Home, hobby & lifestyle retail
Books and taxes for independent furniture stores.
A special order deposit today, the balance due at delivery, a financing payout that lands short, and a floor model sold at half price. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September came in at $12,200. Two custom sectionals were paid off at delivery, so I closed out their deposits from back in July.
- Synchrony financing payoutFinanced sales
- Special order balance, OrtizSpecial order sales
- Klaussner wholesale invoiceWholesale inventory
- White glove delivery crewDelivery and setup
- Floor model clearance saleFloor model sales
Why your books are different
A furniture store's books go wrong the same handful of ways.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and one big supplier bill. Your showroom takes a deposit today for a sofa that ships in eight weeks, finances half your tickets, and marks down floor samples that have been sitting on the showroom floor for months. When the books do not separate that, your real margin is a guess.
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1
A deposit today is not a sale yet
A customer pays a third down on a custom dining set that will not ship for two months. Booked as a full sale the day the deposit lands, your revenue jumps ahead of work that has not happened yet.
What we doTracks the deposit and the delivery balance as one order, so the sale counts when the piece actually ships, not before. -
2
Financing payouts arrive short
A customer finances an $1,800 bedroom set, and the lender's payout lands lower than the ticket price. Booked as the full sale, your margin looks better than it is.
What we doBooks the full ticket as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so your real margin stays visible. -
3
Floor models get sold at a loss nobody tracks
A sofa used as a showroom display for six months finally sells at half off. Treated like fresh inventory, that markdown quietly drags down your overall margin without anyone noticing why.
What we doFlags floor model sales separately so the display discount shows up on its own line, not mixed into regular sales. -
4
Delivery and haul-away costs get lost in overhead
White glove delivery, assembly, and hauling away an old piece all cost real money per ticket, but lumped into general expenses, you cannot tell which sales actually pay for themselves after delivery.
What we doKeeps delivery and setup costs in their own line so true margin per sale is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a furniture store.
Set up once for how your showroom sells. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Special order salesCustom pieces, counted when they ship, not when the deposit lands.
- In-stock salesItems sold and delivered off the showroom floor.
- Financed salesThe full ticket price, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Floor model salesDisplay pieces sold at a markdown, tracked apart from regular sales.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryOrders from manufacturers like Klaussner, Bassett, and regional wholesalers.
- Delivery and setupWhite glove crews, assembly, and haul-away of old furniture.
- Showroom rent and utilitiesThe lease, power, and water for the floor.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender or your card processor keeps before you get paid.
- MarketingLocal ads, sponsorships, and paid social.
- Fixtures and displaysShowroom staging and signage, logged as equipment.
What we watch for you
- Special order backlog
Deposits collected for pieces not yet delivered, so you know what is still owed to customers.
- Financing cost
What lenders keep on financed tickets, worth knowing before offering it on every sale.
- Floor model discount rate
How much showroom markdowns are cutting into overall margin.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on special orders and financed sales together, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things furniture store 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.
September. I hold the deposit until the piece actually ships, so your sales reflect what really moved out the door, not when the check cleared.
The lender kept its fee before paying out. I booked the full ticket as your sale and the lender's cut as a cost, so your real prices still show up right.
Usually a lot of it can. I logged it as equipment and flagged it, and the accountant will make the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of running a furniture store.
Most of what trips up a furniture store is timing: a deposit that is not yet a sale, a financed ticket that pays out short, and equipment that should be written off, not buried as an expense.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldWhat you paid for the furniture you actually delivered this year reduces your taxable income, not everything sitting in the warehouse waiting on a customer.
- Delivery vehicles and equipmentDelivery trucks, dollies, and showroom fixtures can usually be written off in the year they are bought, with bonus depreciation back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax collectedSales tax on a ticket belongs to the state the moment it is collected, whether the sale was paid in full, financed, or a special order deposit.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated furniture stores can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when deposits, deliveries, and financing are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions independent furniture stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Delivery truck fuel and repairs
- Assembly and delivery labor
- Showroom fixtures and staging
- Financing and card fees
- Local advertising
- Business insurance
- Storefront signage
- Storage for backordered stock
- Uniforms for delivery crews
- POS software subscription
- Trade show travel
- Cleaning and maintenance
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 furniture store's year, kept every month.
Special orders ship on their own schedule, and the books stay open with them, all year, not only at tax time. 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 after the holiday clearance push wraps.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since special orders were still being planned in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring showroom refresh changed the picture.
- October
Before the holiday push
Delivery equipment, showroom fixtures, and any purchases worth making before the year's biggest buying season starts.
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 furniture stores. 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 furniture store owners ask first.
Can Gus handle deposits on special orders that ship months later?
Yes. He tracks the deposit and the delivery balance as one order and counts the sale when the piece actually ships, so your monthly numbers reflect real deliveries, not just deposits collected.
I finance a lot of my tickets. Does that make the books harder?
No. Gus books the full ticket price as your sale and the lender's cut as a cost, so your real prices and margin stay visible even when a payout lands short.
I mark down floor models pretty often. Does that skew my numbers?
It should not once it is tracked separately, and Gus keeps floor model sales in their own line so a display markdown does not quietly drag down your regular margin.
Do I write off a new delivery truck all at once?
Often you can. Delivery vehicles bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, and the accountant makes the final call with your whole year in view.
My books are behind after a slow season. Can you catch up?
Send the bank and financing statements you have. Gus sorts through special orders, financed sales, and deliveries, 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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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