Paint, craft & maker studios
Books and taxes for painting and drawing studios.
A multi-week figure drawing course paid upfront, a live model paid by the hour, professional-grade paint and canvas, and a fall gallery show selling student work on consignment. 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
September made $7,500. The fall figure drawing course filled up and the gallery show sold several student pieces, and I only counted the studio's commission on those sales, not the full price paid to each artist.
- Fall course tuitionCourse tuition
- Gallery show commissionGallery consignment
- Professional paint and canvasArt supplies
- Live model payModel fees
- Studio rentRent and utilities
Why your books are different
An adult painting studio's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees course fees and an art supply bill. Your business pays a live model by the hour, sells student and local artist work on consignment at a gallery show, and runs multi-week courses paid upfront. When the books do not know that, a strong gallery show can look like it was all the studio's money instead of mostly the artists'.
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1
Gallery consignment sales get counted as full revenue
When a student's or local artist's painting sells at a gallery show, only the studio's commission is actually its money, the rest is owed to the artist. Booking the full sale price as revenue overstates what the studio earned and understates what is owed out.
What we doBooks only the studio's commission as revenue and keeps the artist's share as money owed, so your numbers reflect what you actually keep. -
2
Model fees get lumped into general supplies
A live model paid by the hour for a figure drawing session is a real, recurring labor cost, and if it gets buried in general studio expenses, it is hard to see the true cost of running life drawing sessions.
What we doKeeps model pay in its own line, separate from art supplies, so the real cost of a life drawing session is visible. -
3
Multi-week course tuition gets counted all at once
A student pays for an entire multi-week course the day it starts, but the sessions run over weeks or months. Booked as income all in week one, the rest of the course looks like it earned nothing while it is still being taught.
What we doSpreads course tuition across the weeks it actually covers, so revenue lines up with the sessions as they happen. -
4
Professional-grade supplies get averaged like basic materials
Artist-grade oil paint and stretched canvas cost far more than student-grade materials, so if every supply purchase is lumped together, it is hard to know whether course and open studio pricing actually reflects what materials cost.
What we doKeeps supply purchases visible against course and open studio pricing, so material-heavy offerings can be checked against their real cost. -
5
A supply order distorts one month
A bulk order of paint, canvas, and brushes can cover several months of courses, but if the whole bill lands in one month's books, that month looks like it barely made money.
What we doKeeps supply purchases in one steady line and flags a bulk order so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a painting and drawing studio.
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 tuitionMulti-week painting and drawing courses, spread across sessions.
- Open studio membershipsAccess to studio space and easels outside of scheduled courses.
- Gallery consignmentOnly the studio's commission on student or artist work sold.
- Visiting artist workshopsOne-off workshops led by guest instructors, priced separately.
- Retail suppliesPaint, canvas, and brushes sold to students.
Money out
- Art suppliesProfessional-grade paint, canvas, and brushes.
- Model feesLive model pay for figure drawing sessions.
- Studio rent and utilitiesSpace, lighting, and ventilation for painting and drawing.
- Instructor payCourse leaders and visiting artist honorariums.
- Gallery show costsFraming, hanging, and opening reception expenses.
- MarketingLocal ads and gallery show promotion.
- InsuranceGeneral liability, especially for gallery shows open to the public.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Model cost per session
What live model pay actually costs against course and open studio pricing.
- Gallery commission owed
What artists are owed from consignment sales but not yet paid out.
- Course fill rate
How many course seats sell against how many are offered each term.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things painting studio 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, only your commission is. I book your cut as revenue and keep the rest as what is owed to each artist, so the studio's numbers do not look bigger than they actually are.
If you pay a model $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. I track that as we go so it is ready.
No, I split it across the twelve weeks the course runs, so each week's session shows the income it actually earned.
The tax side
The tax side of a painting and drawing studio.
Most of what goes wrong here is consignment sales counted as full revenue, and course tuition counted too early.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Gallery consignment is not your inventoryArtwork held on consignment belongs to the artist until it sells. Only your commission counts as revenue, and what is owed to the artist is a liability, not your income.
- Model fees and 1099sAny model or guest artist not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Art supplies as inventoryPaint, canvas, and brushes bought in bulk are inventory until used or sold, then they become the cost of the sale. Tracking roughly what is on hand keeps the return accurate.
- Sales tax on retail and consignmentRetail supply sales and gallery art sales are usually taxable, though the exact treatment for consignment sales depends on your state.
Deductions painting and drawing studios for adults miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Professional-grade paint and canvas
- Brushes and easels
- Model fees
- Studio rent and utilities
- Instructor and visiting artist pay
- Liability insurance
- Gallery show framing and hanging
- Local social ads
- Card processing fees
- Lighting and ventilation upkeep
- Reception and opening costs
- Cleaning 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 painting and drawing studio year, kept every month.
A fall course season, winter gallery shows, and a summer open studio lull 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 model and 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 course enrollment and gallery sales have tracked so far.
- October
Before winter courses
Gus looks at supply stock, model and instructor scheduling, and any equipment worth buying before the next course season.
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 painting and drawing studios for adults. 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 painting studio owners ask first.
How does Gus handle art sold at our gallery show?
Only the studio's commission counts as revenue. The rest is booked as money owed to the artist, so your numbers reflect what the studio actually keeps, not the full sale price.
Do we need to track model pay separately from other expenses?
Yes, model fees are kept in their own line, and Gus tracks payments by name so the year-end 1099 list is ready if a model crosses $2,000 for the year.
A student paid for a whole course upfront. Does that count as one month's income?
No, Gus spreads it across the weeks the course runs, so each session shows the income it actually earned instead of one lump sum in week one.
Is a bulk paint and canvas order going to make a month look bad?
Gus keeps supply 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 Gus tell if our course pricing covers professional-grade supply costs?
Yes, supply purchases are tracked against course and open studio pricing, so you can check whether material-heavy offerings are priced to cover what they cost.
My books are behind from tracking sales on a clipboard. 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