway through the leases

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether any service contracts are running behind on cost.

  4. October

    Before contracts renew

    Gus looks at demo machines or shop equipment worth buying before December and flags any contracts worth repricing.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 copier and printer dealers. 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 copier dealer owners ask first.

I earn a commission when a machine is leased instead of selling it outright. Does that get tracked differently?

Yes. Lease commissions are booked as their own income, separate from machines you sell outright, so neither number gets overstated.

My click charges bill quarterly, not monthly. Does that make my income look uneven?

Gus flags which months carry a quarter's worth of click billing, so those months are not mistaken for sudden growth.

Do I need to track toner sales separately from my service contracts?

Yes. Toner and supply sales get their own line, so you can see what that side of the business is worth on its own.

Can Gus tell me if a service contract is losing money?

Yes. Parts and labor cost gets tracked against each contract's price, so a contract running behind shows up before it becomes a habit.

My books are behind because commissions and click charges were never separated. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts lease commissions from click charges and toner sales, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand 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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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