Funeral, memorial & aftercare
Books and taxes for memorial jewelry and keepsake makers.
Custom order deposits, sterling silver and gold materials, Etsy or marketplace fees, and craft show sales paid in cash. Your own bookkeeper stays on the books all year, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December made $4,400. The gold-fill order for the Whitfield family costs more in materials than a usual silver piece, so its margin is tracked on its own.
- Etsy shop payoutMarketplace sales
- Custom order depositCustom order deposits
- Sterling silver supply orderMaterials
- Etsy feesMarketplace fees
- Shipping insuranceShipping and packaging
Why your books are different
A memorial jewelry maker's books go wrong in a few particular spots.
A generalist sees a sale and a supply order. Your prices swing a lot between a silver piece and a gold one, a marketplace takes its cut before the money reaches you, and a custom piece often gets paid for in two steps. When the books blend all that together, your real margin per piece disappears.
-
1
Material costs get lumped into one supplies line
A sterling silver piece and a solid gold one cost very different amounts in materials, but if both land in one generic supplies category, you cannot tell which pieces actually make you money.
What we doTracks material cost against each order category, so a gold piece and a silver piece each show their own real margin. -
2
Marketplace fees hide inside the sale price
A $120 sale on Etsy pays out less once fees are taken, and if that fee is not tracked separately, it looks like the sale brought in more than it actually did.
What we doBooks marketplace fees as their own cost, separate from the sale, so what you actually keep is visible. -
3
Custom deposits count as income before the piece ships
A family pays half upfront for a custom keepsake and the rest when it ships weeks later. Booked as a full sale at the deposit, the month looks stronger than the work actually finished.
What we doKeeps deposits in their own category until the piece ships and the balance is paid, so income lines up with finished work. -
4
Craft show cash sales go untracked
Selling at a holiday market or craft fair often means cash payments that never touch a bank account, and those sales are easy to leave out of the books entirely.
What we doAdds craft show and cash sales into the month when you report them, so total income reflects everything you actually sold.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a memorial jewelry maker.
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
- Marketplace salesOrders sold through Etsy or a similar marketplace.
- Direct site salesOrders sold through your own website.
- Custom order depositsUpfront payment on a custom piece, held apart until it ships.
- Craft show and cash salesIn-person sales at markets and fairs, often paid in cash.
Money out
- MaterialsSterling silver, gold fill, glass, and resin from your suppliers.
- Marketplace feesListing and transaction fees from Etsy or a similar marketplace.
- Shipping and packagingBoxes, padding, and shipping insurance for finished pieces.
- Craft show booth feesTable and booth rental at markets and fairs.
- Equipment upkeepKiln, torch, and small tool maintenance.
- Product photographyPhotos used for listings and marketing.
What we watch for you
- Material cost per piece
What silver, gold, or glass actually costs against what each piece sells for.
- Custom order backlog
Deposits collected for pieces not yet shipped, so you know what work is still owed.
- Marketplace fee share
What Etsy or another marketplace keeps against what you actually take home.
- The set-aside
What self-employment tax will cost on your material margin, set aside piece by piece, so April is already covered.
Ask Gus
Things memorial jewelry makers 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.
Not yet, usually. I keep it as a deposit until the piece ships and the balance is paid, so income lines up with the work you have actually finished.
As its own fee, separate from the sale. That way you can see the full sale price and what the marketplace kept, not just what landed in your account.
Just tell me about it when you send your statement, and I add it into the month so your income reflects everything you actually sold, not just what ran through the bank.
The tax side
The tax side of a memorial jewelry business.
Most of what matters here is treating materials as inventory, keeping marketplace fees visible, and self-employment tax if you run this on your own.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Materials are inventorySilver, gold, and other materials held for future pieces are inventory. What is used in a finished, sold piece counts as a cost against that sale, not written off the day it arrives.
- Self-employment tax applies to your profitRunning this as a sole proprietor means you owe 15.3 percent self-employment tax on what the business nets, on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- Equipment can usually be written off this yearA kiln, torch, or other equipment can often be expensed the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost makers running this as a sole proprietorship can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, as long as the books behind it are accurate all year.
Deductions memorial jewelry and keepsake makers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sterling silver and gold stock
- Marketplace listing fees
- Shipping insurance
- Packaging materials
- Craft show booth fees
- Kiln and torch maintenance
- Product photography
- Business insurance
- Home workspace supplies
- Mileage to craft shows
- Website hosting fees
- Small hand tools
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 memorial jewelry maker's year, kept every month.
Custom orders and holiday gift sales come on their own schedule. Your team keeps the books current all year, so tax time is never a scramble. 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
Return signed
The accountant files and signs your return. The set-aside built from every custom order and sale since January already covers what you owe.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether material costs have shifted your margin.
- October
Before the holiday rush
A look at material stock and craft show bookings ahead of the busier gift-giving months.
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 memorial jewelry and keepsake makers. 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 memorial jewelry makers ask first.
Do you track the difference between a silver piece and a gold one?
Yes. Material cost gets tracked against each order category, so a gold piece and a silver piece each show their own real margin, not one blended average.
How does Gus handle Etsy fees?
They get booked as their own cost, separate from the sale price, so you can see the full amount a customer paid and what the marketplace kept.
I sell some pieces at craft fairs for cash. Does that count as income?
Yes. Tell Gus about it when you send your statement and he adds it into the month, so your income reflects everything you sold, not just what went through the bank.
I take a deposit on custom orders. Does that complicate the books?
No. It gets kept as a deposit until the piece ships and the balance is paid, so income lines up with the work you have actually finished.
Do I need an LLC before I start?
No. Keep selling under whatever setup you already have, sole proprietor or LLC, and Gus books your materials, sales, and fees against it as it is.
My books are a mess from selling on a few different sites. Can you catch up?
Send whatever bank and marketplace records you have. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, usually 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.
More in funeral, memorial & aftercare
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Casket & urn retailers
- Celebration-of-life planners
- Crematories
- Death doulas & end-of-life planners
- Estate cleanout companies
- Funeral removal & transport services
- Green & natural burial grounds
- Independent funeral homes
- Monument & headstone dealers
- Preneed insurance agents
- Private cemeteries
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