DTC brands

Books and taxes for home goods brands.

A home retailer account on its own payout schedule, a vase that breaks in transit, a trade show deposit, and a holiday decor line that sells nowhere else. Gus 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
$17,000
what you made

November came in at $17,000. A pallet of vases arrived cracked, so I booked the replacement as a breakage cost tied to that shipment.

  • Shopify Payments payoutSite sales
  • Wayfair wholesale payoutWholesale orders
  • Ceramic Works factory invoiceContract manufacturing
  • Freight carrier invoiceFreight and damage claims
  • Pinterest adsAdvertising
Money in$68,000
Money out$51,000
Set aside for taxes$3,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A home goods brand's books go wrong around freight, breakage, and the season.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is fragile pieces that break in transit, a wholesale account with its own payout calendar, and a decor line that only sells two months a year. When the books do not know that, a normal season looks like trouble.

  1. 1

    Breakage in transit hides in shipping

    Ceramic vases and glass decor break in transit more than most products, and if the replacement or refund for a broken item is not tied back to the shipment, breakage looks like random bad luck instead of a real, trackable cost.

    What we doTies a breakage claim or replacement to the shipment it came from, so the true cost of shipping fragile goods is visible.
  2. 2

    Wholesale to a big home retailer pays on its own calendar

    A large retailer pays out on a schedule that can lag weeks behind the order and sometimes deducts for damaged freight or late shipments, and if the books only see the deposit, the account looks like it shorted you for no reason.

    What we doTracks the invoiced amount and any deduction separately, so you know what a big retail account actually nets you.
  3. 3

    A seasonal decor line sells almost nowhere outside Q4

    Holiday-specific decor can make up most of a year's sales in two months, and if the books average that against a slow spring, both seasons end up reading wrong.

    What we doKeeps holiday season sales visible on their own, so a spring lull reads as normal, not as a business in trouble.
  4. 4

    A trade show deposit lands months before the orders it brings in

    Paying for a booth at a gift or home show, months before the wholesale orders it generates ever ship, can make the deposit month look like a loss when it is really an investment in orders still coming.

    What we doKeeps a trade show deposit visible as its own cost, tied to the season it is meant to support, not booked as a random expense.
  5. 5

    Freight quotes assume a pallet, not a single fragile piece

    A large or bulky item like a mirror or a console table often ships freight rather than parcel, and the true delivery cost can vary wildly from the flat shipping fee charged at checkout, quietly eating margin on big items.

    What we doTies actual freight cost to the order it shipped with, so a bulky item's real margin is visible, not the number assumed at checkout.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a home goods brand.

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

Money in

  • Site salesFull-price and promo orders through your own storefront.
  • Wholesale to home retailersLarge accounts billed on their own payout schedule.
  • Trade show and showroom ordersOrders written at a gift or home show, kept apart from site sales.
  • Marketplace salesAmazon or a similar site, if you sell there.

Money out

  • Contract manufacturingThe factory or workshop that produces each piece.
  • Freight and damage claimsShipping cost and breakage tied to the shipment it came from.
  • Packaging and cratingBoxes, crates, and cushioning for fragile or bulky goods.
  • AdvertisingMeta and Google ad spend driving traffic to listings.
  • Trade show booth feesBooth and travel cost for a home or gift show.
  • Card and marketplace feesWhat processors and marketplaces keep before you get paid.
  • PhotographyRoom set and listing photography for the catalog.

What we watch for you

  • Freight cost per order

    Actual shipping against the flat fee charged at checkout, so bulky items show their real margin.

  • Breakage rate

    Damaged or broken items against shipments, since fragile goods quietly eat into margin.

  • Seasonal decor share

    How much of sales comes from the holiday line, so a spring lull is not mistaken for trouble.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked across the busy season and the quiet one alike.

Ask Gus

Things home goods 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.

A vase arrived broken and we sent a replacement free. Where does that cost go?

I tie it to the shipment it came from as a breakage cost, so you can see what shipping fragile goods actually costs you over time.

Our home retailer account paid less than what we invoiced. What happened?

They likely deducted for a damaged shipment or a late delivery. I track that deduction against the invoice so you see what the account really nets you.

We paid for a booth at a home show five months before any orders from it will ship. Is that a loss this month?

Not the way I book it. I keep that deposit visible as its own cost tied to the season it is meant to support, not a random hit to this month.

The tax side

The tax side of a home goods brand.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing. A trade show deposit expensed too early, breakage buried in ordinary shipping, and a set-aside nobody started until the holiday rush ended.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Inventory and cost of goodsYou deduct the cost of what sold, not what is sitting in the warehouse. A container of finished pieces waiting to ship is an asset until it does, not a write-off the day the factory invoice is paid.
  • 1099-K from marketplaces and processorsShopify Payments and Wayfair or any marketplace you sell through report your volume to the IRS once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. Every dollar is taxable whether the form arrives or not.
  • 1099-NEC for contractorsA freelance photographer, product designer, or stylist paid $2,000 or more in a year who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income before tax, with the break phasing down above $201,750 for single filers and $403,500 for joint filers. It depends on freight, breakage, and seasonal sales all being tracked straight.

Deductions home goods brands miss

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

  • Freight and breakage claims
  • Contract manufacturing
  • Packaging and crating
  • Meta and Google ad spend
  • Trade show booth fees
  • Room set photography
  • 3PL fulfillment fees
  • Product liability insurance
  • Card and marketplace fees
  • Trademark and brand registration
  • Showroom sample pieces
  • Warehouse or storage rent

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 home goods brand's year, kept every month.

Two months carry most of the sales for a seasonal line, and the rest of the year is spent building toward them. Your team is on the books every month, busy or quiet. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Post-holiday lull

    Holiday decor sales drop off fast, and the quiet stretch is when last year's return gets moving. Gus keeps the set-aside running so the shift does not feel like trouble.

  2. April

    Return closed out

    The business return is filed and signed, freight and seasonal swings accounted for. The set-aside has covered it since January, so April brings no surprise.

  3. July

    Booth deposits go out

    Trade show deposits go out for the season ahead, and wholesale orders for the holiday line get written. Gus keeps those deposits as their own cost, not a hit to a summer month.

  4. October

    Holiday stock ships

    Holiday stock ships to wholesale accounts and your own site. Gus watches freight and breakage closely during the year's busiest shipping stretch.

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 home goods 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 home goods brand owners ask first.

How does Gus handle items that break in shipping?

A broken item's replacement or refund gets tied back to the shipment it came from, so breakage shows up as a real, trackable cost instead of random bad luck.

Our wholesale account deducted money from an invoice. Is that normal?

It happens with large retail accounts, usually for a damaged shipment or a late delivery. Gus tracks the deduction against the invoice so you see what the account actually nets you.

Our holiday decor line barely sells the rest of the year. Is that a problem?

No, that is normal for a seasonal line. Gus keeps the holiday season's sales visible on their own, so a quiet spring reads as normal, not as the business slowing down.

We paid for a trade show booth months before any orders from it ship. Does that count as a loss?

Not the way Gus books it. The deposit is its own cost, tied to the season it is meant to support, so it is not treated as a random hit to whatever month you paid it.

Freight on our furniture pieces costs more than the flat rate we charge at checkout. How does that work in the books?

Gus ties the actual freight cost to the order it shipped with, so a bulky item's real margin is visible instead of the number assumed at checkout.

My books are behind because we just added a big wholesale account on top of our site.

Send the account's invoices and your bank statements. Gus sorts through the terms and deductions, 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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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