DTC brands

Books and taxes for supplement brands.

Amazon settlements, subscribe and save orders, a co-packer invoice, and lab testing on every batch. 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
AugustExample month
$11,800
what you made

August came in at $11,800. Batch 214 came back from Eurofins clean, so I kept that fee under testing, not supplies.

  • Amazon FBA settlementMarketplace sales
  • ReCharge subscriptionsSubscription sales
  • Ironclad Capsule Co invoiceContract manufacturing
  • Eurofins lab panelLab testing
  • Meta adsAdvertising
Money in$46,000
Money out$34,200
Set aside for taxes$2,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A supplement brand's books go wrong the same handful of ways.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is batches, expiration dates, and a settlement report from Amazon that hides more than it shows. When the books do not know that, a good month and a bad one can look the same.

  1. 1

    A big batch buy hides the real month

    Buying a full quarter of whey protein isolate or empty capsules in one order for a discount skews whatever month it lands in, making a slow sales month look flush with cash and the next one look bare.

    What we doKeeps raw ingredient buys as inventory rather than an expense the day you pay for them, so the month reflects what actually shipped.
  2. 2

    Lab testing gets lost in supplies

    Third-party potency and heavy metal testing on every batch often gets logged as a generic supply cost, which hides what compliance really adds to your cost per bottle.

    What we doKeeps lab testing in its own cost of goods line so you can see what safety testing costs on every batch.
  3. 3

    Amazon's storage fees creep separately from its cut

    FBA takes a referral fee at the sale, then monthly storage and long-term storage fees show up days later as their own deduction, easy to miss if you only glance at the deposit.

    What we doPulls every fee line from the settlement report so referral, storage, and ad credits each show up as their own honest cost.
  4. 4

    Subscribe and save discounts eat margin without a label

    Recurring orders usually ship at a lower price than a one-time sale, and without separating the two, there is no way to tell if the discount is buying you loyal customers or just eating profit.

    What we doSplits subscription revenue from one-time sales so you can see what the discount costs against the repeat business it keeps.
  5. 5

    Expiring inventory does not announce itself

    A batch nearing its expiration date often gets marked down or destroyed, and if that loss is not booked the month it happens, the real cost of holding stock too long stays invisible until it is a habit.

    What we doBooks inventory write-downs the month they happen, so a stale batch shows up as the cost it actually is.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a supplement brand.

Set up once for how you sell and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Amazon FBA salesThe full settlement amount, with Amazon's fees pulled out as their own cost.
  • Subscribe and saveRecurring orders through ReCharge or Shopify's own subscription tools, kept apart from one-time sales.
  • One-time site ordersFull-price and promo orders through your own storefront.
  • Wholesale to gyms and health storesBulk orders billed direct, paid by check or ACH.

Money out

  • Contract manufacturingThe co-packer or encapsulation facility that produces each batch.
  • Raw ingredients and flavoringWhey, creatine, capsules, and flavor systems bought ahead of a production run.
  • Lab testingThird-party potency and heavy metal panels on every batch.
  • Packaging and labelsBottles, pouches, scoops, and printed labels.
  • Amazon feesReferral, FBA fulfillment, and storage, pulled from the settlement report.
  • AdvertisingMeta and Google ad spend driving traffic to the site and listings.
  • Fulfillment for site orders3PL pick, pack, and ship fees for orders outside Amazon.

What we watch for you

  • Landed cost per batch

    Ingredients, testing, and packaging against units produced, so pricing holds up as costs shift.

  • Subscription share

    How much of sales comes from subscribe and save, the steadier money in this business.

  • Amazon fee rate

    What Amazon keeps against each sale, worth watching before it quietly climbs.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked from the batches you actually sold, not a guess in April.

Ask Gus

Things supplement brand 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.

A batch of protein powder is going to expire before it sells through. What happens to the cost?

When you write it down or toss it, I book that loss the month it happens, so it shows up where it belongs instead of hiding in a later month.

Amazon's deposit was way less than what I actually sold. Where did the rest go?

Referral fees, FBA fulfillment, and storage all come out before the deposit lands. I pull the full settlement report so each one shows up as its own cost.

Do I need to register for sales tax in every state my customers order from?

That depends on how much you sell into each state, and it shifts. I flag when a state looks close to its threshold and the accountant tells you what it actually requires.

The tax side

The tax side of a supplement brand.

Most of what goes wrong here is inventory and timing. Ingredients booked as an expense too soon, testing fees buried in the wrong line, and a set-aside nobody started until the return was due.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Inventory and cost of goodsYou deduct the cost of what sold, not what you bought. A large ingredient order sitting in the warehouse is an asset until it ships, not a write-off the day you pay for it.
  • 1099-K from Amazon and ShopifyAmazon and Shopify Payments report your payment volume to the IRS once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. Every dollar is taxable whether or not the form arrives.
  • 1099-NEC for contractorsA freelance formulator, photographer, or affiliate paid $2,000 or more in a year who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income, with the benefit phasing down above $201,750 for single filers and $403,500 for joint filers. Getting the full deduction depends on the books being right all year, batch by batch.

Deductions supplement brands miss

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

  • Third-party lab testing
  • Encapsulation and co-packer fees
  • Raw ingredients and flavoring
  • Packaging and printed labels
  • Amazon FBA and storage fees
  • Meta and Google ad spend
  • Affiliate and influencer payments
  • Product liability insurance
  • Trademark and label registration
  • Sample runs for new formulas
  • Shopify and ReCharge subscriptions
  • Barcode and UPC 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 supplement brand's year, kept every month.

January brings a resolution rush and a return that needs to get moving at the same time. Your team is on the books every month, not only when the calendar says it is time. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    New year rush

    Resolutions bring a sales bump right when last year's return needs to get started. Gus keeps the 1099 list ready and sets your monthly number so tax season is not a scramble.

  2. April

    Signed and filed

    The accountant signs and files the return. Since the set-aside has tracked what each batch actually made since January, the bill holds no surprise.

  3. July

    Halfway look

    Where you stand at midyear, what you will owe, and whether the January bump changed the number for the year.

  4. October

    Before the gift rush

    Holiday gifting brings a second bump. Before it hits, Gus looks at ingredient buys and equipment worth doing 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 supplement brands. 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 supplement brand owners ask first.

I give free samples and bottles to influencers. Does that count as an expense?

Yes. Product sent to an influencer or affiliate for promotion is a marketing cost, not a sale. Gus keeps it out of revenue and logs it as promotion, so your top line stays honest.

Amazon's deposit was way less than what I actually sold. Where did the rest go?

Referral fees, FBA fulfillment, and storage all come out before the deposit lands. Gus pulls the full settlement report so each fee shows up as its own line, not a mystery gap.

What happens to inventory that expires before it sells?

It gets written off the month it is marked down or destroyed, so the loss shows up where it happened instead of quietly eating into a later month.

My subscribe and save orders ship at a lower price. Does that change how the books work?

It changes what counts as revenue, not what you do. Gus keeps subscription sales separate from one-time sales so you can see what the discount is actually worth in repeat business.

Do lab testing fees for potency and heavy metals count as a write-off?

Yes. Third-party testing is an ordinary cost of getting a batch to market, and Gus keeps it in its own category so you can see what compliance costs per batch.

My books are a mess after switching co-packers twice this year.

Send the bank statements and invoices you have. Gus sorts through the switch, and most owners know exactly where they stand 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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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