Paint, craft & maker studios
Books and taxes for sewing and quilting studios.
Long-arm quilting billed by the square inch, a fabric club shipping monthly, a fall retreat booked with deposits months out, and bolts of quilting cotton on every shelf. 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
October made $6,600. Long-arm quilting jobs were busy ahead of the holidays, and I kept deposits for the November retreat separate since that event has not happened yet.
- Long-arm quilting jobsLong-arm quilting
- Retreat depositsRetreat bookings
- Fabric bolt orderFabric stock
- Batting and threadNotions and batting
- Studio rentRent and utilities
Why your books are different
A sewing and quilting studio's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees class fees and a fabric bill. Your business is long-arm quilting billed by the square inch, a fabric club shipping every month, and a retreat that collects deposits half a year before anyone shows up. When the books do not know that, a strong deposit month can hide a retreat that has not actually happened yet.
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1
Retreat deposits get counted before the retreat happens
A multi-day quilting retreat often collects deposits months in advance, sometimes the full fee well before the event. Booked as income the day it lands, a slow month of everyday studio traffic can look busy because of an event that has not run yet.
What we doKeeps retreat payments tied to the date of the actual event, so the number reflects what happened in the studio that month. -
2
Long-arm pricing by the inch needs its own tracking
Long-arm quilting is usually priced by the square inch of the quilt, plus thread and batting, so if that income is not tracked against machine time and thread cost, an owner cannot tell whether the pricing actually covers what each job takes to run.
What we doKeeps long-arm quilting income in its own category, so you can see it against thread, batting, and machine costs. -
3
A fabric club creates income owed, not yet earned
A monthly fabric club charges a customer's card before that month's box ships. If the charge is booked as earned the day it processes, a month with a lot of new members can look better than it is if some boxes have not gone out yet.
What we doKeeps fabric club charges tied to the month the box actually ships, so club revenue reflects real fulfillment, not just sign-ups. -
4
A fabric order distorts one month
A bulk order of quilting cotton, batting, and notions can cover several months of classes and retail sales, but if the whole bill lands in one month's books, that month looks like it barely made money.
What we doKeeps fabric and notion purchases in one steady line and flags a bulk order so a heavy-buying month is not mistaken for a bad one. -
5
Discontinued fabric becomes dead stock nobody counts
A fabric line that gets discontinued by the manufacturer leaves bolts on the shelf that will not sell at full price, but that inventory rarely gets written down or cleared from the books.
What we doFlags fabric that has not moved in months, so you can decide whether to discount, bundle, or write it off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sewing and quilting 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
- Class tuitionBeginner sewing and quilting technique classes.
- Long-arm quiltingCustomer quilt tops finished on the studio's long-arm machine.
- Fabric and notions retailBolts, thread, and quilting supplies sold in the shop.
- Retreat bookingsMulti-day events, tied to the date they actually run.
- Machine rentalOpen sew time on studio machines.
Money out
- Fabric stockQuilting cotton and specialty fabric bought by the bolt.
- Notions and battingThread, zippers, batting, and other consumables.
- Machine maintenanceSewing machine and long-arm servicing and parts.
- Studio rent and utilitiesSpace for classes, machines, and retail.
- Instructor payClass leaders and retreat instructors.
- Retreat costsVenue, catering, and supplies for multi-day events.
- MarketingLocal ads and retreat promotion.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Long-arm cost coverage
Whether per-inch pricing actually covers thread, batting, and machine time.
- Fabric club fulfillment
Boxes shipped against subscriptions charged, so revenue matches real fulfillment.
- Dead fabric stock
Discontinued bolts that have not moved, worth discounting or clearing.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things sewing and quilting 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, I hold those against the date the retreat actually happens in November, so October's number reflects October's real studio activity.
Close this month. Long-arm jobs brought in $2,900 against about $650 in thread and batting. Worth checking again if batting prices keep climbing.
It can. Fabric that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down. I flag it so the accountant can help you decide.
The tax side
The tax side of a sewing and quilting studio.
Most of what goes wrong here is retreat deposits and club charges counted before the work is delivered, and dead fabric stock nobody wrote off.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Fabric and notions as inventoryFabric, batting, and notions bought in bulk are inventory until used or sold, then they become the cost of the sale. Tracking roughly what is on the shelf keeps the return accurate.
- Writing off discontinued fabricBolts from a discontinued line that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down as impaired inventory, which lowers taxable income.
- Long-arm equipment depreciationA long-arm quilting machine is a major equipment purchase that can usually be written off, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax on retail and servicesFabric and notion sales are usually taxable retail. Whether a long-arm quilting service fee is taxed the same way depends on your state.
Deductions sewing and quilting studios miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fabric and quilting cotton
- Batting and thread
- Long-arm machine parts and needles
- Sewing machine maintenance
- Instructor pay
- Studio rent and utilities
- Liability insurance
- Local social ads
- Card processing fees
- Retreat venue and catering
- Fabric club shipping supplies
- 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 sewing and quilting studio year, kept every month.
Spring class enrollment, summer retreats, and a fall quilting show season 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, 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 retreat bookings and long-arm work have tracked so far.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at fabric stock, retreat bookings, and any equipment worth buying before the year's busiest quilting 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 sewing and quilting studios. 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 sewing and quilting studio owners ask first.
We collect retreat deposits months in advance. Does that skew the monthly numbers?
No. Gus ties retreat income to the date the event actually runs, so a strong deposit month does not make it look like the retreat already happened.
Can Gus tell if our long-arm pricing covers thread and batting cost?
Yes, long-arm income is tracked against those material costs, so you can see whether per-inch pricing is keeping up as supply prices change.
Our fabric club charges cards before boxes ship. Does that matter?
Yes. Gus ties club revenue to the month a box actually ships, so a wave of new sign-ups does not get counted before the fulfillment happens.
We have bolts from a discontinued fabric line just sitting there. Does that count for anything?
It can. Fabric that will not sell at full price can sometimes be written down as impaired inventory. Gus flags stock that has not moved so the accountant can help decide.
Is a bulk fabric order going to make a month look bad?
Gus keeps fabric and notion purchases in a steady monthly line and flags a big stock-up, so a heavy-buying month is not read as a slow one.
My books are behind from tracking sales on a receipt book. 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