Hair & grooming
Books and taxes for booth-renting stylists.
Your own clients, your own retail shelf, a chair rent bill every month, and tips that land in cash and on cards. 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 $8,600. Your chair rent went up $50 this month, so I flagged it before it quietly ate into what you keep.
- StyleSeat payoutService tickets
- Retail sale, OribeRetail sales
- Chair rent, Studio 12Booth rent
- Sally Beauty orderBackbar product
- Square processing feesCard fees
Why your books are different
A booth renter's books go wrong in the same few places.
You are running your own business from one chair, not clocking in as an employee. A generalist treats you like a paycheck earner. Your business is chair rent, your own retail shelf, and quarterly taxes nobody is withholding for you.
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1
Chair rent gets forgotten as a real cost
A rent bill paid the same way every month starts to feel like overhead instead of a business expense, and it is easy to lose track of how much it eats out of each ticket.
What we doKeeps chair rent as its own line every month, so you always see what it costs against what you billed. -
2
No one is withholding your taxes
As your own business, nothing gets taken out of what clients pay you. Without a plan, a strong year can turn into a tax bill that catches you off guard in April.
What we doSets aside a share of what you make each month, so the number due in April is one you already knew. -
3
Retail and backbar product blur together
A CosmoProf order might carry both the color you use on clients and the styling product you sell off your own shelf, and one receipt makes both look like the same expense.
What we doSplits what you use in service from what you resell, so your retail side shows its real cost. -
4
Cash tips slip through
A cash tip handed to you after a good haircut is easy to pocket and forget, but it is taxable income the same as a card tip the moment you earn it.
What we doAsks about cash tips when the deposits do not tell the whole story and books them like any other pay.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a booth-renting stylist.
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
- Service ticketsCuts, color, and styling booked and paid through StyleSeat or Vagaro.
- Retail salesProduct you sell off your own shelf, kept apart from what you use in service.
- TipsCard tips through the booking app and cash tips you report yourself.
- Deposits for long appointmentsHeld for color corrections or extension services until the visit happens.
Money out
- Booth rentWhat you pay the salon or suite owner for your chair.
- Backbar productColor and treatment product used on clients, kept apart from retail.
- Retail inventoryProduct bought to resell off your own shelf.
- Card feesWhat Square or the booking app keeps before you get paid.
- Tools and equipmentShears, clippers, and dryers that wear out and get replaced.
- License and continuing educationState board renewal and required hours.
What we watch for you
- Rent as a share of revenue
Chair rent against what you billed. It tells you how much of every ticket goes to just having a seat.
- Retail attach rate
Share of tickets with a product sale added. It says whether your shelf is pulling its weight.
- Backbar cost per ticket
What product costs you to deliver a service, apart from retail you resell.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so quarterly payments are never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things booth-renting stylists 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.
For you, about 18 percent of what you made this month. I set that aside automatically so quarterly payments are already covered.
It adds up. It is now about 14 percent of what you bill in a month. Worth knowing before you decide on your prices.
No, you report your own business income directly, no 1099 to yourself needed. If you ever pay a helper $2,000 or more, that is when a 1099 comes into play.
The tax side
The tax side of renting your own chair.
As your own business, quarterly payments and self-employment tax are the two things that catch renters off guard most.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Quarterly estimated taxesSince nothing is withheld from what clients pay you, taxes are usually due four times a year, on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15. Gus tracks a set-aside so those dates are never a scramble.
- Self-employment taxAs a booth renter, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- The no tax on tips deductionThrough 2028, you can deduct up to $25,000 of tip income from federal tax. Tips still owe self-employment tax either way.
- The pass-through deductionMost booth renters 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 independent booth-renting stylists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Chair or booth rent
- Color and backbar product
- Shears and clippers
- Barbicide and sanitation supplies
- License renewal fees
- Continuing education classes
- Booking app subscription
- Card processing fees
- Retail inventory purchased
- Liability insurance
- Phone used for booking clients
- Trade shows and classes
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 booth renter's year, kept every month.
You are your own business, which means quarterly deadlines matter more than they do for an employee. Your team keeps you ahead of them. 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 the year's quarterly payments are already planned.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, and your first quarterly payment for the new year is already accounted for.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether your busiest months changed the number.
- October
Before the fourth payment
Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and moves worth making before December and the fourth quarterly payment.
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 independent booth-renting stylists. 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 booth-renting stylists ask first.
I only have one bank account for everything. Is that a problem?
It makes things messier but not impossible. Gus sorts business activity out from personal on your statement, though opening a separate account makes the picture cleaner going forward.
Do I need to pay quarterly taxes even though I am small?
Usually yes, if you expect to owe more than a small amount for the year. Gus tracks a monthly set-aside so the April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 due dates are already covered.
How is renting a chair different from being an employee at a salon?
As a renter, you run your own business. You keep what you bill, minus your chair rent and your own costs, and you are responsible for your own taxes since nothing is withheld.
I sell some retail off my own shelf. Does that change my taxes?
It adds a retail side to your business income, which Gus tracks apart from your service income so you can see what each side actually earns.
My books have never been separated from my personal spending. Can Gus start from here?
Yes. Send your bank statements and Gus sorts business from personal going forward. An accountant can help you think through prior years if needed.
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 hair & grooming
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Braiding salons
- Curly hair specialists
- Kids hair salons
- Mobile barbers & stylists
- Natural hair salons
- Trichologists & hair loss consultants
- Wig & hair replacement studios
- Blowout bars
- Hair extension specialists
- Men's grooming lounges
- Salon suite operators
- Scalp micropigmentation studios
- Barbershops
- Hair salons
- Medical tattoo & areola restoration artists
- Beauty schools & cosmetology academies
- Freelance makeup artists
- Independent nail techs
- Lash & brow training academies
- Permanent makeup artists
- Piercing studios
- Spray tan studios & mobile tanning
- Tanning salons
- Tattoo shops
- Teeth whitening studios
- Brow studios & microblading
- Day spas
- Esthetician & facial studios
- Lash extension studios
- Nail salons
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