Creative & production services
Books and taxes for packaging design firms.
A die-line and structural design milestone, a run of physical prototypes shipped for a client meeting, a printer relationship you manage on a client's behalf, and a retail compliance deadline. 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
August came in at $12,600. The Marlowe Snacks prototype run needed three physical sample rounds, so I kept that shipping and printing cost tied to the project instead of your general supplies.
- Marlowe Snacks structural feeStructural design fees
- Halvorsen Coffee milestoneDesign project milestones
- Prototype printing, 3 roundsPrototype and sample costs
- Sample shipping, client meetingPrototype and sample costs
- Structural design softwareSoftware
Why your books are different
Packaging design books go wrong at the prototype run and the printer relationship.
A generalist sees a design invoice. Your business is structural die-line work, physical prototype rounds that cost real money to print and ship, printer relationships you coordinate on a client's behalf, and retail compliance deadlines tied to a client's shelf date. When the books do not track those, a project's true cost disappears.
-
1
Prototype rounds get buried in general supplies
Printing and shipping three or four rounds of physical packaging samples for one client can cost hundreds of dollars, and if that lands in a general supplies category, you cannot see what prototyping actually costs per project.
What we doKeeps prototype and sample costs tied to the project that needed them, so you know the real cost of getting a design approved. -
2
Structural design and graphic design get billed the same
Die-line and structural engineering work takes different skills and time than the graphic layer on top of it, but if both just say design fees, you cannot tell which part of the job actually pays.
What we doKeeps structural design fees separate from graphic and branding fees so you can see which kind of work is worth more. -
3
Printer costs run through your account look like your expense
Managing a client's print production means paying a printer and billing the client back, and if only the outgoing payment gets recorded, it looks like your own printing costs are climbing when they are really the client's.
What we doBooks what the client pays you back as income and the printer cost as an expense, so pass-through printing does not distort your overhead. -
4
A retail compliance deadline gets treated like routine revision work
Meeting a specific retailer's barcode, labeling, or packaging compliance rules is real, specialized work with a hard deadline, but it can get folded into a general revision round instead of billed as what it is.
What we doFlags compliance-driven work as its own line so you can see how much of a project's time went to retailer requirements. -
5
A rush order before a trade show gets priced like standard work
A client needing final packaging files rushed before a trade show or retail buyer meeting is worth more than routine turnaround, but often gets billed the same.
What we doKeeps rush fees in their own line so you can see how much of your income comes from trade show deadline work.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a packaging design firm.
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
- Structural design feesDie-line and structural engineering work, billed apart from graphic design.
- Design project milestonesGraphic and branding design, billed and counted as stages ship.
- Compliance and retail spec workBarcode, labeling, and retailer requirement work billed separately.
- Rush feesCharged for a faster turnaround than the standard timeline.
Money out
- Prototype and sample costsPrinting and shipping physical samples for client approval.
- Printer coordinationPrint production costs paid on a client's behalf and billed back.
- SoftwareStructural design, Illustrator, and packaging mockup tools.
- Stock assetsFonts, stock photography, and mockup templates for client work.
- Studio and officeRent, coworking membership, or a home office share of utilities.
What we watch for you
- Prototype cost per project
What sample rounds actually cost, worth knowing before quoting the next client.
- Structural share
Structural design income against graphic design income, so you know which kind of work pays best.
- Printer margin
What clients pay you back for coordinated printing against what it costs you.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across structural and design fees, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things packaging design firm 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, I keep prototype and sample costs tied to that specific project, so you can see what it actually cost to get the design approved instead of it blending into general supplies.
Yes, the amount she pays you back is income and the printer cost is an expense. I book both, so your real margin on coordinating that work is visible.
I keep compliance work and rush fees in their own lines, so you can see how much of a project's time went to retailer requirements versus routine design work.
The tax side
The tax side of a packaging design firm.
Most of what goes wrong here is prototype costs and printer coordination mixed into ordinary overhead.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099s for outside helpAny freelance illustrator, structural designer, or photographer not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated design firms can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when the books are right all year.
- Equipment and software write-offsStructural design software, computers, and monitors can usually be written off the year they are bought.
- Self-employment tax for solo firmsA one-person firm pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the monthly set-aside has to cover both.
Deductions packaging design firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Structural design software
- Prototype printing costs
- Sample shipping to clients
- Stock photos and mockups
- Studio or coworking rent
- Freelance illustrator fees
- Continuing education courses
- Computer and monitor upgrades
- Portfolio site hosting
- Design association dues
- Client presentation shipping
- Accounting and legal 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 packaging design firm's year, kept every month.
Retail shelf dates and trade shows drive the calendar. Your books stay current no matter the deadline, and the return follows. 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 freelance illustrator 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as retail shelf dates for the new year get locked in. The set-aside covered it since January, so the bill is not a surprise.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring retail launches changed the number.
- October
Before trade show season
Clients push final packaging before winter trade shows and retail buyer meetings. Gus looks at equipment you might buy and moves worth making 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 packaging design firms. 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 packaging design firm owners ask first.
A prototype round for one client cost more than the whole project fee that month. Is that a problem?
No, Gus tracks prototype costs against the project they belong to, so you can see the full picture of what it cost to land the approval, not just one month's raw numbers.
I manage printer relationships for some clients and not others. Does that complicate the books?
No, Gus books what a client pays you back as income and what you paid the printer as an expense, whether that happens on one project or every project.
Does structural design work get billed differently than the graphic layer on top of it?
Gus keeps them in separate income lines so you can see which kind of work is actually worth more per hour, even if a client sees one combined invoice.
A retail buyer's compliance deadline pushed a project into overtime. How does that show up?
Gus flags compliance and rush work in their own lines, so extra effort chasing a retailer's requirements is visible instead of hidden inside routine design hours.
My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements and project invoices you have. Gus sorts structural fees from prototype costs, and most owners know where they stand 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.
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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