Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for esthetician and facial studios.
Facial appointments, chemical peel add-ons, retail skincare at the front desk, and a facial club that bills every month. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September came in at $6,100. The new LED light panel from Dermalogica showed up, so I logged it as equipment, not supplies.
- Vagaro payoutFacial appointments
- Facial club billingMemberships
- Dermalogica invoiceProfessional product
- SkinCeuticals retail saleRetail sales
- PCA Skin peel orderPeel supplies
Why your books are different
Esthetician studio books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and a supply bill. Your business is treatment room time, a facial club that gets paid before the facial happens, and retail skincare that has to earn its shelf space. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what your room is actually worth.
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1
The facial club gets counted too early
A client pays $360 upfront for a six-facial club. If the full $360 lands as income the month she joins, that month looks great and the months she actually comes in look thin, even though nothing about the business changed.
What we doKeeps a running balance of facials still owed on the club, and counts each one as income only when she sits in the chair. -
2
Peel supplies and retail skincare blur together
A bottle of PCA Skin peel liquid used on clients in the room and a jar of retail moisturizer sold at the front desk both come from the same supplier invoice, so the owner cannot see what retail actually earns.
What we doSplits professional-use product from retail inventory on the books, so retail margin shows up on its own. -
3
A big equipment buy looks like a bad month
An LED light panel, a microdermabrasion machine, or a high-frequency device can run several thousand dollars. Filed as supplies, it wrecks the month it was bought and hides what the studio owns.
What we doFlags equipment the day it shows up, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write it off. -
4
Chemical peel add-ons hide inside the base facial price
An upgrade to a chemical peel or a dermaplaning add-on often gets rung up as one lump sum with the base facial, so the owner never sees which add-ons actually move the average ticket.
What we doKeeps add-on revenue in its own category, so you can see which upgrades clients actually pay for.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an esthetician studio.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Facial appointmentsStandard facials booked and paid through Vagaro.
- Chemical peel and add-on servicesUpgrades and add-ons kept apart from the base facial.
- Facial club membershipsMonthly club billing, counted as income when the facial happens.
- Retail skincare salesCleansers, serums, and moisturizers sold at the front desk.
Money out
- Professional productDermalogica, SkinCeuticals, and other treatment-room product used on clients.
- Peel suppliesPCA Skin and other chemical peel liquids and neutralizers.
- Retail inventoryProduct bought to resell at the front desk.
- Room and equipmentLED panels, microdermabrasion machines, and steamer maintenance.
- Studio rentTreatment room or suite lease.
- Licensing and insuranceEsthetician license renewal and liability insurance.
- Booking softwareVagaro subscription and card processing fees.
What we watch for you
- Facial club balance
Facials clients have paid for but not used yet, so you know what is already owed.
- Retail margin
What retail skincare costs against what it sells for, kept apart from services.
- Average ticket
Money in divided by facials booked, so add-on pricing shows up fast.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things esthetician studio 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.
Usually a panel like that qualifies. I logged it under equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call once she sees your whole year.
Club sales get counted when the facial actually happens, not when she joins. Three clients still have facials sitting on their balance.
That depends on how she's paid and how much control you have over her hours. That one is above my pay grade, so a real accountant is looking at it.
The tax side
The tax side of an esthetician studio.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. Club revenue counted too early, equipment filed as supplies, 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.
- Equipment write-offsAn LED panel, microdermabrasion machine, or high-frequency device can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll, like a front desk helper or a fill-in esthetician, gets a 1099-NEC if you pay them $2,000 or more in 2026, due 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.
- Quarterly estimated taxesNothing withholds tax from facial or retail income automatically, so most owners pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions esthetician and facial studios miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Peel liquids and neutralizers
- LED and microdermabrasion equipment
- Treatment table linens
- Steamer and high-frequency maintenance
- Esthetician license renewal
- Liability insurance
- Vagaro subscription
- Continuing education courses
- Retail display fixtures
- Robes and headbands
- Sanitizing supplies
- Card processing fees
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 esthetician year, kept every month.
Facials book steady most months, but club sign-ups and retail both swing with the season. 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, the 1099 list is ready, 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 summer sun damage bookings changed the number.
- October
Before the holidays
Gift set retail season is close. Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing 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 esthetician and facial studios. 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 esthetician studio owners ask first.
Can Gus handle facial club memberships that bill monthly?
Yes. He keeps a running balance of what each member has paid for but not used, and counts income only as facials actually happen, so your monthly number reflects real work done.
I sell retail skincare at the desk. Does that change anything?
It changes how it is categorized, not what you do. Retail sales and their cost stay separate from service income, so you can see whether retail actually earns its shelf space.
Do I write off a new LED light panel all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the treatment room can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My books are a mess from doing them myself for two years. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever bank statements you have, even without any categories sorted. Gus works through the backlog, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
I run my studio out of a suite I rent. Does that change how expenses are tracked?
No. Suite rent is just another cost line, same as any studio lease. Gus keeps it separate from product and equipment so you can see your real overhead.
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