Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for cut-and-sew apparel manufacturers.
A brand's production run invoice, a sample development fee, a bolt of fabric bought to spec, and piece rate payroll for the sewing floor. 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
February came in at $11,900. The Fernwood Apparel sample round is logged as development work, not a finished production run, since the brand hasn't approved it yet.
- Fernwood Apparel, run 6Production run invoices
- Sample development feeSample and development fees
- Fabric roll order, client specFabric by client
- Trim and notions supplierTrim and notions
- Sewing floor payrollPiece rate and hourly labor
Why your books are different
Cut-and-sew books go wrong between the sample and the production run.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop cuts and sews samples for a brand before any order is approved, buys fabric to one client's exact spec, and pays a sewing floor partly by the piece. When the books do not separate sampling from production, one client's fabric cost bleeds into another's, and a slow sample month looks like wasted time instead of real development work.
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1
Sample development looks like a lost month
Cutting and sewing sample rounds for a brand before an order is approved uses real fabric and labor, and if that cost is not tracked apart from production, a month spent mostly on samples just looks like poor output.
What we doKeeps sample and development work in its own category, so that time shows up as real paid work, not a slow month. -
2
One client's fabric blends into another's
Fabric bought to one brand's exact color and weight looks the same on a supplier invoice as fabric for a different brand's run, and lumped together you cannot see what any single client's product actually costs.
What we doTags fabric and trim to the client they were bought for, so each account's real margin is visible. -
3
Piece rate pay gets blended with hourly wages
A sewing floor paid partly by the piece and partly by the hour makes labor cost per garment hard to see if both rates land in one payroll line.
What we doKeeps piece rate and hourly labor tracked separately so the real labor cost per style is visible. -
4
Fabric bought ahead of a cutting schedule skews a month
Buying fabric in bulk to hit a better yardage price can make one month look expensive and the next look great, when the fabric is really just sitting on the shelf waiting to be cut.
What we doKeeps fabric in one steady line and flags when a bulk order is the reason a month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cut-and-sew shop.
Set up once for how sample work and production runs get paid and what each garment costs to make. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Production run invoicesPer-unit or per-run billing once an order is approved and cut.
- Sample and development feesBilling for sample rounds before an order is placed.
- Pattern grading feesWhat is charged to grade a pattern across a size range.
- Repair and alteration workSmaller jobs apart from production runs.
Money out
- Fabric by clientYardage bought to a specific brand's color and spec.
- Trim and notionsZippers, buttons, thread, and labels.
- Piece rate and hourly laborSewing floor wages, tracked by pay type.
- Cutting room suppliesBlades, patterns, and marker paper.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on cutting tables and industrial sewing machines.
- Shop rent and utilitiesBuilding costs for cutting and sewing floors.
- Freight and shippingInbound fabric and outbound finished goods per client.
What we watch for you
- Margin by client
What each brand's runs actually earn once fabric, trim, and labor are counted.
- Sample cost recovery
What development fees actually cover against the fabric and labor sampling used.
- Fabric cost share
Yardage cost as a percent of sales. A jump means quotes need a look.
- Labor cost per unit
Piece rate and hourly wages against units produced, the real test of a style's cost.
Ask Gus
Things cut-and-sew 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.
No, I keep sample work in its own category, so that time shows up as real paid development, not lost production.
I tag their fabric, trim, and labor to their account, so you can see real margin per client instead of one blended number for the shop.
If she is not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a cut-and-sew manufacturing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping fabric per client separate and knowing what sample development is worth as its own line.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cutting tables and sewing machinesIndustrial cutting tables and sewing machines can usually be written off, often in the year they are bought. Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Fabric and trim on handFabric and trim bought ahead per client and sitting in the shop at year end get valued and matched against what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought.
- Worker classificationA sewer paid by the piece who works your hours on your machines is usually an employee, not a contractor. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when fabric by client and piece rate labor are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions cut-and-sew apparel manufacturers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fabric and trim by client
- Thread, zippers, and buttons
- Cutting blades and marker paper
- Machine needles and maintenance
- Pattern grading software
- Freight on incoming fabric
- Sample garments and mockups
- Trade show and market costs
- Shop uniforms
- Small hand tools
- Shop insurance
- Waste and scrap fabric disposal
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 cut-and-sew manufacturing year, kept every month.
Sample rounds and production runs land on a brand's own schedule, not a season. Your taxes still run on their own schedule. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Samples reviewed
Year end fabric and trim per client get valued, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Line year filed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since the set-aside has been running since January, a season heavy on sample development does not turn into an April surprise.
- July
Midyear sewing check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a new brand's production runs this year shifted the number.
- October
Before the season ends
Gus looks at any cutting table or machine 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 cut-and-sew apparel manufacturers. 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 cut-and-sew manufacturers ask first.
How does Gus handle sample rounds we haven't been paid for yet?
He tracks sample and development work as its own category, so the fabric and labor it uses show up as real work, not as a slow production month.
Can Gus keep each brand client's fabric costs separate?
Yes. Fabric and trim get tagged to the client they were bought for, so you can see each account's real margin.
Do we have to change how we quote a production run?
No. Keep quoting a run the way your shop always has. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a payment looks unclear he asks once and remembers your answer.
Some of our sewers are paid by the piece. Does that change the books?
It changes how labor is tracked, not what you do. Gus keeps piece rate and hourly wages separate so the real labor cost per style is visible.
Our books are behind after taking on a new brand client this year. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts sample and production charges by client, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off a new industrial sewing machine all at once?
Often you can. An industrial sewing machine bought for the business can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits a shop's year better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides 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