Marketplace sellers & custom goods

Books and taxes for handmade and artisan brands.

Online orders, wholesale accounts with boutiques, a bulk buy of raw materials, and craft fair cash sales that never touch a card reader. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, 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
OctoberExample month
$5,500
what you made

October came in at $5,500. Your leather supplier raised hide prices this month, so I flagged it before it quietly ate into your margin.

  • Shopify Payments payoutOnline sales
  • Boutique wholesale paymentWholesale sales
  • Leather supplier invoiceRaw materials
  • Craft fair booth feeCraft fair and market fees
  • Etsy transaction feesMarketplace fees
Money in$16,400
Money out$10,900
Set aside for taxes$1,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Handmade and artisan brand books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees an online sale and a wholesale check. Your business is materials bought raw and turned into something by hand, three or four different ways of getting paid, and a bulk supply order that can wreck a month if the books do not know better.

  1. 1

    A raw materials buy covers months of finished pieces

    A bulk order of leather, clay, wood, or wool gets used across dozens of future pieces made over the following months. Booked all at once, that month looks like a loss and the ones after it look artificially strong.

    What we doKeeps bulk materials buys visible against what has actually been made and sold, so a big order does not read as a bad month.
  2. 2

    Cash from craft fairs gets undercounted

    A weekend market with a cash box moving alongside card taps is easy to undercount if only the card sales get logged, quietly shrinking the real size of the business.

    What we doKeeps craft fair cash and card sales together in one honest total, so nothing sold in person goes untracked.
  3. 3

    Wholesale and online prices get blended into one number

    A boutique buying at wholesale price and a customer buying retail online pay very different amounts for the same item, and blended together it is hard to see which channel is actually worth the effort.

    What we doKeeps wholesale and online sales in their own lines, so you can see which channel is actually paying the bills.
  4. 4

    Time spent making a piece never shows up in its cost

    Materials are easy to track, but the hours of hand work behind each piece are not, so it is easy to price by materials alone and miss whether the hourly return is worth it.

    What we doKeeps materials cost clean and visible, so a pricing conversation with the accountant can account for your time honestly.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a handmade and artisan brand.

Set up once for how you sell and what a piece costs to make. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Online salesOrders through your own Shopify site or Etsy shop.
  • Wholesale salesBoutiques and shops buying a batch of your pieces at once.
  • Craft fair and market salesIn-person sales at fairs and markets, cash and card together.
  • Custom commission salesOne-off pieces made to a customer's specifications.

Money out

  • Raw materialsLeather, clay, wood, wool, or other materials bought from a supplier.
  • Marketplace feesEtsy or Shopify transaction and payment processing fees.
  • Craft fair and market feesBooth rent and vendor fees for in-person selling.
  • Tools and equipmentKilns, looms, workbenches, or other tools used in production.
  • Packaging and shippingBoxes, tissue, branded tags, and postage.

What we watch for you

  • Materials cost per piece

    What each piece actually costs to make, so pricing keeps up as supplier costs rise.

  • Wholesale versus online margin

    What each channel actually nets after its own costs, so you know where to put your energy.

  • Craft fair sales per event

    Whether a booth fee at a given market is actually worth it, tracked event by event.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things handmade brand 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 sell online, at markets, and to a couple boutiques. Can you actually keep all that straight?

Yes. Each channel is kept in its own line, so you can see which one is really carrying the business, not just one blended number.

I just bought a huge roll of leather that will last me four months. Does that expense hit all at once?

I keep it tracked against what actually gets made and sold from it, so one big supply order does not make a good month look thin.

I had a great weekend at a craft fair, mostly cash. Does that still need to be reported?

Yes, all of it counts, cash and card both. I keep it together in one honest total so nothing sold in person gets missed.

The tax side

The tax side of a handmade and artisan brand.

Most of what goes wrong here is materials cost and cash sales. Get both tracked honestly and the rest is straightforward.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Inventory and materials costWhat was actually paid for materials used in pieces sold during the year, not just what was spent stocking up, is what counts against sales. Unsold materials at year end change what the return shows as profit.
  • Cash sales are still taxableCash collected at a craft fair or market is income the same as a card payment, whether or not it comes with a receipt or a form from a payment processor.
  • Wholesale and resale certificatesSelling to a boutique with a valid resale certificate means you generally do not collect sales tax on that sale, since the boutique collects it from the final customer.
  • 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 handmade and artisan brands miss

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

  • Raw materials and supplies
  • Craft fair and market booth fees
  • Etsy or Shopify fees
  • Packaging and shipping supplies
  • Tools and small equipment
  • Workshop or studio rent
  • Continuing education and workshops
  • Business insurance
  • Photography props and backdrops
  • Mileage to markets and fairs
  • Business cards and tags
  • Wholesale catalog or line sheet printing

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 handmade and artisan brand year, kept every month.

Craft fairs and custom orders come whenever the season calls for them. 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

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, materials on hand are counted, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and how summer craft fair season is comparing to online sales.

  4. October

    Before the holiday rush

    Holiday craft fairs and gift orders pick up fast. Before it hits, Gus looks at what materials to stock up on for the season.

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 handmade and artisan brands. 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 handmade and artisan brand owners ask first.

I sell online, at fairs, and wholesale to boutiques. Will Gus keep those separate?

Yes. Each channel is kept in its own line, so you can see which one is actually paying the bills instead of one blended total.

Do I have to report cash from craft fairs if it's not much?

Yes. All income is taxable, whether it comes as cash at a fair, a card tap, or an online order. Gus keeps it all tracked honestly together.

I sell wholesale to a few shops. Do I charge them sales tax?

Usually not, if they give you a valid resale certificate, since they collect sales tax from the final customer. The accountant checks that your certificates are on file.

I bought a huge supply of raw materials before a price increase. Does that hurt this month's numbers?

It will not read that way. Gus keeps a bulk buy visible against what actually gets made from it, so one big purchase does not make a good month look bad.

Can Gus tell me if my pricing actually covers my time, not just materials?

He keeps materials cost clean and visible, so that conversation is possible. Pricing for your time is worth talking through with your bookkeeper directly.

My books are a mess because I never separated fair cash from online sales. Can that get fixed?

Yes. Send whatever records you have, even rough ones. Gus sorts it out and most owners 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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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