Paint, craft & maker studios
Books and taxes for knitting and yarn shops.
Skeins that range from five dollars to forty depending on the fiber, a local dyer's yarn sold on consignment, a monthly yarn club shipping out, and sit-and-knit hours every Tuesday. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
November made $8,500. Holiday gift knitting brought people in, and I only counted your cut of the consignment yarn sales, not the full sale price, since most of that money is owed back to the dyers.
- Retail yarn salesRetail sales
- Yarn club shipment chargesYarn club
- Wholesale yarn orderYarn stock
- Consignor payout, local dyersConsignment payouts
- Shop rentRent and utilities
Why your books are different
A yarn shop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees retail sales and a supply bill. Your business sells fiber that ranges from a five-dollar acrylic skein to a forty-dollar cashmere one, carries local dyers' yarn on consignment, and ships a yarn club box every month before some of those charges are even earned. When the books do not know that, a consignment sale can look like it was all your money.
-
1
Consignment sales get counted as full revenue
When a local dyer or spinner's yarn sells on consignment, only your cut is actually the shop's money, the rest is owed back to them. Booking the whole sale as shop revenue overstates what the business actually earned and understates what is owed out.
What we doBooks only the shop's commission as revenue and keeps the consignor's share as money owed, so your numbers reflect what you actually keep. -
2
Fiber cost gets averaged across every skein
Merino, cashmere, and blended fiber yarns cost very different amounts per skein than acrylic or basic wool, so if every yarn purchase is lumped into one line, an owner cannot see whether premium fiber is priced to actually cover its cost.
What we doKeeps yarn purchases visible against retail pricing by fiber type, so premium yarns can be checked against what they actually cost. -
3
A yarn club charges before the box ships
A monthly yarn club charges a customer's card ahead of that month's box going out. Booked as earned the day it charges, a month with a wave of new sign-ups can look better than it is if some boxes have not shipped yet.
What we doKeeps yarn club revenue tied to the month a box actually ships, so club income reflects real fulfillment, not just sign-ups. -
4
A wholesale yarn order distorts one month
A bulk wholesale order from a yarn distributor can cover months of retail sales, but if the whole bill lands in one month's books, that month looks like it barely made money.
What we doKeeps yarn purchases in one steady line and flags a bulk order so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one. -
5
Discontinued colorways become dead stock nobody counts
A dye lot or colorway that gets discontinued leaves skeins on the shelf that will not sell at full price, but that inventory rarely gets written down or cleared from the books.
What we doFlags yarn that has not moved in months, so you can decide whether to discount, bundle, or write it off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a yarn shop.
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
- Retail salesYarn, needles, and notions bought outright by the shop.
- Consignment commissionsOnly the shop's cut of local dyers' and spinners' yarn sales.
- Yarn clubMonthly subscription boxes, tied to the month they ship.
- Class tuitionKnitting and crochet technique classes.
- Sit-and-knit membershipsOpen studio time for regulars, if offered.
Money out
- Yarn stockWholesale yarn bought outright from distributors, tracked by fiber type.
- Consignment payoutsWhat local dyers and spinners are owed from their sold stock.
- NotionsNeedles, stitch markers, and pattern books.
- Shop rent and utilitiesRetail floor and class space.
- Instructor payClass and technique workshop leaders.
- Yarn club shippingBoxes, packaging, and postage for the monthly club.
- MarketingLocal ads and yarn club promotion.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Consignment payout owed
What local dyers and spinners are owed but not yet paid out.
- Fiber cost by category
What premium yarn actually costs against what it is priced at.
- Yarn club fulfillment
Boxes shipped against subscriptions charged, so revenue matches real fulfillment.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things yarn shop 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 commission is. I book your cut as revenue and keep the rest as what you owe her, so the shop's numbers do not look bigger than they are.
Close, based on current cost. I keep fiber cost tracked by type so you can check pricing against it whenever a new shipment comes in.
It can. Yarn that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down. I flag it so the accountant can help you decide.
The tax side
The tax side of a yarn shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is consignment sales counted as full revenue, and dead stock nobody wrote off.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Consignment is not your inventoryYarn held on consignment belongs to the dyer or spinner until it sells. Only your commission counts as revenue, and what is owed to them is a liability, not your income.
- Yarn and notions as inventoryYarn and notions bought outright are inventory until sold, then they become the cost of the sale. Tracking roughly what is on the shelf keeps the return accurate.
- Writing off discontinued yarnSkeins from a discontinued colorway that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down as impaired inventory, which lowers taxable income.
- Sales tax on retail salesYarn, needles, and notions are usually taxable retail goods. Consignment sales are typically taxed the same way, even though only part of the money is yours to keep.
Deductions knitting and yarn shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wholesale yarn purchases
- Needles and notions
- Pattern books and kits
- Shop rent and utilities
- Instructor pay
- Liability insurance
- Local social ads
- Card processing fees
- Yarn club packaging and postage
- Display shelving and bins
- Consignment tracking supplies
- Cleaning supplies
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 yarn shop year, kept every month.
Winter knitting season, a spring lull, and a holiday gift rush all pull differently. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the return 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, and a monthly set-aside is planned 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 how the yarn club and consignment sales have tracked so far.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at yarn stock, consignor inventory, and any equipment worth buying before the gift knitting rush.
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 knitting and yarn 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 yarn shop owners ask first.
Does consignment yarn count as my inventory?
No. It belongs to the dyer or spinner until it sells. Gus books only your commission as revenue and keeps the rest as money owed to them, not as shop income.
Our yarn club charges cards before boxes ship. Does that matter?
Yes. Gus ties club revenue to the month a box actually ships, so a wave of new sign-ups does not get counted before the fulfillment happens.
Can Gus tell if our premium yarn pricing actually covers fiber cost?
Yes, fiber cost is tracked by type against retail pricing, so you can check whether cashmere or merino skeins are priced to cover what they cost.
We have skeins from a discontinued colorway just sitting there. Does that count for anything?
It can. Yarn that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down as impaired inventory. Gus flags stock that has not moved so the accountant can help decide.
Is a bulk wholesale yarn order going to make a month look bad?
Gus keeps yarn purchases in a steady monthly line and flags a big stock-up, so a heavy-buying month is not read as a slow one.
My books are behind from tracking consignment on a spreadsheet. Can Gus still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners 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.
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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