Pet products & breeding
Books and taxes for pet apparel brands.
A Shopify payout, a Faire wholesale order, a custom embroidered order made to fit one dog, and import duties on the new season's line. 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
September came in at $9,000. The import duties on the new fall line got tied to that inventory, not booked as a straight cost.
- Shopify payoutWebsite sales
- Faire wholesale payoutWholesale orders
- Overseas manufacturer invoiceManufacturing
- Customs and freight feesImport costs
- Embroidery thread orderPersonalization supplies
Why your books are different
A pet apparel brand's books go wrong in a handful of specific spots.
A generalist sees payouts and a factory invoice. Your brand runs on Faire wholesale terms, custom embroidered orders that cannot be resold, and inventory spread across sizes that do not sell evenly. When the books miss that, the real margin on a design disappears.
-
1
Faire's commission and terms hide in the payout
Faire takes a commission on wholesale orders and can extend new boutique customers 60 days to pay, so a payout that looks smaller than the order total, or a sale that has not actually been paid yet, both get confusing fast.
What we doBooks the full wholesale order as the sale and Faire's commission as its own fee, and tracks what is still owed on extended terms. -
2
Custom embroidered orders get priced like stock inventory
A harness embroidered with a specific dog's name cannot be resold if the buyer cancels, and it takes more labor than a stock item, so treating it like a normal sale hides whether personalized orders are actually worth the extra time.
What we doTracks personalized orders as their own category, so their real margin against stock items is visible. -
3
Size runs hide dead stock
A single design ordered across six sizes often sells out in the popular middle sizes while the smallest and largest sit on the shelf, and a single units-sold number for the whole design hides which sizes are actually tying up cash.
What we doFlags slow-moving sizes within a design, so a reorder does not repeat the same imbalance. -
4
Influencer gifting never gets counted as marketing
Sending free product to influencers for exposure is a real marketing cost, and if it is written off as inventory shrinkage instead of a marketing expense, the true cost of building the brand's following stays invisible.
What we doBooks gifted product as a marketing expense at its cost, separate from inventory that was actually sold or lost. -
5
Import duties get expensed instead of tied to the goods
Customs duties and freight on a container from an overseas manufacturer are a real cost of that inventory, and expensed all at once instead of tied to the goods, they make the month the shipment lands look far worse than the season actually is.
What we doTies import duties and freight to the inventory they belong to, so the cost lands with the goods as they sell.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pet apparel brand.
Set up once for how the brand gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Website salesOrders through the brand's own Shopify site.
- Wholesale ordersFaire payouts, net of Faire's commission.
- Marketplace salesEtsy or Instagram and TikTok shop orders.
- Personalized ordersCustom embroidered pieces made to order.
Money out
- ManufacturingPayments to an overseas factory or a domestic sewing contractor.
- Import costsCustoms duties and freight on incoming inventory.
- Personalization suppliesEmbroidery thread, patches, and machine maintenance.
- Samples and prototypesNew design samples before a line goes into production.
- PackagingBranded boxes, tissue, and mailers.
- MarketingInfluencer gifting, affiliate commissions, and social ads.
- PhotographyProduct and lifestyle photos for listings and ads.
What we watch for you
- Gross margin
Sales against manufacturing and import cost, so pricing keeps up with factory price changes.
- Wholesale receivables
What Faire customers on extended terms still owe, so nothing gets forgotten.
- Slow-moving sizes
Which sizes in a design are not selling, so a reorder does not repeat the same mistake.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things pet apparel brand 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.
Faire takes a commission before it pays out. I book the full order as your sale and their cut as a fee, so your real numbers stay accurate.
I track them separately, so you can see their real margin against a stock harness. A few months of that and you'll have your answer.
Yes, that's a marketing cost at what the product cost you to make, not a straight loss. It's worth tracking so you know what building your following actually costs.
The tax side
The tax side of a pet apparel brand.
Most of what matters here is inventory and timing. Goods bought or made to sell are not a deduction until they sell, and import costs travel with the goods.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsFabric, manufacturing, and import costs tied to inventory are not deductible when paid. They become a cost as the goods sell, which is why an accurate count by size matters at tax time.
- Marketplace reportingShopify, Etsy, or Faire can each send a 1099-K once sales cross $20,000 and 200 transactions, but every dollar sold is taxable whether or not a form arrives.
- Contractor 1099sA domestic sewing contractor or designer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost profitable owner-operated apparel brands can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions pet apparel brands miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sample and prototype costs
- Embroidery thread and patches
- Branded packaging and mailers
- Import duties and freight
- Faire and marketplace commissions
- Product photography
- Influencer product gifting
- Trade show booth fees
- Business liability insurance
- Design software subscriptions
- Shipping supplies
- Barcode and label printing
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 pet apparel brand year, kept every month.
New seasons and reorders land on their own schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of the inventory and the return. 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, any contractor 1099s go out, and you get a monthly set-aside 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 this year's wholesale and direct sales compare.
- October
Before the holiday line
Ahead of the winter collection landing, Gus looks at import costs and size runs worth adjusting before year end.
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 pet apparel brands. 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 pet apparel brand owners ask first.
Why does my Faire payout look smaller than what I actually sold?
Faire takes a commission before the payout lands. Gus books the full order as your sale and Faire's cut as its own fee, so your real sales numbers stay accurate.
Should custom embroidered orders be tracked differently from stock items?
Yes. They take more labor and cannot be resold if canceled, so Gus tracks them separately to show their real margin against a stock item.
How do I know which sizes in a design are not selling?
Gus flags slow-moving sizes within a design, so your next reorder does not repeat the same mismatch between what sells and what sits.
I gift product to influencers for exposure. Does that count as an expense?
Yes. It gets booked as a marketing cost at what the product cost to make, not written off as a loss, so you can see what building your following actually costs.
How do import duties on my overseas manufacturing get handled?
They get tied to the inventory they belong to, so the cost lands with the goods as they sell instead of making the month the shipment arrives look worse than it is.
My books are just Shopify and Faire reports I have never organized. Can Gus start from there?
Yes. Send what you have and Gus will separate Faire wholesale orders from your direct website sales. Most founders see a clear picture within a cycle.
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 pet products & breeding
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Aquarium & tropical fish stores
- Bird shops & aviaries
- Cat breeders
- Freeze-dried pet treat makers
- Licensed dog breeders
- Pet treat bakeries
- Raw pet food brands & stores
- Reptile shops & breeders
- Custom pet portrait businesses
- Pet supply boutiques
- Canine fitness & dog swimming pools
- Canine massage & rehab
- Cat groomers
- Dog agility & sport training facilities
- Dog behaviorists
- Invisible & electric dog fence installers
- Off-leash dog parks with bars
- Pet cremation & aftercare
- Pet photographers
- Pet relocation services (international)
- Pet taxi & pet transport
- Protection dog trainers
- Service dog trainers
- Exotic animal vets
- Holistic & integrative vets
- In-home pet euthanasia services
- Low-cost spay/neuter & vaccine clinics
- Veterinary dental specialists
- Veterinary rehab & hydrotherapy
- Board-and-train programs
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