Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for independent nail techs.
A single suite you rent by the week, clients booked straight to you, cash and app tips, and every polish and file bought on your own dime. 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
August came in at $4,400. Suite rent stayed steady, so most of the swing this month came from a slower back-to-school week.
- Booksy payoutService appointments
- Sola Salon Studios rentSuite rent
- Nail supply orderSupplies
- Venmo tipTips
- Instagram ad spendMarketing
Why your books are different
An independent nail tech's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a deposit and a rent payment. Your business is one suite, your own supply closet, and every client you book yourself, with no payroll and no other tech's numbers to sort out. When the books do not know that, a slow week gets mistaken for a real problem.
-
1
Suite rent gets missed as a real fixed cost
A weekly suite payment to a space like Sola Salon Studios is easy to lose track of against everything else you spend on, and without seeing it as a steady fixed cost, it is hard to know how many services you need each week just to break even.
What we doKeeps suite rent in its own line every month, so you always know your real break-even point. -
2
App and cash tips get spent before they are logged
A Venmo tip or cash left on the table often gets treated as pocket money instead of income, which understates what you actually earned and can look worse than a mistake if it is ever questioned.
What we doAsks for tips to be logged the same day, in any form, so they show up as income and get taxed once, correctly. -
3
A slow week looks like a failing business
Working solo means one slow week of appointments shows up directly in your income with nothing to smooth it out, and it is easy to panic over a dip that is just normal scheduling.
What we doTracks your income against the weeks and months around it, so a normal quiet stretch does not read as a crisis. -
4
Personal and business spending mix in one account
Without a separate business account, a polish order and a grocery run land in the same statement, making it hard to see what the business actually costs to run.
What we doSorts business spending from personal spending on your statement, and can point you toward keeping them apart going forward.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an independent nail tech.
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 appointmentsManicures, pedicures, and enhancements booked through Booksy.
- TipsCash, card, and app tips, logged as they come in.
- Retail salesPolish and nail care product sold to clients directly.
- Gift card salesPrepaid gift cards, heaviest around the holidays.
Money out
- Suite rentWeekly or monthly rent for your private suite.
- SuppliesPolish, gel, acrylic, files, and disposables.
- EquipmentUV lamp, pedicure setup, and chair repairs.
- Booking softwareBooksy subscription and card processing fees.
- MarketingInstagram ads and local promotion.
- Licensing and insuranceNail technician license renewal and liability insurance.
What we watch for you
- Break-even point
Services needed to cover suite rent and supplies, tracked from your own numbers.
- Tip income logged
Cash and app tips actually recorded, so income is not quietly understated.
- Average ticket
Money in divided by services booked, so pricing changes show up fast.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things independent nail techs 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.
Looking at the last three months, this is a normal dip, not a trend. Suite rent is covered and you are still ahead for the month.
It does. Log them the same day, in any form. It is income either way, and tracking it protects you if anyone ever asks.
That depends on your income, your liability risk, and your state's filing costs. That one is above my pay grade, so a real accountant is looking at it.
The tax side
The tax side of an independent nail tech.
Most of what goes wrong here is untracked income and mixed accounts. Tips missed, personal spending mixed in, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment taxAs an independent tech, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of income tax, since nobody withholds it for you.
- The pass-through deductionMost independent techs can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
- Quarterly estimated taxesNothing withholds tax from your appointment and tip income automatically, so most techs pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- Home office and supply deductionsA dedicated space used for inventory storage or admin work, along with your supplies and equipment, can often be deducted, with the details depending on your setup.
Deductions independent nail techs miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Suite or booth rent
- Polish, gel, and acrylic supplies
- Nail files and disposables
- UV and LED lamp bulbs
- License renewal and liability insurance
- Booksy subscription
- Instagram and social media ads
- Business phone line
- Sanitizing supplies
- Continuing education classes
- Mileage for supply runs
- Card processing fees
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
An independent nail tech's year, kept every month.
Working solo means every swing in bookings is yours alone to plan around. Your team keeps you ahead of both the slow weeks and the tax deadlines. 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.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether your summer booking pace changed the number.
- October
Before the holidays
Holiday nail art season is close. Gus looks at supply stock-ups worth making before December.
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 nail techs. 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 independent nail techs ask first.
I only work out of one rented suite. Is that too small for a subscription like this?
No. Gus works the same whether you run one chair or a whole salon. He sorts your suite rent, supplies, and tips from your bank statement, no matter the size.
Do I need a separate business bank account?
It is not required to get started, but it makes your books cleaner and easier to sort. Gus works with what you have and can flag it as something worth setting up.
How does Gus handle cash and Venmo tips I get directly?
He asks you to log them the same day, in any form, so they count as income and get taxed once, correctly, the same as a tip left on a card.
I book everything myself through Booksy. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep booking the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
My books are just a shoebox of receipts from the last year. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most techs know where they stand inside 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.
More in skin, nails & body art
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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