Local media & publishing
Books and taxes for trade publications.
Controlled circulation mailing costs, exhibitor directory ads for the annual trade show issue, subscriber list rentals, and sponsored webinars that run for months. 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 $14,500. The trade show exhibitor directory ads finally counted as income, since the show itself ran this month.
- Exhibitor directory ad, Show issueTrade show advertising
- Subscriber list rental, vendor AList rental income
- Webinar sponsor, month 2 of 4Webinar sponsorships
- Presort mailing houseControlled circulation costs
- R. Okafor, contributing editorFreelance contributors
Why your books are different
A trade publication's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees ad revenue and a mailing bill. Your magazine runs on controlled circulation copies mailed free to qualified readers, advertisers who sponsor a webinar series that runs for months, and one annual trade show issue that carries most of the year's ad revenue. Miss any of that and the wrong month looks like the good one.
-
1
Free circulation costs money with no matching revenue
A controlled circulation title mails free to qualified subscribers, so postage and printing for those copies is a real cost with no subscription payment sitting next to it to offset it, and it can make a normal month look like it is losing money on readers.
What we doKeeps controlled circulation mailing costs in their own line and separate from paid subscriptions, so you know it is the price of reach, not a loss. -
2
The trade show issue carries the whole year
An annual industry conference issue can bring in more exhibitor directory advertising than the other eleven issues combined, and if that revenue is not flagged, every other month looks like a slump by comparison.
What we doMarks trade show issue revenue as its own event, so the rest of the year reads on its own terms. -
3
A webinar sponsorship runs longer than one invoice
A vendor pays for a four-part webinar series up front, and if the whole payment counts as income the month it clears, the first webinar month looks strong and the last three look like the sponsorship dried up.
What we doSpreads a multi-part sponsorship across the months the series actually runs, so income tracks the work delivered. -
4
List rental income gets lost in ad revenue
Renting the subscriber mailing list to an advertiser is a different kind of sale than a display ad, but if both land in one ad revenue line, you cannot tell how much of the business depends on the list itself.
What we doKeeps list rental income in its own category, so you can see it as a business on its own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a trade publication.
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
- Display and print ad salesStandard ad space sold to vendors serving the trade.
- Trade show advertisingExhibitor directory listings and show issue ad packages.
- List rental incomeFees paid by advertisers to mail or email your subscriber list.
- Webinar sponsorshipsVendor-funded webinars, tracked by which month of the series they cover.
- Digital edition accessPaid subscriber access to the digital-only issue archive.
Money out
- Freelance contributorsTrade writers and editors paid per article or per issue.
- Controlled circulation costsPrinting and postage for copies mailed free to qualified readers.
- Presort and mailing house feesThe service that sorts and mails the print run.
- Webinar production toolsZoom, Riverside, or a similar tool used to record and host sponsor webinars.
- Design and layout softwareAdobe Creative Cloud for InDesign and Photoshop.
- Trade show booth and travelBooth space, travel, and lodging to cover the annual show.
What we watch for you
- Trade show issue share
How much of the year's ad revenue comes from one issue, so a slow month elsewhere is not mistaken for decline.
- Circulation cost per copy
What it costs to mail one free copy, tracked apart from paid subscriber revenue.
- List rental revenue
How much the subscriber list itself is worth to advertisers, separate from ad sales.
- Freelance cost
What contributing writers and editors cost against ad and list rental revenue.
Ask Gus
Things trade publication 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.
Yes, it is a real business cost, just one with no matching subscription payment. I keep it in its own line so it does not look like a loss on readers.
I spread it across the four months the series runs, so the income shows up alongside each webinar instead of piling into month one.
No. I mark it as trade show revenue, kept apart from your regular monthly ad sales, so the other issues still read fairly.
The tax side
The tax side of a trade publication.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A sponsorship spread wrong, circulation costs mixed with paid subscriptions, and a set-aside started too late.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Freelance contributor 1099sAny writer or editor not on staff paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list all year.
- Trade show and travel costsBooth fees, travel, and lodging to cover the annual industry show are ordinary deductible business costs when the trip is for the publication's work.
- The pass-through deductionTrade show issue advertising, list rental fees, and webinar sponsorships all count toward the up to 20 percent of business profit most owner-operated publications can deduct from their taxable income. Above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, the accountant checks how much applies.
- Self-employment taxA solo publisher not paid through payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, whether the year's profit rode on one big trade show issue or a steady run of list rentals, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
Deductions trade publications miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Freelance contributor fees
- Presort and mailing house fees
- Controlled circulation postage
- Trade show booth costs
- Webinar production tools
- Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
- Trade show travel and lodging
- Business liability insurance
- Subscriber database software
- Website hosting and domain
- Industry association dues
- Digital edition hosting 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 trade publication's year, kept every month.
One annual show carries a lot of the year's revenue, and taxes do not wait for it. The books close every month, show season and quiet months alike. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the trade year
Last year's return gets started, every contributing editor's 1099 is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed ahead of show season
Your return is filed and signed well before this year's trade show issue starts pulling in exhibitor ads, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway to the show
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's trade show revenue is tracking ahead of last year's.
- October
Before next year's show
Early exhibitor bookings for next year's show issue start coming in. Gus flags equipment worth buying and anything to do 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 trade publications. 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 trade publication owners ask first.
Our print copies mail free to qualified subscribers. Does that cost get tracked differently?
Yes. Gus keeps controlled circulation mailing costs in their own line, separate from paid subscription revenue, so it reads as the cost of reach, not a loss.
How does Gus handle a webinar sponsorship that runs for several months?
He spreads the payment across the months the series actually runs, so income lines up with each session delivered instead of landing all at once.
Do we need to separate trade show ad revenue from our regular monthly ads?
Yes, and Gus does it for you. Keeping the show issue apart means your other months read fairly instead of looking like a slump by comparison.
We rent our subscriber list to advertisers. Is that the same as selling an ad?
It is a different kind of sale, and Gus keeps it in its own category so you can see how much of the business depends on the list itself.
My books are behind by a few issues. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have, even if it has been a couple of issues since you last looked. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, and you will know where the publication stands well before the next trade show.
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