Apparel, resale & collectibles
Books and taxes for kids clothing boutiques.
Fast size turnover, monogramming add-ons, grandparent gift orders, and a shelf that has to flip for Easter, back to school, and Christmas photos. 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
September came in at $6,000. Fall photo outfit orders came in heavy this month, so I kept those apart from everyday register sales to see how much that push actually added.
- Shopify POS payoutRetail sales
- Monogramming add-on feesMonogramming and embroidery
- Kids wholesale line invoiceWholesale inventory
- Embroidery thread orderMonogramming supplies
- Local mom group adMarketing
Why your books are different
Kids boutique books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a retail register. Your business sells inventory that a child outgrows in months, adds monogramming to almost every ticket, and gets a real sales spike three or four times a year around photos and gifting. When the books do not know that, a size-out clearance rack reads like a loss and a strong October looks like it came from nowhere.
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1
Size-out inventory gets marked down and never explained
A newborn line that does not sell before the child outgrows the size window has to move at a steep discount or get bundled off. Lumped into regular sales, a size-out clearance push looks like a normal bad month instead of what it is.
What we doKeeps clearance and size-out sales in their own line, so a markdown push reads as inventory management, not a mystery loss. -
2
Monogramming fees get buried inside the garment price
A onesie sold with a monogram add-on rings through as one ticket, and the shop cannot tell how much of its margin actually comes from the personalization instead of the garment itself.
What we doKeeps monogramming and embroidery fees in their own category, separate from garment sales, so the add-on's real value shows up. -
3
Seasonal photo rushes look like random spikes
Easter outfits, back to school sets, and Christmas photo outfits each drive a real sales bump in a narrow window, but without a seasonal view, an owner cannot tell a good buying decision from a lucky month.
What we doTracks sales against the season, so a strong Christmas photo push reads as the pattern it is, not a fluke to chase blindly next year. -
4
A holiday photo outfit order wrecks the monthly number
A big order of holiday photo outfits or back to school sets often lands as one large wholesale invoice, weeks before any of it sells.
What we doKeeps seasonal wholesale buys visible against what has actually sold from them, so a big order does not read as a bad month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a kids clothing boutique.
Set up once for how you sell and what gets added on. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesEveryday register sales rung through Shopify POS or Square.
- Monogramming and embroideryPersonalization add-ons, kept apart from the garment price.
- Clearance and size-out salesMarkdown sales on inventory a child has outgrown the window for.
- Gift order salesGrandparent and out-of-town gift purchases, often shipped.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryBuys from kids apparel wholesale lines and trade shows.
- Monogramming suppliesEmbroidery thread, blanks, and machine maintenance.
- Shipping and gift wrapOutbound gift orders and packaging supplies.
- Rent and utilitiesThe storefront lease and its utilities.
- PayrollSales staff wages, kept apart from owner draw.
- MarketingLocal mom group ads and school event sponsorships.
- Card processing feesWhat Shopify or Square keeps before payout.
What we watch for you
- Monogramming attach rate
How often a garment sale also includes personalization. It tells you if the add-on is being offered enough.
- Size-out markdown share
How much inventory has to be cleared before a child outgrows it. High numbers mean buying too far ahead.
- Seasonal sales lift
How much Easter, back to school, and Christmas photo season actually add over a normal month.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things kids boutique 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.
I kept those clearance sales in their own line, so you can see it was a planned markdown, not a normal sales dip.
I keep them separate so you can see how much of your margin is coming from personalization versus the item itself.
If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099 by January 31. I am keeping that total as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a kids clothing boutique.
Most of what goes wrong here is inventory timing around fast size turnover and seasonal buying.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsWhat was paid for the pieces actually sold during the year, not just what was spent buying, is what counts against sales. Unsold size-out stock at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for embroidery, alterations, or seasonal help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when seasonal buys and sales are counted in the right month.
- Self-employment taxAn owner running the boutique alone, as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
Deductions kids clothing boutiques miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Embroidery machine maintenance
- Monogramming thread and blanks
- Gift wrap and shipping boxes
- Storefront rent and utilities
- Local mom group and school ads
- Racks and display fixtures
- Shopify and Square fees
- Photo props for seasonal displays
- Business liability insurance
- Signage and window displays
- Trade show travel
- Steamers and garment care
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 kids boutique year, kept every month.
Easter, back to school, and Christmas photos each bring their own rush. Your team keeps you ahead of every one, and of your taxes too. 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, the 1099 list for embroidery help is squared away, 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 the back to school buy is sized right for what actually sold.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Christmas photo outfit orders are landing. Gus looks at what to buy before December and what the season will owe.
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 kids clothing boutiques. 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 kids boutique owners ask first.
How does Gus handle inventory a child outgrows before it sells?
He keeps size-out clearance sales in their own category, so a planned markdown push shows up as inventory management, not a mystery drop in profit.
Do monogrammed items get tracked differently than plain garments?
Gus keeps the personalization fee separate from the garment price, so you can see how much of your margin actually comes from the add-on.
My sales spike hard around Easter and Christmas photos. Is that normal to plan around?
Yes. Gus tracks sales against the season, so you can see the real pattern year over year instead of guessing whether a good month was luck or the calendar.
I placed a big back to school order that has not sold through yet. Does that hurt this month's numbers?
No. Gus keeps the buy visible against what has actually sold, so the order does not read as a loss just because it landed all at once.
My books have not been touched since last Christmas season. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send whatever statements have piled up in the meantime. Gus works through the seasonal buys and clearance sales, the accountant reviews it, and most owners have a clear picture 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