Design & pre-construction
Books and taxes for home plan and house design sellers.
A royalty from a plan marketplace, a direct sale off your own website, a modification fee to mirror a garage, and a print shop that ships physical blueprint sets. 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
February came in at $15,200. Marketplace royalties outpaced direct site sales again this month, so I flagged that split for you since it changes what the marketplace's own fees are actually costing you.
- BuilderHouse Plans royalty payoutMarketplace royalties
- Direct site sale, Craftsman 2400Direct plan sales
- Garage mirror modification feeModification fees
- Blueprint print and ship orderPrinting and shipping
- Shopify subscriptionE-commerce software
Why your books are different
A home plan and house design business's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees sales and shipping costs. Your business earns a royalty when a marketplace sells your plan, a full price when someone buys off your own site, and a separate fee when a builder wants a garage flipped or a bedroom added. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which channel is actually growing your income.
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1
Marketplace royalties and direct sales get lumped together
A plan sold through a third-party marketplace pays you a royalty after the marketplace keeps its cut, while the same plan sold from your own site keeps the full price. Blended into one number, you cannot tell whether the marketplace is worth its share.
What we doKeeps marketplace royalties and direct site sales in separate lines, so you can compare what each channel is actually worth after fees. -
2
Modification fees hide inside plan sales
A builder buys a stock plan and pays extra to mirror the garage or shift a wall, and if that fee is not tracked apart from the base plan sale, you cannot see how much of your income comes from repeat customization work versus one-time sales.
What we doTracks modification fees separately from base plan sales, so the repeat customization side of the business is visible on its own. -
3
Print and ship orders get treated like a straight cost
A physical blueprint set costs money to print and ship, and if that cost is not matched to the sale it belongs to, a batch of print orders can make a strong sales month look thinner than it was.
What we doMatches printing and shipping costs to the plan sales that generated them, so the real margin on a physical order is clear. -
4
Licensing a plan more than once looks like one sale repeated
The same stock plan can be sold, and its license reused, to different builders in different towns, and without tracking each sale as its own transaction, it is hard to tell which plans are actually your best sellers.
What we doKeeps each plan license sale as its own entry, so your best-performing designs show up clearly over time.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a home plan and house design business.
Set up once for how you sell and where the money comes from. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Marketplace royaltiesPayouts from third-party stock plan marketplaces after their fee is taken.
- Direct plan salesFull-price sales made through your own website.
- Modification feesCustom changes to a stock plan, such as a mirrored garage or added bedroom.
- Printing and shipping fees collectedWhat customers pay you for a physical blueprint set.
Money out
- E-commerce softwareShopify, WooCommerce, or similar site and checkout tools.
- Printing and shippingPrint shop costs and postage for physical plan sets.
- Design softwareAutoCAD, Chief Architect, or similar plan drafting tools.
- Marketplace listing feesFees paid to third-party marketplaces beyond their royalty cut.
- Website hosting and marketingSite hosting, search ads, and plan gallery photography.
What we watch for you
- Channel split
How much income comes from marketplace royalties versus direct site sales, after each channel's fees.
- Modification income share
How much of your income comes from custom changes to existing plans versus new plan sales.
- Print order margin
What is left after printing and shipping on a physical blueprint set, matched to the sale it came from.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things home plan sellers 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 flagged that split for you. The marketplace brings in more volume, but its cut is bigger than what your own site keeps, so it is worth comparing the two side by side with the accountant.
I kept it as a separate modification fee, not a base plan sale, so you can see how much repeat customization work is bringing in on its own.
That depends on your state and I am not going to guess on it. I flagged it for the accountant, since it is not something the subscription files either way.
The tax side
The tax side of a home plan and house design business.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating every sale the same, when a marketplace royalty, a direct sale, and a modification fee each carry different fees and different margins.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment taxA sole owner selling stock plans pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, once royalty, direct sale, and modification income are tracked accurately all year.
- Inventory for physical plan setsPrinted blueprint sets held in stock before a sale are tracked as inventory until they sell, not expensed the day they are printed.
- Marketplace 1099-K reportingA marketplace paying $20,000 and 200 transactions or more in a year sends a 1099-K, but every dollar of royalty income is taxable whether or not that form arrives.
Deductions home plan and house design sellers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- AutoCAD or Chief Architect license
- Shopify or WooCommerce subscription
- Marketplace listing fees
- Printing and shipping costs
- Website hosting
- Search advertising
- Plan gallery photography
- Continuing education courses
- Home office expenses
- Cloud storage for plan files
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 plan design year, kept every month.
Sales pick up early in the year as builders plan a spring or summer start, then taper through the back half. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the taxes. 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 based on what you actually earned, so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed right as the spring building season keeps plan sales moving.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how marketplace royalties compare to direct site sales so far this year.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at any software or equipment worth buying before December and flags marketplace payouts still pending.
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 home plan and house design sellers. 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 plan sellers ask first.
Can Gus tell my marketplace royalties apart from my direct site sales?
Yes. He keeps the two in separate lines, so you can see what each channel actually brings in after the marketplace takes its cut.
Do modification fees count as new plan sales?
No, Gus tracks them separately, so you can see how much of your income comes from customizing existing plans versus selling new ones.
I sell plans through more than one marketplace. Can Gus keep them apart?
Yes. Each marketplace's payouts get tracked on their own, so you can compare which one actually performs best for your plans.
Does printing and shipping physical blueprint sets complicate the books?
Gus matches those costs to the sale that generated them, so a batch of print orders does not make a strong sales month look weaker than it was.
I have never separated royalties from direct sales in my records. Can Gus start now?
Yes. Send your recent marketplace payout statements and bank records, and Gus starts sorting from there, checked by an accountant as it goes.
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.
More in design & pre-construction
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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