Apparel, resale & collectibles
Books and taxes for kids consignment stores.
A spring and fall sale event where consignors set their own prices, a volunteer shift credit system, and a payout run to hundreds of consignors after the doors close. 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
October came in at $12,000. The fall sale event ran for four days, so I kept that week's revenue apart from a normal month to see what the event itself actually earned.
- Sale event register totalEvent sales
- Consignor registration feesRegistration fees
- Consignor payout runConsignor payouts
- Venue rental for sale eventVenue and event costs
- Tagging supply orderSupplies
Why your books are different
Kids consignment sale books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a store with a register. Your business runs a handful of intense sale days a year where consignors set their own prices, pays out a majority share to hundreds of consignors afterward, and gives some consignors a bigger cut for working a volunteer shift. When the books do not know that, the total register ring looks like the business's income instead of mostly belonging to consignors.
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1
The full register total gets booked as the store's income
A four-day sale event rings up $60,000, but consignors typically keep 60 to 70 percent of what their own items sell for. Booked as $60,000 in income, the store's real revenue is overstated many times over.
What we doCounts only the store's cut as income and keeps the rest as a payable owed to consignors, so the event reads honest the day it closes. -
2
Volunteer shift credits get missed entirely
A consignor who works a shift often earns a bigger cut of their sales or early shopping access, and if that adjustment is not tracked, payouts to volunteer consignors come out wrong.
What we doKeeps volunteer credit adjustments visible against the standard split, so payouts reflect what each consignor actually earned. -
3
Registration fees get mixed into sale revenue
A per-consignor registration or tagging fee is not the same as a share of sales, but rung through the same event total, it distorts what the store actually earned from the sale itself.
What we doKeeps registration fees in their own category, separate from the store's cut of sales. -
4
A big event weekend wrecks a normal monthly view
Nearly all of a quarter's revenue can land in one four-day event, and without tracking the event apart from the rest of the month, the calendar around it looks abnormally slow or the event month looks abnormally strong.
What we doKeeps event sales visible on their own, so a sale weekend reads as the planned spike it is, not a confusing swing.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a kids consignment sale.
Set up once for events, registration, and payouts. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Event salesThe store's cut of the total sale event register.
- Registration feesPer-consignor fees to register and tag items for the event.
- Shopper admission feesEarly access or presale entry fees, where charged.
- Off-season storefront salesFor stores that also run a small storefront between events.
Money out
- Consignor payoutsThe majority share owed to consignors for items sold.
- Venue and event costsRental space, tables, and racks for the sale event.
- SuppliesHangers, tagging guns, and safety pins for consignor prep.
- PayrollEvent staff, kept apart from owner draw and volunteer credits.
- MarketingLocal ads and social promotion ahead of each sale event.
- Software and check printingConsignor tracking software and payout check printing.
- Card processing feesWhat the card processor keeps before payout.
What we watch for you
- Consignor payable balance
What is owed out to consignors after an event, so it never gets mistaken for spendable cash.
- Store cut realized
What the store actually keeps against total event sales, so pricing the split can be judged.
- Volunteer credit cost
What extra payout volunteer consignors earn, so the shift program's real cost is visible.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things kids consignment sale 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.
No, only your cut counts as your income. Most of that belongs to consignors, and I keep it tracked as owed to them until the payout run.
That was money owed to consignors sitting in the account, not your store's income. I have been tracking that balance all along so the payout run was not a surprise.
Yes, I keep those volunteer credit adjustments visible against the standard split, so each consignor's payout reflects what they actually earned.
The tax side
The tax side of a kids consignment sale.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating the full event register like it belongs to the store.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Consignment income is only the store's cutOnly the percentage the store keeps from a sale counts as its income. The rest is money collected on behalf of consignors and owed back out, not the store's own revenue.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for event setup or teardown 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 consignor payables are kept separate from event income all year.
- Self-employment taxAn owner running the business as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, on wages up to $184,500.
Deductions kids consignment stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Venue rental for sale events
- Tables, racks, and dividers
- Tagging guns and safety pins
- Consignment tracking software
- Payout check printing costs
- Local advertising per event
- Card processing fees
- Business liability insurance
- Signage for sale weekends
- Cash boxes and counting supplies
- Storage between sale events
- Business licenses and permits
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 consignment sale year, kept every month.
Two intense sale weekends a year carry most of the business. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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 event setup help is ready, 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 spring sale's payout run closed out cleanly.
- October
Before the fall sale
The fall sale event is often the biggest weekend of the year. Gus looks at what the season will owe once it closes.
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 consignment 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 kids consignment sale owners ask first.
Is the whole sale event total my income?
No. Only your cut counts as your income. Gus tracks the rest as owed to consignors, so your books never overstate what the business actually earned from an event.
How does Gus handle consignors who work a volunteer shift for a bigger cut?
He keeps those credit adjustments visible against the standard split, so each consignor's payout reflects what they actually earned for working.
My payout run to consignors drains my account every event. Is that a problem?
Not if the payable is tracked. Gus keeps a running total of what is owed to consignors all along, so the payout run is money you already knew was leaving, not a shock to your balance.
Almost all of my revenue lands in two weekends a year. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus keeps event sales visible on their own, so those weekends read as the planned spikes they are, not a confusing swing in an otherwise quiet year.
My books have not been touched since the spring sale. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the statements from that event forward. Gus separates what was ever owed to consignors from what the store actually kept, and most owners have a clear number 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