Specialty food makers & markets
Books and taxes for cottage food producers.
Farmers market cash, local pickup orders, and the occasional online sale, all made under your state's home kitchen rules. Gus sorts every sale, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August came in at $2,350. Two Saturday markets plus a batch of pickup orders for a block party, and I kept your jar deposits separate from sales.
- Saturday market cashFarmers market sales
- Venmo pickup ordersLocal pickup orders
- Restaurant DepotIngredients and jars
- Uline labels orderPackaging and labels
- County market permitPermits and fees
Why your books are different
A home kitchen business goes wrong in its own specific ways.
You are not running a commercial kitchen with a wholesale ledger. You are running a home operation with a state revenue limit, mostly cash sales, and a stove that also cooks dinner. When the books do not know that, the limit gets missed and the real cost of a batch stays a guess.
-
1
The revenue limit is not being tracked
Most states cap how much a cottage food business can earn in a year before it has to move into a licensed commercial kitchen. An owner who does not track sales running against that limit can find out too late, mid-batch, that they crossed it.
What we doKeeps a running total of the year's sales against your state's limit and tells you when you are getting close. -
2
Market cash goes uncounted
A Saturday table takes cash, Venmo, and maybe a card reader. The cash often never gets written down anywhere, which understates what the business actually made.
What we doRecords the full market total, cash included, matched against any card reader batch report. -
3
A batch's real cost is a guess
Flour, sugar, fruit, and jars all get bought together on one grocery run, so nobody knows what a dozen jars of jam actually cost to make against what they sold for.
What we doKeeps ingredients and packaging in their own categories so the cost of a batch is visible, not buried in one grocery total. -
4
Home kitchen costs mix with the household
A cottage producer bakes in the same kitchen the family eats in, so ingredient runs, propane, and even some utilities blend into personal spending with no clean line.
What we doSeparates the household's spending from the business's ingredient and packaging purchases, and flags a reasonable home kitchen deduction for the accountant to confirm.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cottage food producer.
Set up once for how you sell and what you buy. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Farmers market salesCash, Venmo, and card reader totals from each market day.
- Local pickup ordersDirect orders arranged by text or a simple online form.
- Online salesOrders through Etsy or a simple storefront, where your state allows shipping.
- Pop-up and event salesCraft fairs, church bazaars, and one-off community events.
Money out
- Ingredients and jarsFlour, sugar, fruit, spices, and canning jars from the grocery store or a bulk supplier.
- Packaging and labelsLids, ribbon, gift bags, and printed labels with your required ingredient list.
- Permits and feesYour state cottage food registration and any local farmers market vendor fee.
- Market booth costsTable fees, canopy, and a folding table or cart for market days.
- Home kitchen shareA reasonable portion of home utilities tied to production, flagged for the accountant.
What we watch for you
- Annual revenue
Tracked against your state's cottage food limit so you see it coming, not after you cross it.
- Cost per batch
Ingredients and jars against jars produced. Tells you if a recipe is worth the table space.
- Market day average
What a typical Saturday brings in, useful for deciding which markets are worth the drive.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things cottage food producers 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.
You are at about two thirds of it through August. At your current market pace you would land under it by December, but I will flag it sooner if a big order changes that.
It counts as a cost, not income. I logged the ingredients as a donation expense so it is not sitting in your books as unsold inventory.
Only what goes into what you sell. That one is worth a real look, so I flagged it for the accountant to sort out with you.
The tax side
The tax side of a cottage food business.
Most of what matters here is keeping a home operation's numbers honest: what the business actually spent, what it actually made, and staying inside your state's rules.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldYou can only deduct the ingredients and jars that went into what you sold this year. Unsold jars on a shelf are inventory, not yet a deduction.
- Self-employment taxProfit from a cottage food business is subject to 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, on top of the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed. It comes out right only when personal and business spending are kept apart all year.
- A partial home kitchen deductionA reasonable share of home costs tied to production can sometimes be deducted. The details depend on your setup, so Gus flags it and the accountant works out the right number.
Deductions cottage food producers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Canning jars and lids
- Printed ingredient labels
- Farmers market table fee
- State cottage food registration
- Canopy and folding table
- Ribbon and gift packaging
- Mileage to markets
- A share of home kitchen utilities
- Food handler training
- Scale for portioning
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 cottage food year, kept every month.
Market season runs warm months, gifting runs the holidays, and your state's limit runs all year. Your team keeps you ahead of all three. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so tax time does not surprise you while markets are still slow.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your business return is filed and signed, well before your busiest market months arrive.
- July
Midsummer check
Where you stand against your state's revenue limit, and what the second half of market season is likely to bring.
- October
Before the gift rush
Holiday gift orders are coming. Gus looks at whether this is the year to move toward a licensed kitchen and grow past the cottage food limit.
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 cottage food producers. 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 cottage food producers ask first.
Do I need to track sales even though I only take cash at markets?
Yes. Cash sales are still income, and your state's revenue limit counts every dollar, cash included. Gus keeps a running total from what you report after each market.
Can Gus tell me if I am about to cross my state's cottage food limit?
He tracks your sales against the limit you tell him and flags it as you approach it. Confirming your exact state limit is worth a check with your state's program, since the rules vary and change.
I also sell a few things online. Does that change anything?
Not for the books. Gus keeps online sales as their own category so you can see it apart from market and pickup sales, and flags if your state restricts shipping cottage food.
What happens to the books if I outgrow cottage food and rent a commercial kitchen?
Gus adds a kitchen rental category and keeps going. Most owners barely notice the shift in their books, even though the kitchen and the paperwork change.
Do I need a separate bank account for this?
It is not required, but it makes the books faster and cleaner, since your ingredient runs will not be mixed in with the family grocery bill. Gus can work with either setup.
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 specialty food makers & markets
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Artisan cheese makers
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Custom cake studios
- Farmers market vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hot sauce brands
- Jerky makers
- Maple syrup producers
- Pickles & fermented food makers
- Popcorn shops
- Salsa & dip brands
- Seafood markets
- Sourdough & microbakeries
- Spice blenders & seasoning brands
- Butcher shops & meat markets
- Ethnic grocery stores
- Specialty grocers & delis
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Arcade bars (barcades)
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