Paint, craft & maker studios
Books and taxes for leathercraft workshops.
Walk-in wallet and belt projects, a monogrammed gift order due before the holidays, and a full hide that yields less usable leather than its price tag suggests. 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 $7,300. Monogrammed wallet orders for the holidays carried the month, and I kept an eye on hide yield since a chunk of that leather order ended up as scrap rather than finished goods.
- Walk-in project feesLeathercraft projects
- Custom monogram ordersCustom orders
- Full-grain hide orderLeather stock
- Buckles and rivetsHardware
- Studio rentRent and utilities
Why your books are different
A leathercraft workshop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees project fees and a leather bill. Your business buys whole hides where only part of the area is usable, sells custom monogrammed pieces that take real production time, and keeps scrap leather that still has value in smaller projects. When the books do not know that, hide cost looks like one flat number instead of what it actually costs per finished piece.
-
1
A hide's price tag is not its usable yield
A full hide is bought as one piece, but grain quality, natural marks, and shape mean only part of it becomes finished goods. Tracking the hide's cost without tracking what it actually yields makes it hard to know the real material cost of a wallet or bag.
What we doKeeps hide purchases visible against finished pieces made, so you can see the real material cost per project, not just the sticker price of the hide. -
2
Custom monogram orders blur into walk-in projects
A personalized wallet or belt takes extra time to stamp, stitch, and finish, but if it is priced and booked the same as a standard walk-in project, that extra labor never shows up as its own cost.
What we doKeeps custom and monogrammed orders in their own category, separate from standard walk-in projects. -
3
Scrap leather gets treated as a total loss
Offcuts from a hide are not usable for a full wallet, but they often work for keychains, small pouches, or patches. If scrap is written off entirely instead of tracked, its real remaining value disappears from the books.
What we doFlags usable scrap separately, so leftover leather that still has value does not just get counted as waste. -
4
A hide order distorts one month
A bulk hide order can cover months of projects, but if the whole bill lands in one month's books, that month looks like it barely made money while most of the leather is still on the shelf.
What we doKeeps leather purchases in one steady line and flags a bulk order so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one. -
5
A leather sewing machine gets filed as a supply
An industrial leather sewing machine or a splitter can cost several thousand dollars. Filed as a studio supply, it muddles a normal month and never gets the equipment treatment it should on the return.
What we doFlags large equipment purchases the day they show up and logs them as equipment, not supplies.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a leathercraft workshop.
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
- Leathercraft projectsWalk-in wallet, belt, and small goods sessions.
- Custom ordersMonogrammed and personalized pieces, kept separate from walk-ins.
- Class tuitionTooling and stitching technique classes.
- Retail finished goodsReady-made leather pieces sold in the studio.
- Gift card redemptionsMoved into revenue only when a card is actually used.
Money out
- Leather stockFull-grain and top-grain hides, tracked against finished-piece yield.
- HardwareBuckles, rivets, snaps, and thread.
- ToolsStamps, mallets, stitching awls, and edge finishers.
- EquipmentLeather sewing machines and splitters, tracked separately from supplies.
- Studio rent and utilitiesSpace for cutting, tooling, and stitching.
- Instructor payClass and workshop leaders.
- MarketingLocal ads and holiday wallet and belt promotion.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Hide yield
How much of a purchased hide actually becomes finished, sellable pieces.
- Custom order share
How much of revenue comes from monogrammed orders versus walk-in projects.
- Scrap leather value
Usable offcuts that still have value in smaller projects, instead of being counted as pure waste.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things leathercraft workshop 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.
Close. I tracked what this hide actually yielded in finished wallets, and your pricing is covering the real material cost with a bit of room. Worth checking again on the next order.
Some of it, yes. I flag usable scrap separately from true waste, so it does not just disappear from your numbers as a loss.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a leathercraft workshop.
Most of what goes wrong here is hide cost tracked without tracking yield, and equipment filed as supplies.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Leather as inventoryHides and hardware bought in bulk are inventory until used, then they become the cost of the piece sold. Tracking roughly what is on hand, including usable scrap, keeps the return accurate.
- Equipment depreciationLeather sewing machines, splitters, and other studio equipment can usually be written off in the year they are bought, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax on custom and retail goodsMost states tax the finished leather piece a customer takes home, whether it came from a class, a walk-in project, or a custom order.
- Instructor 1099sAny class instructor not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions leathercraft workshops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Full-grain and top-grain hides
- Buckles, rivets, and thread
- Stamps and tooling supplies
- Stitching awls and edge finishers
- Instructor pay
- Studio rent and utilities
- Liability insurance
- Local social ads
- Card processing fees
- Gift packaging
- Sharpening and blade replacement
- Cleaning and conditioning 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 leathercraft workshop year, kept every month.
Holiday gift orders, spring classes, and a summer retail season 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, the instructor 1099 list is finalized, 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 custom orders have tracked against walk-in projects so far.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at hide stock, custom order lead times, and any equipment worth buying before the gift rush hits.
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 leathercraft workshops. 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 leathercraft workshop owners ask first.
How does Gus figure out if my hide cost is actually covered by what I charge?
He tracks hide purchases against what they actually yield in finished pieces, so you see the real material cost per wallet or bag, not just the price of the whole hide.
Is scrap leather just a loss?
Not always. Gus flags usable offcuts separately from true waste, so leftover leather that still works for smaller projects does not just disappear from your numbers.
Do custom monogram orders get tracked differently than walk-ins?
Yes, they are kept in their own category, so you can see whether the extra time a personalized piece takes is actually reflected in what it is priced at.
Is a bulk hide order going to make a month look bad?
Gus keeps leather purchases in a steady monthly line and flags a big stock-up, so a heavy-buying month is not read as a slow one.
Can a new leather sewing machine be written off this year?
Often yes. Gus flags the purchase and logs it as equipment, and the accountant tells you how it gets written off.
My books are behind from tracking orders in a notebook. 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