Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for freelance makeup artists.
Wedding deposits paid months out, travel fees for driving to a bride's house, agency bookings, and a kit that gets restocked before every big event. 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
May came in at $6,600. Three wedding deposits paid in April finally counted this month once those weddings actually happened.
- Wedding deposit, VenmoDeposits held
- Wedding day balanceWedding bookings
- Naimie's Beauty Supply orderMakeup kit supplies
- Mileage, three venuesTravel and mileage
- Agency booking feeAgency and referral fees
Why your books are different
Freelance makeup artist books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a deposit and a gas receipt. Your business is a wedding deposit paid months before the event, a travel fee that has to actually cover your drive, and a kit that gets restocked before every big booking. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which bookings are actually worth your time.
-
1
Wedding deposits get counted before the event happens
A bride pays a $300 deposit in February to hold a May wedding date. If that deposit lands as income the day it is paid, February looks better than it should and May looks worse.
What we doHolds deposits as a balance until the event happens, then books the full booking as one sale that month. -
2
Travel fees get lumped into the booking price
A wedding booking might include a $75 travel fee on top of the makeup application itself, but if it all gets rung up as one number, you cannot see whether your travel fee actually covers your drive time and gas.
What we doKeeps travel fees in their own line, apart from the makeup service itself, so you can see what travel really nets you. -
3
Agency and referral fees eat into the booking without being tracked
A booking that comes through an agency or a wedding planner referral often pays you less than your listed rate once the fee is taken out, and without tracking it, you cannot tell whether agency work is worth the cut.
What we doBooks the full client rate as income and the agency's cut as a fee, so you can see what referral work actually nets you. -
4
Kit restocks get bought in bulk before big events
A large restock of foundation, brushes, and setting spray ahead of wedding season makes that month's costs look high, while slower months later in the year look artificially cheap.
What we doKeeps kit supply spend in one steady line and flags when a restock is the reason a month's costs look high.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a freelance makeup artist.
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
- Wedding bookingsBridal and wedding party makeup, counted as income the day of the event.
- Deposits heldHeld until the event happens, then applied to the booking.
- Event and photo shoot bookingsNon-wedding bookings for photo shoots, proms, and parties.
- Travel feesFees collected for driving to a client's location.
Money out
- Makeup kit suppliesFoundation, brushes, setting spray, and disposables.
- Travel and mileageFuel, tolls, and vehicle costs for on-location bookings.
- Agency and referral feesWhat an agency or planner kept before you got paid.
- MarketingInstagram ads, a portfolio website, and wedding show booths.
- Licensing and insuranceCosmetology or makeup license renewal and liability insurance.
- Continuing educationAirbrush, bridal, and special effects certification courses.
What we watch for you
- Deposits held
Money collected for bookings not yet completed, so income is not counted early.
- Travel fee coverage
What travel fees bring in against fuel and mileage cost, so pricing can be judged fair.
- Agency cost share
What agencies or referral sources keep against what they book you, worth knowing before relying on that channel.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things freelance makeup artists 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 hold it as a deposit until the wedding day. It becomes income the month the event actually happens.
I kept travel fees in their own line against your mileage. Right now they are covering gas but not much of your time, worth a look at raising it for farther venues.
That depends on whether she uses her own kit and books her own clients or works entirely under your business. That one is above my pay grade, so a real accountant is looking at it.
The tax side
The tax side of a freelance makeup artist.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and untracked travel. Deposits counted early, mileage never logged, 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.
- Mileage deductionBusiness mileage for on-location bookings runs 72.5 cents a mile January through June 2026, and 76 cents a mile July through December 2026, tracked from your calendar and bank data.
- Self-employment taxAs a freelance artist, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of income tax, since nobody withholds it for you.
- The pass-through deductionMost freelance artists 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 booking income automatically, so most artists pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions freelance makeup artists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Foundation, brushes, and palettes
- Setting spray and disposables
- Kit bag and travel case
- Mileage for on-location bookings
- Portfolio website and hosting
- Instagram and social media ads
- License renewal and liability insurance
- Airbrush and bridal certification courses
- Wedding show booth fees
- Business phone line
- 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
A freelance makeup artist's year, kept every month.
Wedding and prom season carry most of the year's bookings, with the rest scattered through photo shoots and events. Your team keeps you ahead of both the rush and the tax deadlines. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, right as booking inquiries for the year start coming in.
- 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 spring wedding season changed the number.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at kit restocks and equipment worth buying before December, ahead of holiday party bookings.
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 freelance makeup artists. 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 freelance makeup artists ask first.
Can Gus keep wedding deposits from inflating my income before the wedding happens?
Yes. He holds deposits as a balance until the event happens, then books the full booking that month, so your income reflects work actually done.
Do travel fees count as separate income from the makeup application itself?
Yes. Gus tracks travel fees on their own line, so you can see whether what you charge for driving actually covers your gas and time.
I book a lot of work through an agency. Does that change how the books work?
No. Gus books the full client rate as your sale and the agency's cut as a fee, so you can see what referral work actually nets you after the cut.
Can Gus track mileage for weddings and events I drive to?
He tracks mileage from the calendar and bank data available, so your drives between venues count as a real deduction, not something that just gets forgotten.
My books have always just been a mix of Venmo and cash I never sorted. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most artists know where they stand 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