Apparel, resale & collectibles

Books and taxes for sports card and Pokemon card shops.

Hobby box breaks sold by the team or slot, PSA grading submissions with a wait, and a hot rookie card bought low and held for months. Gus sorts all of 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
MarchExample month
$9,000
what you made

March came in at $9,000. A live break sold out every team slot before it aired, so I logged the full break as income the day the spots sold, not when the cards were pulled.

  • Live break slot paymentsBreak sales
  • Singles and slab salesRetail sales
  • Hobby box case invoiceWholesale inventory
  • PSA grading submissionGrading fees
  • Buylist payout, graded slabsBuylist payouts
Money in$31,000
Money out$22,000
Set aside for taxes$2,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Sports and Pokemon card shop books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees box sales and singles. Your business sells slots in a live break before a single pack is opened, sends cards out for grading and waits months for them to come back, and buys hot rookie cards low with the plan to hold them, not flip them right away. When the books do not know that, a break payout looks like pure profit and a held card looks like dead money.

  1. 1

    Break slot payments get counted without the box cost

    Customers pay for team or player slots in a live break, and if that income is counted without the cost of the box or case being opened, the break looks far more profitable than it actually is.

    What we doKeeps break slot income against the cost of the box or case it came from, so the real margin on running a break is visible.
  2. 2

    Cards sent for grading disappear from the books while they are gone

    A submission to PSA can take months to come back, and during that time the card is neither in the case nor sold, easy to lose track of as real inventory tied up in the process.

    What we doKeeps cards out for grading visible as inventory in process, so nothing tied up at a grading service gets forgotten.
  3. 3

    Speculation buys look like a bad month

    Buying a hot rookie card for $200 with the plan to hold it for a year looks like a straight loss the month it is bought, when it is really a deliberate long hold.

    What we doKeeps held speculation buys visible as inventory, so a deliberate hold does not read as money lost.
  4. 4

    Hobby and retail box costs get mixed together

    A hobby box and a retail box of the same product cost very different amounts and hit differently, and blended into one inventory number, the shop cannot tell which is actually worth stocking.

    What we doKeeps hobby and retail box purchases in separate lines, so buying decisions are based on what each actually returns.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a sports and Pokemon card shop.

Set up once for breaks, grading, and singles. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Break salesLive break slot payments, tracked against the box or case cost.
  • Retail salesEveryday singles and graded slab sales rung through the register.
  • Buylist salesResale of singles and slabs bought from customers.
  • Online marketplace saleseBay or a card marketplace, net of the marketplace's cut.

Money out

  • Wholesale inventoryHobby and retail boxes and cases bought from distributors.
  • Buylist payoutsCash or store credit paid for customers' singles and slabs.
  • Grading feesPSA, BGS, or similar submission fees.
  • Rent and utilitiesThe storefront and break streaming space.
  • PayrollSales staff and break hosts, kept apart from owner draw.
  • Shipping and packagingGrading submissions and outbound customer orders.
  • Card processing feesWhat the card processor keeps before payout.

What we watch for you

  • Break margin

    Slot payments against the box or case cost, so the real profit on running a break shows up.

  • Cards out for grading

    What is tied up at a grading service, so it is never forgotten as real inventory.

  • Held speculation value

    What was paid for cards bought to hold, tracked apart from cards meant to flip fast.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things sports and Pokemon card shop 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.

My last break sold out before I even opened the box. Does that whole payment count as profit?

Not quite. I am tracking the slot payments against what the box or case cost, so your real margin on running the break shows up, not just the top line.

I have twelve cards sitting at PSA right now. Are they just gone from my books until they come back?

No, I keep them as inventory in process, so what you have tied up at the grading service still shows up as something you own.

I bought a rookie card for $200 planning to hold it a year. Does that just look like I lost $200 this month?

No, I book it as inventory you are holding, not a straight loss, so a deliberate long hold reads as what it is.

The tax side

The tax side of a sports and Pokemon card shop.

Most of what goes wrong here is treating a break payout, a grading submission, or a held card like the whole story.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Inventory and cost of goodsWhat was paid for boxes, cases, and singles actually sold during the year, including held speculation buys, is what counts against sales. Unsold or in-process inventory at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
  • Form 1099-K from marketplacesMarketplaces like eBay issue a 1099-K once a seller crosses $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. All income is taxable whether or not the form arrives.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for break hosting or grading submission help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when break costs and buys are counted in the right month.

Deductions sports card and Pokemon card shops miss

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

  • Break streaming equipment
  • Grading submission shipping
  • Card sleeves and toploaders
  • Display cases and slab cases
  • Storefront rent and utilities
  • Card processing fees
  • Business liability insurance
  • Signage and window displays
  • Card show table fees
  • Shipping supplies for online sales
  • Insurance for high-value inventory
  • Damaged inventory write-offs

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 sports and Pokemon card shop year, kept every month.

New set releases and the sports season calendar drive demand all year. Your taxes come on a schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for break hosts and grading help is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

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

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's box and case buys are turning into breaks and sales as planned.

  4. October

    Before the holiday rush

    Holiday gift buying for sealed product and slabs is starting. Gus looks at what to stock before December and what the season will owe.

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 sports card and Pokemon card shops. 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 sports and Pokemon card shop owners ask first.

How does Gus handle income from a live break?

He tracks slot payments against the cost of the box or case they came from, so your real margin on running the break shows up, not just what came in from customers.

What happens to cards while they are away being graded?

Gus keeps them as inventory in process, so what is tied up at a grading service still counts as something the shop owns, not something that disappeared.

I hold hot rookie cards for a year before selling. Does that hurt my books?

No. Gus books a held card as inventory, not a loss, so a deliberate long hold shows up as the strategy it is, not a bad month.

I sell through eBay in addition to my storefront. Does that complicate things?

No. Gus works from your bank statement and sorts each channel into its own category. If you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year, expect a 1099-K.

My books are behind since the last big case break. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the statements covering that stretch, break sales and grading submissions included. Gus works through it, the accountant reviews the numbers, and most owners have clarity 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