Apparel, resale & collectibles
Books and taxes for tabletop and trading card game stores.
Tournament entry fees, a singles buylist, booster box preorders paid months before a set releases, and prize support credit from the publisher. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $5,500. A new set's booster box preorders finally shipped and got counted as real sales, instead of sitting as deposits like they were in March.
- Tournament entry feesEvent revenue
- Register sales, singles and boxesRetail sales
- Distributor preorder invoiceWholesale inventory
- Singles buylist payoutBuylist payouts
- Snacks and drinks restockConcessions
Why your books are different
Tabletop and card shop books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a retail store with a back room. Your business collects entry fees for tournament nights, buys singles off customers at buylist prices to resell, takes preorder deposits on booster boxes months before a set drops, and gets prize support credit from a publisher for hosting events. When the books do not know that, a preorder rush looks like a windfall and prize credit gets missed entirely.
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1
Set preorder deposits count as a sale too early
A customer pays for a booster box preorder two months before the set releases. Booked as income at the deposit, the shop still owes product it may not have received from the distributor yet.
What we doKeeps preorder deposits as money owed until the set arrives and ships to the customer, so the sale only counts once it is real. -
2
Buylist purchases look like a straight expense
Cash paid at the counter for a customer's singles looks like an expense the day it happens, but it is really inventory that has not resold yet.
What we doBooks buylist purchases as inventory, not a straight cost, so the books match what is actually in the singles case. -
3
Tournament entry fees and prize support get tangled together
Entry fees collected from players and prize support credit sent back by a publisher for running organized play both flow through the same till, and mixed together, it is hard to tell if events actually pay for themselves.
What we doKeeps entry fee income and publisher prize support in separate categories, so event nights show their real cost and value. -
4
A set launch buy wrecks the monthly number
A large distributor order placed ahead of a new set's release lands as one invoice, even though it will sell over launch weekend and the following weeks.
What we doKeeps set launch buys visible against what has actually sold from them, so a big order does not read as a bad month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tabletop and card game store.
Set up once for events, singles, and set releases. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesEveryday singles, boxes, and board game sales rung through the register.
- Event revenueTournament and game night entry fees.
- Preorder depositsSet and booster box preorders, tracked until the product ships.
- Prize support creditPublisher credit for hosting organized play events.
Money out
- Wholesale inventorySealed product and singles bought from distributors.
- Buylist payoutsCash or store credit paid for customers' singles.
- Rent and utilitiesThe storefront and event table space.
- PayrollSales staff and event judges, kept apart from owner draw.
- ConcessionsSnacks and drinks sold during game nights.
- Event suppliesPlaymats, sleeves, and prize support fulfillment.
- Card processing feesWhat the card processor keeps before payout.
What we watch for you
- Preorder backlog
What is owed on sets not yet shipped, so it is never mistaken for spendable cash.
- Buylist margin
What was paid for singles against what they resold for, the real profit on the case.
- Event night profitability
Entry fees and prize support against event costs, so it is clear if game nights pay for themselves.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things tabletop and 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.
Not until the set actually ships to the customer. I am holding the preorders as money owed so the sale only counts once it is real.
I booked it as inventory instead, since you now own cards to resell, not a straight cost that hits the month you paid it.
Store credit paid as compensation still counts as value paid out, so I keep it tracked. If it adds up to $2,000 or more in a year, the accountant should weigh in on how to handle it.
The tax side
The tax side of a tabletop and card game store.
Most of what goes wrong here is a preorder or a prize support credit landing without context.
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 sealed product and singles actually sold during the year, including buylist purchases, is what counts against sales. Unsold preorder inventory at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
- Form 1099-K from marketplacesIf singles are also sold through TCGplayer or a similar marketplace, a 1099-K arrives 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 judging or event 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 preorders and sales are counted in the right month.
Deductions tabletop and trading card game stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Event tables and chairs
- Playmats and sleeves for prize support
- Singles cases and storage boxes
- Concessions restock
- Storefront rent and utilities
- Card processing fees
- Business liability insurance
- Signage and window displays
- Local event advertising
- Shipping for online singles sales
- Convention travel
- 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 tabletop and card shop year, kept every month.
New sets release on the publisher's schedule and event nights run every week. 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for judges and event help is ready, 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 running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's set launches sold through the way they should.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Holiday gift buying for games and sealed product is starting. Gus looks at what to stock before December and what the season will owe.
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 tabletop and trading card game stores. 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 tabletop and card shop owners ask first.
How does Gus handle preorders on a set that has not released yet?
He keeps them as money owed against the order until the product actually ships to the customer, so a big preorder rush does not read as a sales spike that is not real yet.
Does buying singles off customers at buylist prices count as an expense?
No. Gus books it as inventory, since you now own cards to resell, so the books match what is actually sitting in your singles case.
I get prize support credit from a publisher for hosting events. How does that get tracked?
Gus keeps it in its own category, separate from entry fee income, so you can see whether your event nights are actually paying for themselves.
I sell singles online through a marketplace too. Does that complicate the books?
He works from your bank statement and sorts marketplace payouts into their own category. If you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year, expect a 1099-K, and that income is taxable either way.
My books have not been touched since the last big set launch. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send whatever statements have piled up since then. Gus separates preorder deposits from finished sales in the backlog, the accountant checks it, and most owners know 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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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