Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for custom metal art and sign fabricators.
Commission deposits, a corporate lobby sign contract, plasma cutter consumables, and an installation crew day rate. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June came in at $11,200. The lobby sign deposit is booked as money you still owe, not income, since the install is not until August.
- Meridian Plaza sign depositCommission deposits
- Riverside Gallery commissionFinished commission payments
- Steel supply, sheet stockRaw material
- Plasma consumables orderCutting consumables
- Powder coat suppliesFinishing
Why your books are different
Metal art and sign books go wrong at the deposit and the finish line.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop takes a deposit months before a piece ships, burns through sheet stock and plasma consumables on the way, and finishes each job in a paint booth before install. When the books do not track that arc, a big deposit month looks like a great one and the delivery month looks weak, when neither is really true.
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1
A commission deposit looks like a finished sale
A client pays half down on a $9,000 sculpture that will not ship for ten weeks, but if the deposit is counted as income the day it lands, the month looks better than it is and the piece still owed looks invisible.
What we doHolds commission deposits as money still owed until the piece ships, then moves it to income so the timeline matches reality. -
2
Sheet stock and finish supplies blur together
A sheet of steel, a plasma nozzle, and a can of powder coat all hit the same supplier order, and lumped together you cannot tell whether a job's real cost was in material or finishing.
What we doKeeps raw material, cutting consumables, and finishing supplies in their own lines so each job's true cost shows up. -
3
Installation labor hides inside the job price
A day rate for the crew that bolts a sign to a building facade looks the same as shop labor on paper, but install carries its own risk and cost that a flat job price can quietly eat into.
What we doKeeps installation labor separate from fabrication labor so you can see what the on-site work really costs. -
4
A large-format plasma table looks like a supply purchase
A new CNC plasma table can cost as much as a work truck, but filed like the rest of the consumables order, it muddles the month and misses a real depreciation choice.
What we doFlags equipment the day it shows up and logs it on its own, so the accountant makes the call on how it is written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a metal art and sign shop.
Set up once for how commissions and contracts get paid and what the shop spends to build them. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Commission depositsHeld as money owed until the piece ships or the sign installs.
- Finished commission paymentsThe balance due once art or signage is delivered.
- Corporate and municipal contractsLarger sign and installation contracts, often billed in stages.
- Repair and refinish workSmaller jobs fixing or repainting existing pieces.
Money out
- Raw materialSteel, aluminum, and specialty metal sheet stock.
- Cutting consumablesPlasma nozzles, tips, and laser lens replacements.
- FinishingPowder coat, primer, and paint booth supplies.
- Installation laborCrew day rates for on-site mounting and rigging.
- Shop rent and utilitiesIncludes the power draw of a plasma table and ovens.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on the plasma table, welders, or paint booth.
- PermitsSign permits pulled for a customer's installation.
What we watch for you
- Deposit backlog
The value of deposits held for work not yet delivered, so cash on hand is not mistaken for profit.
- Material cost share
Steel and finishing supplies as a percent of sales. A jump means quotes need a look.
- Install cost per job
What crew labor and rigging actually cost against a job's price.
- Days to get paid
How long a final invoice sits before a corporate or municipal client pays it.
Ask Gus
Things metal art and sign 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.
Not yet, in the books it is. I hold it as money you still owe until the piece ships, then it moves to income so the month is not overstated.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
If he is not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, he gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a metal art and sign shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on deposits and where the plasma table or paint booth lands on the books.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Plasma tables and paint boothsA plasma table, welder, or paint booth can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000.
- Deposits and progress billingA deposit taken before a commission ships is money you owe the client, not income, until the work is delivered and the invoice is final.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026, including install crews and welders, 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 lands right when commission deposits and material costs are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions custom metal art and sign fabricators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Plasma and laser consumables
- Powder coat and paint supplies
- Welding wire and shielding gas
- Rigging and lifting equipment
- Sign permit fees
- Design and rendering software
- Trade show booth costs
- Safety gear and respirators
- Vehicle wraps for the work truck
- Freight for large piece delivery
- Studio or gallery photography
- Shop uniforms
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 metal art and sign year, kept every month.
Commissions and contracts land on their own timeline, not a season. Your taxes still run on one. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Commissions planned
Open commission deposits and material on hand get sorted, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Commission signed
The accountant signs and files your return. Since the set-aside has been building month by month since January, a slow commission season does not turn into a scramble in April.
- July
Midyear gallery check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a big commission this spring changed the number.
- October
Ahead of the holidays
Gus looks at any plasma table, welder, or paint booth buy worth making before December and flags it for the accountant's call on depreciation.
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 custom metal art and sign fabricators. 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 metal art and sign fabricators ask first.
How does Gus handle a deposit on a commissioned piece?
He holds it as money you still owe the client, not income, until the piece ships or installs. That keeps a strong deposit month from overstating what you actually earned.
We take on both art commissions and municipal sign contracts. Should those be tracked differently?
Yes, and Gus does that automatically. Keeping them apart shows which kind of work is actually paying for the shop.
Do we have to change how we quote jobs?
No. Keep pricing commissions and sign contracts however you already do. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a deposit is unclear he asks once and remembers your answer.
Can Gus separate installation costs from shop fabrication costs?
Yes. Crew day rates and rigging get their own line apart from shop labor, so you can see what the on-site work really costs against the job price.
Our books are a year behind after a slow stretch. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
Do I write off a new welder or paint booth all at once?
Often you can. A plasma table or welder bought for the business can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant makes that call with your whole year in view.
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