Software, SaaS & apps

Books and taxes for Shopify app developers.

A Shopify Partner payout net of revenue share, a Black Friday spike, a merchant refund, and a contractor invoice for a new feature. Your own bookkeeper sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
NovemberExample month
$29,300
what you made

November made $29,300. Black Friday and Cyber Monday installs pushed this month well above average, so I flagged it as a seasonal spike, not the new baseline.

  • Shopify Partner payoutApp subscription revenue
  • Merchant refund batchRefunds
  • Toptal, contract developerContract development
  • DigitalOceanHosting
  • Shopify app review consultingCompliance and review support
Money in$48,500
Money out$19,200
Set aside for taxes$6,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Shopify app developer books go wrong in a few predictable places.

A generalist bookkeeper sees a Partner payout and calls it revenue. Your money already has Shopify's revenue share removed, moves in a huge wave around Black Friday, and comes from merchants who install and uninstall on their own schedule. When the books miss all that, the monthly number does not mean much.

  1. 1

    The Partner payout already has Shopify's cut removed

    Shopify keeps a share of app revenue before the payout reaches your bank, so the deposit you see understates what merchants actually paid for your app.

    What we doBooks the payout as money in and adds Shopify's revenue share back as its own cost, so the real price of selling through the app store shows up.
  2. 2

    Black Friday and Cyber Monday distort a normal month

    Merchant installs and upgrades spike hard around the holiday shopping weekend, and a November or December payout can dwarf every other month, making the rest of the year look weak by comparison.

    What we doFlags the holiday spike so it reads as a seasonal high point, not a signal that every month should look like it.
  3. 3

    Uninstalls and refunds hide inside the payout

    A merchant who installs, uses the app for two weeks, and uninstalls generates a partial refund that gets netted against the next payout with no clear line showing what happened.

    What we doSeparates refunds from Shopify's revenue share so an uninstall wave is visible as its own pattern, not folded into fees.
  4. 4

    App review and compliance work looks like a routine dev bill

    Time or contractor pay spent responding to a Shopify app review rejection, or updating for a new API version, shows up the same as ordinary feature development, hiding how much compliance work actually costs.

    What we doNotes when a dev cost is tied to an app review or a required API update, so it is not confused with new feature work.
  5. 5

    Free trial installs never show up as revenue but still cost money

    Every free trial install still uses your infrastructure and support time, and without tracking that cost against paid conversions, you cannot tell whether trials are actually worth running.

    What we doTracks hosting and support costs against paid conversions where the data allows it, so trial economics are visible, not assumed.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a Shopify app developer.

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

  • App subscription revenueShopify Partner payouts from merchant subscriptions, net of Shopify's share.
  • One-time app purchase revenueSetup fees or one-time charges billed through the app store.
  • Usage-based chargesPer-order or per-transaction fees billed to larger merchants.
  • Affiliate or partner revenueReferral fees from other Shopify apps or services recommended inside yours.

Money out

  • RefundsKept separate from Shopify's revenue share so an uninstall wave is visible.
  • Contract developmentToptal, an agency, or a direct invoice for feature and API update work.
  • Hosting and infrastructureAWS, Google Cloud, or a database provider running the app for every merchant.
  • Compliance and review supportTime or contractors spent on Shopify app review requirements.
  • Merchant support toolsHelp desk software used to support installed merchants.
  • App store listing and marketingScreenshots, demo videos, and paid placement in the app store.

What we watch for you

  • Payout trend

    Shopify Partner payout total month over month, the plainest read on whether the app is growing.

  • Revenue share cost

    What Shopify keeps out of every dollar merchants pay, worth watching if the share changes.

  • Refund and uninstall rate

    Refunds against total payouts, a useful flag for whether merchants are sticking around after they install.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month including the Black Friday spike, so the holiday rush never throws off the number.

Ask Gus

Things Shopify app developers 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.

Our Partner payout is always less than what our app dashboard shows merchants were billed. Why?

Shopify's revenue share comes out before the payout reaches you. I book that share as its own cost so you can see the real gap.

November's payout is huge compared to every other month. Should I plan around that number?

No. I flagged it as a Black Friday and Cyber Monday spike, not your normal month. Plan your set-aside around the rest of the year's average instead.

We had to rebuild a feature after a failed app review. Does that count as a normal dev cost?

I keep review and compliance work in its own note, separate from new feature builds, so you can see what staying in the app store actually costs.

The tax side

The tax side of running a Shopify app business.

Most of what matters here is booking Shopify's revenue share correctly and keeping contractor and compliance costs sorted from ordinary feature work.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • 1099-K from Shopify payoutsShopify reports Partner payout volume once it crosses $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year, but every dollar earned through the app is taxable whether or not a form arrives.
  • The pass-through deductionMost app teams organized as an LLC or S corporation can deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income before it hits the owners' personal returns, with limits at higher income levels.
  • Self-employment taxA founder taking profit as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC owner pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, since there is no employer splitting it with them.
  • 1099-NEC for app development workA contract developer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 to build features or handle an app review fix, not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus tracks it across every project.

Deductions Shopify app developers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Contract development
  • Hosting and infrastructure
  • App review and compliance work
  • Merchant support tools
  • App store listing assets
  • Demo videos and screenshots
  • Home office, business share
  • Business phone and internet share
  • Developer conference tickets
  • Business insurance
  • Accounting and legal fees
  • Processing and revenue share 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 Shopify app developer's year, kept every month.

Merchants install and uninstall all year, with one huge wave every November. Your team keeps the books current whether the month is quiet or the biggest one you have. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan before the rush

    Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside gets planned around the year's usual pattern, well before the holiday wave hits.

  2. April

    Filed, ahead of the rush

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside built from Partner payouts has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway to Black Friday

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring merchant growth changed the number ahead of the holiday season.

  4. October

    Before the holiday rush

    Before Black Friday and Cyber Monday installs hit, a look at hosting capacity spend and anything worth buying before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 Shopify app developers. 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 Shopify app developers ask first.

Our Partner payout is net of Shopify's cut. Does Gus track the gross amount too?

Yes. He books the payout you receive and adds Shopify's revenue share back as its own cost line, so you can see both what merchants paid and what the app store kept.

Black Friday makes one month huge and the rest look small. How does that affect our taxes?

It does not change what you owe, but Gus flags the holiday spike so your set-aside is planned around the full year's pattern, not just the biggest month.

We paid a contractor to fix our app after a failed review. Is that treated differently from regular dev work?

Gus notes it as compliance work separate from feature development, so you can see what staying in good standing with the app store actually costs.

Most of our merchants are on free trials. Does that complicate the books?

Trials themselves are not revenue, but the hosting and support cost of running them is real. Gus tracks that against paid conversions where the data allows it.

We run the business as two co-founders. Does that change how Gus handles things?

It changes the entity structure question, which is above what Gus decides alone. He flags it and the accountant walks you through partnership or S corporation options.

Our books are behind from focusing entirely on the app review process. Can you catch us up?

Yes. Send the Partner payout statements and bank records you have. Gus sorts through it and the accountant checks it, and most teams know where they stand within a couple weeks.

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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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