Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for lash and brow training academies.
Weekend certification courses, a starter kit sold with every seat, models paid to let students practice on them, and a traveling instructor schedule. 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
April came in at $8,200. Two weekend courses ran back to back, and I kept model fees apart from tuition so you can see what each course actually costs to run.
- Course tuition paymentCourse tuition
- Starter kit saleKit sales
- Model fee payoutModel fees
- Venue rental, weekend courseVenue rental
- Lash tray restock orderCourse supplies
Why your books are different
Lash and brow academy books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a course payment and a venue bill. Your business is a weekend certification that runs in bursts, a kit that ships with every seat sold, and models who get paid so students have someone to practice on. When the books do not know that, real per-course profit stays hidden.
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1
Model fees get buried in general course costs
Paying models to sit for students during a certification weekend is a real, recurring cost, but lumped in with venue rental and supplies, an owner cannot see what training models actually cost per course.
What we doKeeps model fees in their own line, so the real cost of running a hands-on course is visible. -
2
Starter kits get mixed into tuition revenue
A lash tray and tweezer kit bundled with course tuition gets rung into one number, so you cannot see whether kit sales cover their own cost or are quietly eating into your course margin.
What we doSplits kit sales and their cost from tuition revenue, so real kit margin is visible on its own. -
3
A slow month between courses looks like a decline
Courses run in scheduled bursts rather than every week, so a month with no course booked can look like a serious drop in business when it is really just the normal gap between sessions.
What we doTracks tuition against your course calendar, so a gap between sessions does not read as a real decline. -
4
Traveling instructor costs get missed
An instructor who travels to teach a course in another city racks up flights, hotels, and mileage that often go untracked, even though they are real costs of running that course.
What we doTracks travel costs by course, so you can see whether a traveling course still pencils out once travel is counted.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a lash and brow academy.
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
- Course tuitionCertification course fees, per seat.
- Kit salesStarter kits sold with course enrollment.
- Advanced and specialty coursesAdd-on courses beyond the base certification.
- Online course salesSelf-paced or virtual course content, where offered.
Money out
- Model feesPayments to models who let students practice on them.
- Course suppliesLash trays, tweezers, adhesive, and practice supplies.
- Venue rentalSpace rented for in-person weekend courses.
- TravelFlights, hotels, and mileage for traveling instructors.
- MarketingInstagram ads and course listing sites.
- Certification and insuranceTrainer certification and liability insurance.
What we watch for you
- Cost per course
Model fees, venue, and supply spend against seats sold, tracked from your own numbers.
- Kit margin
What starter kits cost against what they sell for, kept apart from tuition.
- Seats filled
Enrollment against course capacity, so pricing and marketing can be judged fairly.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things lash and brow academy 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.
In its own line, model fees, apart from venue and supplies. That way you can see the real cost of running a hands-on course.
Not based on your calendar. Courses run in bursts, and I track tuition against your schedule, so a gap between sessions reads as normal, not a decline.
That depends on whether she teaches your curriculum on your schedule or runs her own courses independently. That one is above my pay grade, so a real accountant is looking at it.
The tax side
The tax side of a lash and brow academy.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and untracked costs. Model fees buried, travel missed, 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.
- Travel deductionsFlights, hotels, and mileage for traveling to teach a course are usually deductible business travel, tracked from your calendar and bank data.
- Contractor 1099s for models and trainersAny model or guest trainer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators 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 tuition and kit income automatically, so most owners pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions lash and brow training academies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Model fees
- Lash trays and practice supplies
- Venue rental for courses
- Travel for traveling instructors
- Starter kit inventory
- Certification and trainer insurance
- Course listing site fees
- Marketing and social media ads
- Course manuals and printed materials
- Video and photography for course content
- Sanitizing supplies
- 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
A lash and brow academy year, kept every month.
Courses run in scheduled bursts rather than a steady weekly rhythm. Your team keeps you ahead of both that pattern 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, the 1099 list for models and guest trainers 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 your course schedule for the year changed the number.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at kit restocks and course scheduling worth planning 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 lash and brow training academies. 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 lash and brow academy owners ask first.
Can Gus track what it actually costs to run one weekend course?
Yes. Model fees, venue rental, and supplies get tracked against seats sold for that course, so you can see per-course profit, not just one lump monthly number.
How does Gus handle months with no course scheduled?
He tracks tuition against your course calendar, so a quiet month between sessions reads as your normal schedule, not a decline in the business.
I sell starter kits with every course seat. Does that complicate the books?
No. Gus splits kit sales and their cost from tuition, so you can see whether kits pay for themselves or need repricing.
I want to bring on another trainer to teach in other cities. What changes?
Whether she is an employee or an independent trainer depends on how much of your curriculum and schedule she follows, and that call goes to the accountant.
My academy's books have never separated model fees from other course costs. Can that get fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts model fees, venue, and supplies apart, the accountant checks it, 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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We keep books for the business next door too.
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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