Creative & production services
Books and taxes for pitch deck design agencies.
A per-slide pitch deck project, a rush fee for a founder's Monday board meeting, a sales deck template you license out, and a freelance designer helping on deadline week. 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
February came in at $11,700. A founder needed a Series A deck rebuilt in three days before a board meeting, so that rush fee showed up separately from your standard per-slide pricing.
- Fenwick Robotics deck rushRush fundraising projects
- Standard deck projectPer-slide project income
- Template license saleTemplate licensing income
- J. Marchetti freelance designFreelance designers
- Figma and Keynote add-onsSoftware
Why your books are different
Pitch deck agency books go wrong at the rush fee and the template sale.
A generalist sees a design invoice. Your business runs on tight fundraising deadlines, per-slide pricing that scales with deck size, template licensing sold on the side, and freelance designers brought in during a founder's crunch week. When the books blend those, you cannot see which kind of work actually pays.
-
1
A fundraising rush fee gets billed like standard work
A founder who needs a full deck rebuilt in three days before a board meeting is paying for speed under real pressure, work that is worth more than a routine two-week deck project, but it can get billed the same.
What we doKeeps rush fundraising fees in their own line so you can see how much of your income comes from tight-deadline work. -
2
Template sales get lost inside project income
Selling a reusable deck template to a few different clients on the side is a different kind of income than a custom project, and mixed together you cannot tell what the templates actually earn on their own.
What we doKeeps template licensing income in its own line, separate from custom project work. -
3
Per-slide pricing hides real project size
A 12-slide investor deck and a 40-slide sales presentation are priced very differently, and if both just say project income, you cannot see which size of project is actually worth taking on.
What we doTracks project income by scope so you can see which deck sizes pay best for the time they take. -
4
A freelance designer during crunch week looks like a software cost
Bringing in a freelance designer for one intense fundraising deadline means paying them across a couple of invoices that can land next to your Figma or Keynote bill.
What we doKeeps freelance designer payments in their own line and tracks what you have paid each contractor toward the 1099 threshold. -
5
A founder who pays late gets missed until it is a pattern
Early-stage founders sometimes pay slower than corporate clients, and a single slow payment can look like a one-off until three or four have piled up.
What we doTracks invoiced income against what has actually cleared the bank, so a slow-pay pattern shows up early.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pitch deck design agency.
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
- Per-slide project incomeCustom decks, priced by scope and slide count.
- Rush fundraising projectsTight-deadline work tied to a founder's investor meeting or board deadline.
- Template licensing incomeReusable templates sold or licensed apart from custom work.
- Retainer clientsOngoing sales or investor deck clients billed on a regular schedule.
Money out
- Freelance designersContractors brought in for overflow or crunch-week deadlines.
- SoftwareFigma, Keynote, PowerPoint, and design plugin licenses.
- Stock assetsIcons, stock photography, and illustration packs used in decks.
- Portfolio and template site hostingSite costs for showcasing work and selling templates.
- Continuing educationCourses and design resources that keep the work sharp.
What we watch for you
- Rush fee share
How much of your income comes from tight-deadline fundraising work versus standard timelines.
- Template income
What templates earn on their own, separate from custom project work.
- Days to get paid
How long a founder or client sits on an invoice before it clears.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across deck and template income, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things pitch deck design agency 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.
I keep rush fundraising fees in their own line, so you can see how much of your income comes from that kind of tight-deadline work compared to standard projects.
No, I keep template licensing income separate from custom project work, so you can see what the templates earn on their own.
If she is not on payroll and you paid her $2,000 or more in 2026, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I have been tracking her payments as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a pitch deck design agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is rush work billed like routine projects and template sales lost in the noise.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099s for freelance helpAny designer not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus tracks the total even for designers who only help during crunch weeks.
- The pass-through deductionMost solo agencies can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when the books are right all year.
- Equipment and software write-offsA new laptop, monitor, or annual software license can usually be written off the year it is bought, same as your Figma or Keynote add-ons.
- Self-employment tax for solo designersA one-person agency pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both, even in a heavy rush-fee month.
Deductions presentation and pitch deck design agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Figma and design software
- Stock icons and illustrations
- Freelance designer fees
- Portfolio and template site hosting
- Continuing education courses
- Computer and monitor upgrades
- Coworking or home office share
- Payment processor fees
- Business cards and marketing
- Client contract tools
- Design association dues
- 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 pitch deck agency's year, kept every month.
Fundraising deadlines strike on no fixed calendar. Your books stay current no matter the timing, 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 designer 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, rush fundraising fees and template sales all sorted out. 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 how rush and template income have moved since January.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at software or equipment worth buying before December and flags any slow-paying clients worth following up on.
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 presentation and pitch deck design agencies. 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 pitch deck design agency owners ask first.
Founders sometimes pay slower than my corporate clients. Does Gus catch that?
Yes. Gus tracks invoiced income against what has actually cleared the bank, so a slow-pay pattern shows up early instead of after three or four late payments.
I license the same deck template to multiple clients. How is that different from a custom project?
Gus keeps template licensing income in its own line, separate from custom project work, so you can see what the templates earn without new design hours.
A rush job pays more than a standard deck but takes the same slide count. Does that get reflected?
Yes, rush fundraising fees stay in their own line so you can see how much extra income comes from tight deadlines specifically.
My freelance designer only helps during crunch weeks a few times a year. Does that still need a 1099?
If she is not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more in 2026, yes. Gus tracks her total across the year no matter how sporadic the work is.
My books are a mess and I have never separated rush work from standard projects. Where do we start?
Wherever you are. Send what you have, even a mix of rush jobs and standard projects. Gus sorts it out, 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