Marketplace sellers & custom goods
Books and taxes for embroidery shops.
A corporate uniform order, a digitizing fee for a new logo, thread and backing bought in bulk, and a multi-head machine that runs half the day on one job. 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
February came in at $6,200. You paid a one-time digitizing fee for a new client logo, so I kept it separate since it will pay off across every future order for them.
- Corporate uniform orderOrder sales
- Blank polos and jacketsBlank apparel
- Digitizing fee, new logoDigitizing
- Thread and backing orderThread and backing
- Machine maintenance serviceEquipment maintenance
Why your books are different
Embroidery shop books go wrong in a few specific spots.
A generalist sees a blank order and a customer payment. Your business is a one-time digitizing cost that pays off across every future reorder, thread and backing bought in bulk, and machine time that ties up a head for hours on a single big job. When the books do not know that, repeat customers do not look as valuable as they really are.
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1
Digitizing is a one-time cost for a repeat benefit
Digitizing a customer's logo is paid once but used on every reorder after that. Booked as a flat cost against the first order, it makes that job look far less profitable than it and every reorder after it actually are.
What we doKeeps digitizing costs in their own line, so you can see they are a one-time setup, not a cost that repeats on every order. -
2
Thread and backing get bought in bulk
Thread cones and backing rolls are typically bought in bulk to last for months of jobs. One large order can make a slow month look worse than it is and the following months look artificially strong.
What we doKeeps bulk thread and backing buys visible against the jobs they actually go into, so one big order does not read as a bad month. -
3
A press or new machine gets filed as a supply cost
A multi-head embroidery machine can cost as much as a vehicle. Filed as supplies, it muddles the month it was bought and misses how it should be written off.
What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off. -
4
Machine time never gets weighed against order size
A large, dense logo can tie up a machine head for far longer than a small one, but if machine time is not tracked against what a job actually pays, it is easy to underprice detailed work.
What we doKeeps job costs visible so you and the accountant can see whether detailed, time-heavy logos are priced to match the machine time they use.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an embroidery shop.
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 salesUniform, hat, and apparel orders billed by the job.
- Digitizing fees charged to customersA one-time setup fee passed on for a new logo.
- Retail walk-in salesSmall one-off orders sold directly at the shop.
- Patch and applique salesStandalone patches made separately from apparel orders.
Money out
- Blank apparelShirts, polos, jackets, and hats bought for decoration.
- DigitizingThe cost of converting a logo into a stitch file, whether done in-house or outsourced.
- Thread and backingEmbroidery thread, stabilizer, and backing materials.
- Equipment maintenanceMulti-head machine servicing, needles, and bobbins.
- Freight and shippingBlank goods delivery and finished order shipping.
- Payroll and laborWages for machine operators and shop staff.
What we watch for you
- Cost per job by stitch count
Thread, backing, and machine time added up against how dense a design is, so detailed logos get priced to match.
- Reorder rate
How often customers come back for a repeat order, since a one-time digitizing cost pays off more the more they reorder.
- Digitizing library value
How many paid-for logo files are sitting ready for a reorder, so past setup work keeps earning without a second thought.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things embroidery shop 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 keep digitizing in its own line, since it is a one-time setup that pays off on every reorder after this one, not just this job alone.
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.
I keep it tracked against the jobs it actually goes into, so one big supply order does not make a good month look thin.
The tax side
The tax side of an embroidery business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. A machine filed as supplies, digitizing lumped into one job's cost, and a helper paid like a contractor who works like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- A multi-head machine as business equipmentA multi-head embroidery machine is generally deducted as equipment rather than a supply. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000, so a new machine is often fully written off the year it is bought.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for blanks, thread, and backing used in orders shipped during the year is what counts against sales. Unsold blank stock at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
- Piece-rate machine operatorsSomeone running your machines on your schedule is usually an employee, even when paid per completed piece instead of by the hour. Misclassifying that kind of help 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 the books are right all year.
Deductions embroidery shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Blank apparel purchases
- Thread and backing materials
- Digitizing costs
- Needles and bobbins
- Machine maintenance and servicing
- Design software
- Freight on blank goods
- Shop rent and utilities
- Business insurance
- Safety equipment for staff
- Trade show samples
- Uniforms with your shop logo
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
An embroidery shop year, kept every month.
Uniform and hat orders come in around every season's schedule. Your taxes come on a schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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, your digitizing library and equipment purchases from the year are accounted for, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether back to school uniform orders are shaping up the way you expect.
- October
Before the holiday and corporate rush
Corporate gift orders and holiday uniform requests spike fast. Before it hits, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and thread to stock up on before December.
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 embroidery shops. 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 embroidery shop owners ask first.
I charge a digitizing fee for a new logo. Does that count as regular income?
Yes, but Gus keeps it in its own line, since it is a one-time setup cost passed to the customer rather than something that repeats on future orders.
My new multi-head machine cost more than a used car. How does that get written off?
A machine like that is almost always logged as equipment rather than a supply. With bonus depreciation at 100 percent for recent purchases, the whole cost is often deductible the year you buy it, and the accountant confirms it against your full year.
My machine operator gets paid per piece, not by the hour. Is that a 1099 worker?
Not automatically. Someone who runs your machines on your schedule is usually an employee even if paid per completed piece. Gus flags it so the accountant can weigh in before it becomes a habit.
Do I charge sales tax on embroidered apparel?
Usually, unless the customer is reselling the items with a valid resale certificate. The accountant checks what applies to your orders.
Does a big reorder from an existing client get priced the same as a brand-new logo job?
The digitizing cost is already paid off on a reorder, so Gus keeps that history visible, which is worth a look with your bookkeeper when you are pricing repeat work.
My books have never separated digitizing from the rest of a job's cost. Can that get untangled?
Yes. Send whatever order and invoice records you have. Gus works out what was a one-time setup cost against what repeats, and most shops 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