Home, hobby & lifestyle retail
Books and taxes for craft and fabric stores.
Fabric cut by the yard, a beginner quilting class, a bolt-heavy order placed at market months ahead, and notions that vanish a few at a time. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $7,400. Two beginner quilting classes filled up, so I kept that class income apart from your fabric and notions sales.
- Register batch, cutting counterIn-store sales
- Moda Fabrics wholesale invoiceWholesale inventory
- Quilting class feesClass and workshop income
- Notions restock, WawakNotions and supplies
- Online yardage ordersOnline sales
Why your books are different
A craft and fabric store's books go wrong the same handful of ways.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a register total and a supplier bill. Your shop sells fabric by the cut yard from a bolt that cost a set price per length, runs paid classes alongside retail sales, and buys a season's worth of quilting lines at market long before any of it sells. When the books miss that, your real margin stays a guess.
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1
A fabric bolt does not sell all at once
A bolt of quilting cotton gets cut and sold a yard or two at a time over months. Tracked like a single unit of inventory, it is hard to tell what is actually left or what the bolt has earned so far.
What we doTracks fabric cost per yard so partial sales from a bolt still reflect true cost of goods as it sells down. -
2
Class income blends into fabric sales
A quilting or sewing class brings in fees for instruction, sometimes bundled with a kit of materials. Lumped into register totals, you cannot tell whether classes are worth the time they take to run.
What we doKeeps class and workshop income in its own line, separate from fabric and notions sales. -
3
A market buy distorts a slow month
Placing a season's worth of fabric line orders at a quilt market shows up as one large expense the week it is paid for, months before any of it sells off the bolt.
What we doTracks market buys as inventory, not a flat expense, so one large seasonal order does not sink an ordinary month. -
4
Notions shrinkage never gets counted
Small items like buttons, thread, and zippers walk off a shelf a few at a time in ways a bolt of fabric never does, and without a running estimate, the gap only shows up at the annual count.
What we doWatches gross margin monthly so a slipping number on small notions gets flagged before the year-end count.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a craft and fabric store.
Set up once for how you sell and teach. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- In-store salesFabric by the yard, notions, and craft supplies at the register.
- Online salesYour own site or a marketplace shop, kept apart from the register.
- Class and workshop incomeFees for classes, sometimes bundled with a kit.
- Longarm and custom workQuilting or alteration services done for a customer's project.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryFabric line orders from wholesalers like Moda and Robert Kaufman.
- Notions and suppliesThread, zippers, buttons, and small hardware.
- Store rent and utilitiesThe lease, power, and water for the shop.
- Class suppliesKits and materials provided for workshops.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or your gateway keeps on every sale.
- Local advertisingLocal ads, class listings, and paid social.
What we watch for you
- Gross margin
What is left after cost of goods. A slipping margin often traces back to markdowns or shrinkage.
- Class fill rate
How full classes are running, so you know whether to add more sessions.
- Notions shrinkage
The gap between what should be on the shelf and what a count shows, watched monthly instead of once a year.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across bolts, classes, and notions, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things craft and fabric store 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.
I track cost per yard on each bolt, so as it sells down, the cost of goods still matches what has actually left the shelf, not just the full bolt price.
No, I keep class income in its own line, so you can see exactly what teaching brings in separate from register sales of fabric and notions.
It shouldn't. I track that as inventory, not a flat expense, so the order does not sink this month even though the fabric will not sell for a while.
The tax side
The tax side of running a craft and fabric store.
Most of what trips up a craft and fabric store is timing and mixed categories: a bolt that sells down slowly, class fees next to retail sales, and a market buy that should not read as a flat loss.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldWhat you paid for the fabric and notions you actually sold this year reduces your taxable income, not what is still on the shelf from a market buy.
- Sales tax collectedSales tax on a sale belongs to the state the moment it is collected, whether it is a fabric cut, a notions purchase, or a class kit sold alongside instruction.
- Class and service incomeClass fees and custom quilting or alteration work are ordinary business income, tracked separately so the accountant can see what teaching and services really contribute.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated craft and fabric stores can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when bolts, classes, and market buys are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions craft and fabric stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Quilt market travel and booth fees
- Class supplies and kits
- Card processing fees
- Storefront signage
- Local advertising
- Business insurance
- Storage for backstock bolts
- POS software subscription
- Cutting tables and shelving
- Trade association dues
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Shipping and postage
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 craft and fabric store's year, kept every month.
Quilt market buys and class seasons come on their own calendar, and the books stay open with them, not only at tax time. 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 April is already handled, right after the holiday craft season.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since spring class planning started in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer classes and market buys changed the picture.
- October
Before the holiday craft rush
Bolt stock, class supplies, and any equipment worth buying before the season's gift and craft sales pick up.
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 craft and fabric stores. 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 craft and fabric store owners ask first.
Can Gus track a fabric bolt that sells down a yard at a time?
Yes. He tracks cost per yard on each bolt, so as it sells off in pieces, your cost of goods still matches what has actually left the shelf, not just one lump bolt price.
I run classes alongside retail sales. Does that get tracked apart?
Yes. Class and workshop income stays in its own line so you can see exactly what teaching brings in separate from fabric and notions sold at the register.
I buy a season's worth of fabric lines at quilt market. Will that wreck a slow month?
It should not. Gus tracks market buys as inventory, not a flat expense, so a big seasonal order does not make an ordinary month look worse than it is.
Small notions like thread and buttons seem to disappear. Is that normal?
Some shrinkage on small items is common in retail. Gus watches gross margin monthly so a slipping number gets flagged well before the year-end count turns up a surprise.
My books are behind after a busy class season. Can you catch up?
Send what you have. Gus sorts through register sales, class income, and wholesale invoices, 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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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