Home, hobby & lifestyle retail
Books and taxes for plant shops.
A wholesale nursery delivery that has to sell fast, a fiddle leaf fig that did not survive the week, a 30 day guarantee replacement, and a potting workshop with soil and pots included. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $6,700. Spring planting season pushed sales up, but a shipment of tropicals arrived stressed and did not make it, so I logged that loss apart from ordinary shrinkage.
- Register batch, greenhouse counterIn-store sales
- Wholesale nursery deliveryWholesale inventory
- Potting workshop feesClass and workshop income
- Plant subscription box chargesSubscription income
- Guarantee replacement, dead fiddle leafPlant loss
Why your books are different
A plant shop's books go wrong the same handful of ways.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a register total and a supplier bill. Your shop sells living inventory that can die before it ever gets sold, offers a guarantee that means replacing a plant for free within a window, runs potting workshops with soil and pots bundled in, and ships a subscription box every month. When the books miss that, your real numbers stay a guess.
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1
Dead plants are a different loss than shrinkage
A plant that arrives stressed or simply does not survive is a real cost, but it is not theft or a pricing markdown, and lumping it into general shrinkage hides how much loss is actually coming from perishable inventory.
What we doTracks plant loss in its own line, separate from shrinkage or markdowns, so the real cost of dead inventory is visible. -
2
Guarantee replacements look like a free giveaway
Replacing a plant that dies within a guarantee window is a normal cost of doing business in this trade, but without tracking it, it can look like inventory is simply disappearing for no reason.
What we doKeeps guarantee replacements in their own line so the cost of the guarantee is visible and expected, not a mystery. -
3
Workshop supplies get lost in general costs
Soil, pots, and starter plants bought for a potting workshop are a direct cost of that class, but mixed into general inventory, you cannot tell whether workshops are actually worth running.
What we doTracks soil, pots, and starter plants against the workshop that used them, so the class's true payoff is visible on its own. -
4
A subscription plant sometimes needs more time before it ships
A monthly plant subscription charges a customer's card on schedule, but a plant that needs a few extra days to root or recover can push the actual shipment later, and booking revenue at the charge gets ahead of a box that has not gone out yet.
What we doHolds subscription revenue until the box actually ships healthy, so a plant-driven delay never gets counted as income before the customer receives anything.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a plant shop.
Set up once for how you sell living inventory. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- In-store salesPlants, pots, and supplies at the register.
- Subscription incomeCounted when the box ships, not when the card is charged.
- Class and workshop incomePotting workshop fees, tracked against soil and pot costs.
- Online salesYour own site or a marketplace shop, kept apart from the register.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryLive plant deliveries from wholesale nurseries and growers.
- Plant lossInventory that arrived damaged or did not survive.
- Guarantee replacementsFree replacements issued within your guarantee window.
- Store rent and utilitiesThe lease, power, and water for the shop.
- Card processing feesWhat your card processor keeps on every sale.
What we watch for you
- Plant loss rate
How much perishable inventory is lost to death or damage, tracked apart from theft or markdowns.
- Guarantee cost
What replacement plants under your guarantee are really costing you each month.
- Workshop margin
What potting classes bring in after soil and pot costs, so pricing stays sensible.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across subscriptions, workshops, and plant sales, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things plant shop 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 track plant loss in its own line, separate from shrinkage, so you can see exactly how much perishable inventory is really costing you.
It shows up as a real cost, but a normal one. I keep guarantee replacements in their own line so it reads as expected, not a mystery loss.
No. I hold that subscription's revenue until the box actually ships with a healthy plant inside, so a short delay for the plant's sake never gets counted early.
The tax side
The tax side of running a plant shop.
Most of what trips up a plant shop is perishable inventory and timing: plant loss, guarantee replacements, and a subscription that bills before it ships.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldWhat you paid for the plants you actually sold this year reduces your taxable income. Plants lost to death or damage before sale are a deductible loss, not part of ending inventory.
- Live plant subscription timingA subscription box built around a living plant is usually counted as revenue once it actually ships healthy, not the day the customer's card is charged, since the plant itself can delay the shipment.
- Sales tax collectedSales tax on a sale belongs to the state the moment it is collected, whether it is a retail sale, a class fee, or a subscription box.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated plant shops can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when plant loss, guarantees, and subscriptions are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions plant shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Guarantee replacement plants
- Soil and potting supplies for classes
- Card processing fees
- Storefront signage
- Local advertising
- Business insurance
- Grow lights and humidity equipment
- POS software subscription
- Delivery vehicle costs
- Live plant shipping boxes
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Shipping and postage
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 plant shop's year, kept every month.
Spring planting season carries a lot of the year, but living inventory needs watching every month, not only at tax time. 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 you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, right as spring stock starts arriving.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since spring stock was still being planned in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring planting season and subscriptions changed the picture.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Gift plants, pots, and any equipment worth buying before the year's biggest gift-buying months arrive.
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 plant shops. 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 plant shop owners ask first.
Can Gus track dead or damaged plants separately from theft shrinkage?
Yes. Plant loss is tracked in its own line, separate from ordinary shrinkage, so you can see exactly how much perishable inventory is costing you.
I offer a 30 day guarantee and replace plants that die. Does that mess up my margin?
It shows up as a real, expected cost. Gus keeps guarantee replacements in their own line so the expense reads as normal instead of a mystery loss.
A subscription box sometimes ships late because a plant needs extra time. Does that hurt my numbers?
No. Gus holds that box's revenue until it actually ships with a plant healthy enough to travel, so a short delay for the plant's own sake never gets counted before it is earned.
Are my potting workshops actually profitable after buying soil and pots?
Gus tracks soil, pots, and starter plants against the workshop that used them, so you can see the real payoff instead of guessing from a blended number.
My books are behind after a busy spring season. Can you catch up?
Send what you have. Gus sorts through retail sales, subscriptions, and wholesale deliveries, 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