Personal & lifestyle services

Books and taxes for jewelry repair shops.

Ring sizings at the bench, stone settings, insurance replacement work, and gold and silver bought by the ounce. Your own bookkeeper stays on 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
DecemberExample month
$7,200
what you made

December brought in $7,200. The new laser welder went in as equipment, not supplies, since it runs about $8,000 and will outlast this year by a lot.

  • Bench counter depositsBench repair work
  • Insurance replacement job, ChubbInsurance repair work
  • Stuller metal orderPrecious metal and findings
  • Gemological lab feeAppraisal and grading fees
  • Storefront rentRent and utilities
Money in$18,600
Money out$11,400
Set aside for taxes$1,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Jewelry repair books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs on precious metal bought by the ounce, insurance-paid replacement work, appraisal fees, and bench equipment that costs as much as a small car. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.

  1. 1

    Precious metal cost swings with the market, not the calendar

    Gold and silver findings from a supplier like Stuller are priced to the day's metal market, so the same repair can cost noticeably more to source one month than the next, and a generalist reads that as a random expense spike.

    What we doKeeps precious metal and findings in their own line so a market swing shows up as exactly that, not a mystery.
  2. 2

    Insurance replacement work gets mixed into counter repairs

    A ring replaced through a client's insurance claim pays on a different timeline and often a different margin than a walk-in repair, so lumped together you cannot tell which side of the bench is actually paying.

    What we doKeeps insurance-paid work in its own line, apart from standard bench repairs, so you can see both clearly.
  3. 3

    A laser welder or casting machine gets filed like a supply

    Bench equipment like a laser welder or casting machine can run into the thousands. Filed the same way as a metal order, it flattens the month it was bought in and misses the tax treatment real equipment gets.

    What we doFlags any bench equipment purchase, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off.
  4. 4

    Appraisal and grading fees look like a random cost

    Sending a stone out for grading or an estate piece out for appraisal costs money before the repair or sale is even priced, and buried in general expenses it is hard to see if those fees are worth passing to the customer.

    What we doKeeps appraisal and grading fees in their own line so you can see what that step actually costs the shop.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a jewelry repair shop.

Set up once for how work comes across the bench and what keeps the shop running. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Bench repair workRing sizing, prong retipping, and chain repair paid at the counter.
  • Insurance repair workReplacement and repair jobs paid through a client's insurance claim.
  • Stone setting and custom workCustom mounts and stone-setting jobs.
  • Appraisal servicesAppraisal fees charged directly to the customer.

Money out

  • Precious metal and findingsGold, silver, and platinum stock from suppliers like Stuller, priced to the daily market.
  • Appraisal and grading feesFees paid to a gemological lab or outside appraiser.
  • Bench equipmentLaser welders, casting machines, and polishing wheels, logged so they get written off right.
  • Rent and utilitiesStorefront lease, electric, and heat.
  • Security and insuranceSafes, alarm monitoring, and jeweler's block insurance.

What we watch for you

  • Insurance work share

    How much of revenue is insurance-paid repair versus walk-in bench work. It shows which side is actually growing.

  • Metal cost per job

    Precious metal spending against jobs completed. It flags when a market swing is eating into margin.

  • Appraisal fee cost

    What grading and appraisal fees cost against what gets charged back. It shows if that step is priced right.

  • The set-aside

    What the year's tax bill looks like, tracked every month, so April is already known.

Ask Gus

Things jewelry repair 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.

Why did my metal costs jump so much this month?

Gold ran noticeably higher on the market these past few weeks. Your findings order reflects that, not a change in what you are buying.

I bought a laser welder. Does that all come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged the purchase so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

Do I need to track insurance jobs differently than walk-ins?

I already do. Keeping insurance-paid work apart from counter repairs is how you see which side is actually paying.

The tax side

The tax side of a jewelry repair shop.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A welder filed as a supply, metal cost swings nobody tracks, 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.

  • Bench equipment write-offsA laser welder, casting machine, or polishing setup can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Self-employment tax on counter salesFor a jewelry repair shop, self-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax when the owner is not paid through payroll, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • 1099s for bench helpersA part-time bench jeweler or appraiser not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
  • The QBI deductionFor a jewelry repair shop, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.

Deductions jewelry repair shops miss

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

  • Precious metal and findings
  • Gemological grading fees
  • Polishing compounds and buffs
  • Bench tools and small equipment
  • Laser welder and casting machine service
  • Jeweler's block insurance
  • Security and safe monitoring
  • Rent and utilities
  • Display cases and counter fixtures
  • Trade certifications
  • Point-of-sale software
  • Signage and storefront upkeep

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 jewelry repair year, kept every month.

Engagement season and the holidays bring in heavier bench work, and repairs come in every week of the year. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the tax calendar. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Open the year strong

    For a jewelry repair shop, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.

  2. April

    The return lands

    For a jewelry repair shop, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    July checkpoint

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether engagement season changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the gift-giving rush

    Before gift-giving season brings in more bench work, Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and moves worth making before December.

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 jewelry repair shops. 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 jewelry repair owners ask first.

Can Gus keep insurance-paid jobs separate from walk-in repairs?

Yes. Insurance repair work is kept in its own line, apart from standard bench repairs, so you can see what each side of the business brings in.

Do I need to explain every metal purchase?

No. Send the bank statement and Gus sorts precious metal and findings into their own line, and asks once if something is unclear.

Do I write off a new casting machine all at once?

Often, yes. Bench equipment bought for the shop can usually be written off the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading the cost out is the better move. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

Why does my metal cost change so much month to month?

Gold and silver findings are priced to the daily market, so cost naturally moves with it. Gus keeps that in its own line so a market swing does not read as a mistake.

My books are behind from running the bench solo. Is that a problem?

No. Send whatever statements you have on hand and Gus sorts through the backlog, with the accountant checking it, usually 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.

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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