Personal & lifestyle services

Books and taxes for dry cleaners.

Counter drop-offs, a wholesale trade account for another shop's overflow, solvent and pressing costs, and a coat season that doubles your racks. Your own bookkeeper sorts all of it, 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
NovemberExample month
$11,400
what you made

November came in at $11,400. The new pressing unit went in as equipment, not supplies, since it runs about $6,000 and outlasts a season.

  • Counter register depositsCounter sales
  • Trade account, Westside CleanersWholesale trade work
  • Solvent supplier invoiceSolvent and chemicals
  • Con Edison utility billUtilities
  • Presser payrollPlant wages
Money in$41,200
Money out$29,800
Set aside for taxes$2,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Dry cleaning books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is counter tickets, a plant that runs on solvent and steam, sometimes a wholesale trade account processing another shop's garments, and a coat season that can double your volume overnight. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.

  1. 1

    Wholesale trade work gets mixed into counter sales

    Cleaning another shop's overflow garments on a trade account pays differently and at different margins than your own walk-in counter business. Lumped together, you cannot tell which side of the shop is actually carrying the other.

    What we doKeeps counter sales and wholesale trade income in separate lines, so you can see what each side of the business brings in.
  2. 2

    A pressing machine or conveyor gets filed like a supply

    A commercial press or garment conveyor can run $5,000 to $15,000. Filed the same way as a solvent order, it flattens the month it was bought in and misses the tax treatment real equipment gets.

    What we doFlags any press, boiler, or conveyor purchase, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off.
  3. 3

    Coat season swings get read as a mistake

    Volume can more than double from October through the coldest months, then drop hard by spring. An owner comparing a slow April to a packed December thinks something is wrong when it is just the season.

    What we doTracks revenue against your own seasonal pattern, so a slow spring reads as normal, not a warning sign.
  4. 4

    Solvent and chemical bulk orders wreck a monthly number

    A quarter's worth of perc alternative solvent, sizing, and spotting chemicals bought in one order makes that month look like a loss and the next two look artificially strong.

    What we doKeeps solvent and chemical costs in one steady line and flags when a stock-up, not a slow week, explains a thin month.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a dry cleaning business.

Set up once for how garments come in and what runs the plant. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Counter salesWalk-in drop-off and pickup, paid at the register or by card.
  • Wholesale trade workGarments processed for another cleaner's overflow on a trade account.
  • Alterations and repairsHemming, patching, and minor repairs done alongside cleaning.
  • Route or delivery accountsStanding pickup and delivery accounts for households or offices.

Money out

  • Solvent and chemicalsCleaning solvent, spotting agents, and sizing.
  • UtilitiesGas, water, and electric for a plant running boilers and pressing equipment.
  • Plant wagesPressers, spotters, and counter staff.
  • EquipmentPresses, conveyors, and boilers, logged so they get written off right.
  • Hangers, bags, and tagsWire and plastic hangers, poly bags, and claim tags.
  • Machine repair and serviceMaintenance on presses, boilers, and the conveyor system.
  • Environmental compliance and disposalSolvent handling and waste disposal required for the plant.

What we watch for you

  • Wholesale versus counter mix

    How much of revenue is trade work versus your own counter. It shows which side is actually growing.

  • Solvent cost per garment

    Chemical cost against garments processed. A rising number often means it is time to raise prices, not just reorder.

  • Seasonal swing

    This month against the same month last year, not last month. It tells you if coat season is on track.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe on the year, tracked monthly, so April is already a known number.

Ask Gus

Things dry cleaning 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.

Is it normal that April looks half of what December did?

For your shop, yes. Coats and holiday formal wear drive December, and your last two Aprils ran close to this one. Nothing looks off.

I bought a new conveyor system. Does that all come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged the purchase so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

Do I need to track the trade work with Westside separately?

I already do. Keeping wholesale trade income apart from your counter sales is how you see which side is actually paying.

The tax side

The tax side of a dry cleaning business.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. A press filed as a supply, a helper paid off the books, and a set-aside nobody started until April.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Presses, conveyors, and equipmentPresses, boilers, and conveyors can usually be written off in the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, though whether to take it all now depends on the year you are having.
  • 1099s for plant helpersAnyone helping on the plant floor or with delivery who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
  • Employee or contractorA presser or counter worker who works your hours on your equipment is usually an employee. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
  • Qualified business income deductionFor a dry cleaning business, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.

Deductions dry cleaners miss

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

  • Dry cleaning solvent and spotting agents
  • Sizing and finishing chemicals
  • Hangers, poly bags, and tags
  • Press and boiler repairs
  • Utilities for the plant
  • Uniforms for plant staff
  • Environmental disposal fees
  • Counter and register supplies
  • Delivery vehicle fuel and repairs
  • Business insurance
  • Signage and storefront upkeep
  • Trade association dues

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 dry cleaning year, kept every month.

Coats and holiday wardrobes come in waves. 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

    Start the year right

    For a dry cleaning business, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed and signed

    For a dry cleaning business, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway point

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the slower summer months changed the number.

  4. October

    Before coat season

    Before the coldest months bring in coats and formal wear, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 dry cleaners. 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 dry cleaning owners ask first.

Can Gus keep my wholesale trade work separate from counter sales?

Yes. Trade account income and your own counter sales are kept in their own lines, so you can see what each side of the shop brings in.

Do I need to change how I run the register?

No. Keep the counter running the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.

Do I write off a new press all at once?

Often, yes. A press or conveyor bought for the business can usually be deducted the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading the cost out works out better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant weighs in with your whole year in view.

Is a big solvent order going to make my month look bad?

It might on paper, but Gus flags stock-up purchases so a bulk chemical order does not get mistaken for a slow month.

My books are behind from running the plant solo. Is that a problem?

No, that is common in this trade. Send the statements you have and Gus works through the backlog, with the accountant checking it, usually inside 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