Print, sign & promo
Books and taxes for promotional products distributors.
Company store reorders, custom holiday gift deposits, rep commissions, and blanks shipped straight from an overseas supplier to your client. 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
October came in at $18,800. I logged the sample kits you sent to three new prospects as marketing, not inventory, since nothing there was ever meant to be sold.
- Company store reorder, Anderson CorpStanding orders
- Holiday gift order depositCustom order deposits
- Alphabroder invoiceBlank goods
- Commission, T. ReyesRep commissions
- Customs broker feeImport duties
Why your books are different
Promotional products books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is blanks sourced from a supplier, a decorator who imprints them, a rep who earns a cut, and orders that sometimes ship straight from the factory to your client without ever touching your shelf. When the books do not know that, margin per order disappears.
-
1
Rep commissions hide inside the cost of the order
You pay a sales rep a percentage of a $6,000 corporate gift order, but that commission gets lumped in with the supplier invoice for the blanks, so you cannot see what the order actually made after both were paid.
What we doKeeps rep commissions in their own line, separate from supplier cost, so real margin per order is visible. -
2
Drop-ship orders split income and expense across months
A supplier ships an order straight to your client's office, but the supplier does not invoice you until weeks later. If income lands in one month and the matching cost lands in the next, both months look wrong.
What we doMatches drop-ship income to the cost it belongs with, even when the supplier's invoice arrives late. -
3
Sample kits get mistaken for inventory
Free sample kits mailed to prospects trying to win new accounts get coded as inventory purchases, which makes it look like you are sitting on unsold stock instead of spending on marketing.
What we doBooks sample kits and prospect mailers as marketing, not inventory, so your stock numbers stay honest. -
4
Import duties get buried in the product cost
Duties paid on an overseas-sourced order get folded into the supplier invoice, so you cannot see how much duties alone are adding to what a job actually costs to land.
What we doKeeps import duties in their own line so you can see landed cost apart from what the supplier charged. -
5
Standing orders blur with one-time event orders
A company store reorder that happens every quarter and a one-time trade show giveaway order get dumped into the same income line, so you cannot tell how much of your revenue is steady versus one-off.
What we doKeeps standing account reorders separate from one-time event orders so you can see how much repeat business you really have.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a promotional products distributor.
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
- Custom order depositsDown payments on decorated orders before production starts.
- Standing and company store reordersRepeat orders from corporate accounts with branded merchandise programs.
- Trade show and event ordersBulk giveaway orders tied to a client's own event.
- Nonprofit and school fundraiser ordersBulk orders for fundraising and spirit wear.
- Rush and same-week ordersOrders paid extra to skip the normal production queue.
Money out
- Blank goodsApparel, drinkware, and bags from wholesalers like alphabroder or Sanmar.
- Decoration and imprint feesEmbroidery, screen printing, and engraving paid to a decorator.
- Freight and drop-ship feesShipping straight from supplier to client, or into your own shop.
- Rep commissionsThe cut paid to sales reps on orders they bring in.
- Import duties and customs feesCharges on goods sourced from overseas suppliers.
- Sample kits and prospect mailersFree samples sent to win new corporate accounts.
- Sourcing research subscriptionsTools used to find and compare suppliers and blanks.
- Card processing feesOn orders paid by card instead of invoice.
What we watch for you
- Cost of goods ratio
Blanks and decoration against sales, so a supplier price hike gets caught before it eats a quarter's margin.
- Commission cost
What reps are paid against total sales, so you know if commission rates still make sense as volume grows.
- Standing order share
How much of the month is repeat company store business versus one-time orders, your steadiest income.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, updated every month as commissions and new orders come in.
Ask Gus
Things promotional products distributor 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 matched that order's income to the supplier cost once the invoice came in, so the job shows what it really made, not a false gap.
No, those are marketing, not stock you plan to sell. I booked them that way so your inventory numbers stay accurate.
If he is not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, he gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I have been tracking his commissions all year so the total is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of a promotional products distributor.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing between what a supplier ships and what they invoice, and costs that get buried instead of tracked on their own. Both get fixed by keeping the books straight all year.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Blanks and cost of goods soldApparel, drinkware, and other blanks held before decoration count as inventory, not an immediate write-off. They become a deduction as cost of goods sold once the order ships.
- Import duties on overseas sourcingBlanks or finished goods brought in from overseas suppliers can carry duties collected at the border, separate from and in addition to income tax on the sale.
- Rep classification and commissionsA rep who sets their own schedule and sells for more than one distributor is often an independent contractor, while one who works set hours under your direction is usually an employee.
- Contractor 1099sA commission-only rep or outside decorator who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions promotional products distributors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sample kits and mailers
- Freight and drop-ship fees
- Sourcing research subscriptions
- Trade show booth fees
- Card processing fees
- Decoration and imprint fees
- Customs broker fees
- Rep commission payments
- Company store software
- Mileage for client visits
- Trade association dues
- Proof and mockup costs
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 promotional products year, kept every month.
Orders swing hard around company events and the holidays. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the sourcing year
Last year's return gets started, the rep and decorator 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed, no surprises
Your return is filed and signed, with rep commissions and drop-ship costs already sorted so nothing from last year is still a guess.
- July
Midyear tally
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring event orders changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Corporate gift orders start landing hard. Gus looks at cash flow for the bigger blank goods orders you will need to place 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 promotional products distributors. 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 promotional products distributor owners ask first.
Can Gus keep track of what I owe my sales reps?
Yes. Rep commissions are kept in their own category, separate from supplier costs, so you can see what each order really made and what you owe the rep who brought it in.
My supplier ships directly to my clients. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus matches the income from a drop-shipped order to its supplier cost even when the invoice arrives later, so the timing gap does not throw off a month.
Do sample kits count as an expense or as inventory I am sitting on?
They count as a marketing expense. Gus books prospect samples separately from stock you intend to sell, so your inventory numbers stay honest.
I import some of my blanks from overseas. How do duties get handled?
Gus keeps import duties in their own line so you can see how much they add to a job's true cost, separate from what the supplier itself charged.
Is a company store reorder treated differently than a one-time trade show order?
Yes. Standing account reorders are tracked apart from one-time event orders, so you can see how much of your business is steady repeat work.
We haven't reconciled anything since our busiest season. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus works through them in order. Most distributors know where they stand within a week of sending the first batch.
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