Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for small fulfillment centers.
Per-order pack fees for a handful of DTC brands, shipping labels billed through at cost, custom kitting supplies, and a packing team whose hours swing hard with subscription box cycles. Your own bookkeeper sorts it by client, 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 $5,300. One brand's subscription box ships this month, so their kitting supply order was the biggest single cost of the month.
- Pack fee invoicesPack fees
- Shipping label reimbursementShipping pass-through
- Kitting supplies, custom boxesKitting and packaging supplies
- Part-time packer payrollPacking labor
- ShipStation subscriptionShipping software
Why your books are different
A small fulfillment center's books go wrong around labor and pass-through costs.
A generalist sees invoices and a payroll run. Your business bills a handful of brands per order, fronts shipping label costs that get reimbursed at cost, and staffs up hard for a few weeks a month around subscription box cycles. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell if your pack fee actually covers the labor it takes.
-
1
Shipping labels look like a real cost, not a pass-through
You pay for shipping labels up front and bill clients back at cost, but if that reimbursement lands in the same line as your actual pack fee revenue, it inflates what you look like you earned.
What we doKeeps shipping label reimbursements separate from your pack fee income, so your real revenue reflects only what you earned for the labor. -
2
Packing labor swings hard and looks unpredictable
A subscription box cycle can mean bringing on part-time help for one intense week a month, and if labor is not tracked against the orders that drove it, a heavy labor month looks like costs got out of control.
What we doTracks packing labor against orders fulfilled that month, so a busy box cycle reads as what it is, not a spending problem. -
3
Custom kitting supplies get lumped with general packaging
Branded inserts, custom boxes, and specific kitting materials for one client cost differently than generic tape and bubble wrap, and mixed together, you lose track of which client's kitting work is actually worth the fee you charge.
What we doKeeps kitting and packaging supplies broken out, so you can see which client relationships are genuinely profitable. -
4
One or two clients carry the whole business
With only a handful of client brands, losing one is a real hit, but a combined revenue number never shows how much of your income depends on a single relationship.
What we doTracks revenue by client, so you can see exactly how concentrated your income is and plan around it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a small fulfillment center.
Set up once for how clients pay you and what fulfilling their orders actually costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Pack feesPer-order fulfillment fees billed to each brand.
- Shipping pass-throughShipping label costs reimbursed by clients at cost.
- Kitting and assembly feesCharges for assembling subscription boxes or custom kits.
- Storage feesAny fee charged for holding client inventory between orders.
Money out
- Packing laborWages for part-time or seasonal packing staff.
- Kitting and packaging suppliesCustom boxes, inserts, and materials specific to each client.
- Shipping labels paid up frontPostage costs fronted before client reimbursement.
- Shipping softwareLabel and order tracking software subscriptions.
- Rent for the fulfillment spaceLease or rent on the space used to store and pack orders.
What we watch for you
- Client revenue concentration
How much of your income comes from your single biggest client. A high number is worth planning around.
- Labor cost per order
Packing wages against orders fulfilled. It tells you if your pack fee actually covers the work.
- Kitting supply cost per client
Custom supply spend by client, so you can see which relationships are genuinely worth the fee you charge.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things small fulfillment center 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.
Take a look at the shipping reimbursements. I keep those separate from your actual pack fee income, but if you were eyeballing total deposits, that would explain the bump.
Not by itself. I track labor against orders fulfilled, and that busy week shows up as exactly what it is, a heavy order month, not a spending issue.
I track revenue by client, so you can see right now how much of your income depends on them. That is a real conversation worth having with the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of running a small fulfillment center.
Most of what trips up a small fulfillment center is mixing shipping pass-through with real earned revenue and losing track of what seasonal labor actually costs.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Shipping pass-through is not straight incomeMoney collected to reimburse postage you already paid is not the same as the fee you earned for fulfillment work, and keeping them separate makes your real income accurate at tax time.
- 1099s for seasonal packing helpAny part-time or seasonal packer not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, if properly classified as a contractor at all.
- Worker classification for packing staffA packer who works your hours, uses your space, and follows your process usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter how the pay is arranged.
- The pass-through deductionMost fulfillment center owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when pack fees, shipping, and labor are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions small fulfillment centers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Packing labor wages
- Custom boxes and kitting supplies
- Shipping software subscriptions
- Rent for the fulfillment space
- Tape, bubble wrap, and general packaging
- Shelving and storage bins
- Scales and label printers
- Utilities for the fulfillment space
- Business insurance
- Uniforms and safety gear
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 small fulfillment center's year, kept every month.
Subscription boxes and client orders run on their own cycle all year, and the holiday order surge changes what those weeks look like. Your team stays on both, not just at filing 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, the 1099 list for seasonal packers is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether adding a new client this year changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday order surge
Order volume climbs hard before the holidays. Gus looks at whether more packing help or supplies makes sense before the busiest weeks hit.
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 small fulfillment centers. 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 small fulfillment center owners ask first.
Does shipping reimbursement count as my real income?
No. Gus keeps shipping label reimbursements separate from your pack fee income, so your real revenue reflects only what you earned for the fulfillment work.
My labor costs swing a lot with subscription box cycles. Can the books handle that?
Yes. Packing labor is tracked against orders fulfilled that month, so a busy box week shows up as what it is instead of looking like a spending problem.
I only have a few client brands. Is that too small for this to help?
No. Gus tracks revenue and costs by client either way, and with fewer clients it actually makes it easier to see exactly where you stand with each one.
Do custom kitting supplies for one client get mixed in with general packaging costs?
No, they are broken out by client, so you can see whether a specific kitting relationship is actually worth the fee you charge for it.
I use part-time help that changes month to month. Is that hard to track?
No. Gus keeps packing labor visible whether it is one person or a rotating group, and flags anyone paid enough to need a 1099 if they are a contractor.
My bookkeeping has just been checking my bank balance for the last year. Can you catch me up?
Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus sorts pack fees, shipping, and labor apart from here forward, and most owners see a clear picture within a few 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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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