Dental
Books and taxes for cosmetic dentists.
Veneer and whitening cases paid mostly in cash or financing, design and consultation fees, and the photography that sells the next case. Gus sorts every deposit, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February made $17,750. Almost all of it was cash pay and financing since cosmetic work rarely runs through insurance, and I kept the smile design software apart from your regular practice software.
- Veneer case paymentCosmetic case payments
- CareCredit payoutPatient financing
- Smile design software feeTreatment planning software
- Photography equipment leaseMarketing and photography
- Whitening product orderCosmetic supplies
Why your books are different
A cosmetic practice's books go wrong in four familiar places.
Your practice runs almost entirely on cash pay and financing, not insurance, and the photography that sells the next case is a real cost. A generalist bookkeeper who expects a typical dental revenue mix misreads a normal month.
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1
Almost nothing here runs through insurance
Veneers, whitening, and smile makeovers are elective, so nearly all revenue is cash pay or financing rather than insurance claims. A generalist bookkeeper expecting insurance deposits misreads a normal month as something unusual.
What we doTreats cash pay and financing as the practice's normal revenue pattern, not a red flag, and tracks it the way this kind of practice actually runs. -
2
Before-and-after content is a real cost, not a random expense
Photography, video, and the social media work that shows off finished cases is often the main driver of new consultations, but a generalist bookkeeper tends to lump it in with general office supplies.
What we doKeeps marketing and photography costs in their own category so you can see what bringing in a consultation is really costing. -
3
A smile design mock-up is planning, not a procedure
A digital smile design or a wax-up model is part of the consultation process, priced and paid for differently than the veneers or whitening that follow it.
What we doKeeps design and planning fees separate from the finished case payment, so you can see both sides of a patient's full journey. -
4
A single case can dwarf the rest of the month
A full smile makeover with a dozen veneers can run into five figures in one payment. Booked next to a $400 whitening case, the categories blur together and the real average case size disappears.
What we doFlags large single cases so an average month is not distorted by one outsized case.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cosmetic dental practice.
Set up once for how the practice gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Cosmetic case paymentsVeneers, bonding, and full smile makeovers, paid in full or as a deposit.
- Whitening paymentsStandalone whitening treatments, usually the smallest and most frequent charge.
- Patient financingCareCredit payouts for larger cases, net of the financing company's fee.
- Consultation and design feesThe separate charge for a digital smile design or wax-up mock-up.
Money out
- Cosmetic suppliesWhitening products, veneer materials, and bonding composites.
- Lab feesVeneer fabrication from a cosmetic-focused lab.
- Marketing and photographyBefore-and-after content, a photographer, and social media work.
- Treatment planning softwareDigital smile design software used to plan and preview cases.
- Clinical staff payAssistants and any associate dentist, kept apart from front desk pay.
- Financing merchant feesWhat CareCredit or a similar company keeps on financed cases.
What we watch for you
- Average case size
What a typical cosmetic case brings in, since a single large case can skew a month.
- Financing share
How much revenue runs through CareCredit or similar financing, and what it costs to offer it.
- Consultation conversion
How many paid consultations turn into a booked case, the clearest sign marketing is working.
- The set-aside
What you owe on cash pay and financed cases, tracked all year so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things cosmetic dentists 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, that is normal for a cosmetic practice. I treat cash pay and financing as your regular revenue, not something unusual to explain.
As marketing and photography, kept apart from general supplies, so you can see what bringing in new consultations is actually costing.
I flagged it as an outsized case, so it reads as what it is instead of setting a new bar for what an average month should look like.
The tax side
The tax side of a cosmetic dental practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as a real business cost. Photography and marketing spend that a generalist bookkeeper might question is often exactly how this kind of practice grows.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Marketing and photography as a real costCamera equipment, lighting, and video gear used for before-and-after content are usually deductible business equipment, the same as clinical tools.
- Equipment for the operatoryA shade-matching camera or a digital smile design system can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Elective work and the pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of profit off their taxable income. It works differently for personal-service practices like a cosmetic dental office as income climbs.
- Contractor 1099sA photographer, a marketing contractor, or a relief dentist paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions cosmetic dentists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Whitening and bonding materials
- Camera and lighting equipment
- Digital smile design software
- Loupes and headlights
- Malpractice insurance
- Social media and content costs
- Continuing education
- Cosmetic dentistry association dues
- Practice software subscriptions
- Financing merchant fees
- Credit card 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 cosmetic practice's year, kept every month.
Consultations turn into cases on their own timeline. Your taxes come on the calendar's 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
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the contractor list for any photographer or relief dentist is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is not a scramble.
- April
Filed and signed
Your business return is filed. Because the set-aside has tracked cash pay and financing since January, the number due holds no surprise.
- July
Midyear read
A look at where the practice stands, what you will owe, and whether consultation volume is keeping pace with the rest of the year.
- October
Before year-end spending
Patients sometimes book elective work before the calendar year closes. Before that hits, Gus flags equipment worth buying and anything worth doing 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 cosmetic dentists. 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 cosmetic dentists ask first.
Does it matter that almost none of my revenue comes from insurance?
No. Gus is used to practices that run mostly on cash pay and financing. He tracks it as your normal revenue pattern instead of expecting insurance deposits that will not show up.
How do you handle the cost of before-and-after marketing content?
It is kept in its own category, separate from general supplies, so you can see exactly what bringing in new consultations through photography and social media is costing each month.
One case this month was much bigger than usual. Will that make my average look wrong?
Gus flags unusually large single cases so they read as what they are. Your typical month is not distorted by one outsized veneer case.
Do consultation and design fees count differently than the finished case?
They are kept in separate categories since a smile design mock-up is priced and paid for differently than the veneers or whitening that follow it. Both are simply income when they land.
My books are behind since I switched from a general practice to cosmetic-only. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements from the period you need caught up. Gus sorts through them and the accountant reviews it once it is done.
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.
More in dental
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Dental labs
- Dental sleep medicine practices
- Denturists & denture clinics
- Mobile dentistry
- Endodontists
- Oral surgeons
- Periodontists
- Orthodontists
- Pediatric dentists
- Dental implant centers
- General dentists
- Compounding pharmacies
- Durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers
- Elective 3D/4D ultrasound studios
- Independent pharmacies
- Medical billing companies
- Mobile nursing & concierge nurse services
- Mobile phlebotomy services
- Mobile x-ray & ultrasound services
- Occupational health & DOT physical clinics
- Orthotics & prosthetics providers
- Sleep clinics
- Wound care clinics
- Birth doulas
- Breathwork facilitators
- Herbalists & apothecaries
- Hypnotherapists
- Lactation consultants
- Midwives & birth centers
- Neurofeedback clinics
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