Marketplace sellers & custom goods

Books and taxes for custom merch and promo product stores.

A corporate order deposit, a rush fee for a tight event deadline, a blank goods invoice, and a supplier bill for a bulk promo run. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, 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
AprilExample month
$7,800
what you made

April came in at $7,800. A tech company's convention order needed a rush turnaround, so I kept the rush fee separate to see if it actually paid for the extra strain.

  • Corporate order deposit, Meridian CoOrder deposits
  • Balance payment, spring orderCompleted order sales
  • Promo supplier invoiceBlank goods and materials
  • Rush freight, event deadlineFreight and rush shipping
  • Trade show booth feeTrade show and sales costs
Money in$29,400
Money out$21,600
Set aside for taxes$2,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Custom merch and promo product books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees a deposit and an invoice. Your business is a big order billed in two payments, a rush fee charged for a tight deadline, and a bulk supplier invoice that covers several jobs at once. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which orders are actually worth taking on short notice.

  1. 1

    A deposit is not the same as a finished order

    A 50 percent deposit collected before a large corporate order goes into production is money owed against unfinished work, not income already earned. Counted the day it lands, the month can look bigger than the work actually completed.

    What we doKeeps deposits as money owed against an order until it ships and the balance is paid, so the sale only counts once it is real.
  2. 2

    Rush fees hide whether short notice actually pays

    A rush charge on a tight-deadline order is meant to cover the extra strain of pushing a job through fast, but if it is not tracked apart from the base order, you cannot tell whether rush work is actually worth the disruption.

    What we doKeeps rush fees in their own line against the order they belong to, so you can see whether short-notice work is paying for itself.
  3. 3

    A bulk blank goods order covers several jobs

    A supplier invoice for a large batch of blank shirts, pens, or bags gets used across multiple client orders over the following weeks. Booked all at once, that month looks like a loss and the ones that follow look artificially strong.

    What we doKeeps bulk blank goods buys visible against the orders they actually fill, so one big purchase does not read as a bad month.
  4. 4

    Sample and proof costs get lost as unbilled work

    A physical proof or sample sent to a client before they approve a big order is a real cost, but it is easy to forget it happened at all if the client never places the order.

    What we doFlags sample and proof costs as they happen, so a lost bid still shows up as a real, trackable cost instead of vanishing.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a custom merch and promo product store.

Set up once for how a job gets billed and made. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Order depositsMoney collected up front on a job, kept as owed until it ships.
  • Completed order salesThe balance paid once a job is finished and delivered.
  • Rush feesExtra charges for a tight-deadline turnaround, kept apart from the base order.
  • Repeat and standing ordersRegular reorders from an existing client without a new bid.

Money out

  • Blank goods and materialsShirts, pens, bags, and other blank items bought to decorate.
  • Decoration costsScreen printing, embroidery, or engraving done in-house or outsourced.
  • Freight and rush shippingStandard and expedited shipping to meet event deadlines.
  • Trade show and sales costsBooth fees, sample kits, and travel to win new corporate accounts.
  • Proofing and designMockups and physical samples made before a client approves an order.
  • EquipmentPresses, embroidery machines, and other production equipment.

What we watch for you

  • Deposit versus completed sales

    What is collected up front against what is actually finished and delivered, so cash on hand is never mistaken for earned profit.

  • Rush fee margin

    Whether rush charges actually cover the extra strain of a tight deadline, so you know which fast turnarounds are worth taking.

  • Cost per order type

    Blank goods, decoration, and freight added up per job, so bids stay priced to make money.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things custom merch and promo 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 took a 50 percent deposit on a big corporate order this month but haven't shipped it yet. Does that count as this month's income?

Not yet. I keep it as money owed against the order until it ships and the balance comes in, so this month only reflects what is actually finished.

I charged a rush fee to hit an event deadline. Was it actually worth it?

I kept the rush fee separate from the base order cost, so you can see whether it covered the extra strain or just barely broke even.

I sent a sample kit to a prospect who never placed the order. Is that a loss?

It is a real cost either way, and I keep it tracked as one, so a lost bid still shows up honestly instead of disappearing.

The tax side

The tax side of a custom merch and promo product business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing deposits against finished work and keeping bulk supply buys from wrecking a month.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for blank goods and decoration used in orders shipped during the year is what counts against sales. Unsold blanks on hand at year end change what the return shows as profit.
  • Deposits are not income until earnedA deposit collected before a job is finished is generally not counted as income until the work is completed and delivered, which keeps the timing of a large order honest on the books.
  • Contractor 1099s for outside decorationAn outside embroidery or printing shop, or a freelance designer, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions custom merch and promo product stores miss

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

  • Blank goods and materials
  • Decoration and printing costs
  • Rush freight and shipping
  • Trade show booth fees
  • Sample kits and proofs
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Design software
  • Business insurance
  • Sales rep commissions
  • Catalog and line sheet printing
  • Storage and warehouse rent
  • Client entertainment for pitches

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 custom merch and promo product year, kept every month.

Corporate orders come in whenever an event is on the calendar. Your taxes come on a 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, unsold blank goods are counted, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether rush orders are actually paying for the strain they add.

  4. October

    Before the corporate rush

    Year-end corporate gifting and holiday party orders spike fast. Before it hits, Gus looks at blank goods to stock up on and equipment worth buying before December.

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 custom merch and promo product 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 custom merch and promo owners ask first.

I take deposits on big corporate orders. When does that count as income?

Gus keeps a deposit as money owed against the job until it ships and the balance is paid, so the sale counts once the work is actually done.

Do I charge sales tax on custom merch sold to a business?

Usually, unless the business provides a valid resale certificate because they are reselling the items themselves. The accountant checks what applies to your customers.

How does Gus track whether rush orders are actually worth taking?

Rush fees are kept in their own line against the base order cost, so you can see whether the extra charge covers the strain of the tight deadline.

I bought a huge batch of blank shirts for several upcoming jobs. Will that wreck this month's numbers?

No. Gus keeps a bulk buy visible against the orders it actually fills, so one big purchase does not make a good month look thin.

My decoration work is outsourced to another shop. Does that change anything?

It just means their invoices are tracked as your production cost, and if you pay them $2,000 or more in a year, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31.

My books are behind because a big season got away from me. Can that get sorted out?

Yes. Send the bank statements and order records you have. Gus sorts through deposits, completed orders, and supplier bills, 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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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