Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for tattoo shops.
Custom pieces, flash work, deposits that hold a slot weeks out, booth rent from resident artists, and guest artists who travel in for a weekend. 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
July came in at $13,600. A guest artist ran a two-day event that brought in extra booth rent, kept separate from your resident artists' regular splits.
- Booth rent, five artistsBooth rent
- Custom piece deposit, SquareDeposits held
- Eternal Ink orderInk and needles
- Guest artist payoutGuest artist splits
- Autoclave serviceSterilization supplies
Why your books are different
Tattoo shop books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a deposit and a supply bill. Your business is five artists each on their own booth rent or commission split, custom pieces booked weeks out on a deposit, and a guest artist who blows through for a weekend and needs paying out before they leave. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which chair is actually worth having.
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1
Booth rent and commission splits get mixed together
One artist pays flat weekly booth rent while another works on a 60/40 commission split, and if both arrangements land in the same income line, you cannot tell which structure is actually more profitable for the shop.
What we doKeeps booth rent and commission income in separate lines by artist, so each arrangement's real value is visible. -
2
Custom piece deposits get counted before the work happens
A client pays a $200 deposit in June to hold a July sleeve session. If that deposit lands as income the day it is paid, June looks better than it should and July looks worse.
What we doHolds deposits as a balance until the session happens, then books the full job as one sale that month. -
3
Guest artist payouts get missed or double-counted
A guest artist works a weekend event, collects on their own pieces, and needs to be paid out their cut before they leave town, which is easy to lose track of against the shop's regular weekly numbers.
What we doTracks guest artist bookings and payouts as their own event, kept apart from resident artist splits. -
4
Ink, needles, and cleanup supplies bought in bulk skew a month
A big Eternal Ink or Intenze order covering every artist's color palette makes a slow booking month look expensive and the next quiet restock month look great.
What we doKeeps ink and needle spend in one steady line and flags when a bulk order is the reason a month's costs look high.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tattoo shop.
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
- Booth rentFlat weekly or monthly rent collected from resident artists.
- Commission splitsThe shop's cut from artists paid on a percentage split instead of rent.
- Deposits heldHeld until the session happens, then applied to the job.
- Guest artist eventsBooth rent or splits from artists in for a weekend.
Money out
- Ink and needlesInk, cartridges, and machine supplies for the shop.
- Sterilization suppliesAutoclave service, sharps disposal, and barrier film.
- Guest artist splitsPayouts owed to visiting artists after an event.
- Shop rentLease on the storefront.
- MarketingInstagram ads and flash event promotion.
- Licensing and insuranceTattoo license renewal, health permits, and liability insurance.
What we watch for you
- Deposits held
Money collected for sessions not yet completed, so income is not counted early.
- Per-artist revenue
Booth rent or commission split against each artist's bookings, tracked from your own numbers.
- Custom versus flash mix
How much revenue comes from custom pieces against flash work, a sign of what is driving bookings.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things tattoo 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.
No, I hold it as a deposit until the session happens. It becomes income the month the work actually gets done.
I kept her event's bookings and payout separate from your resident artists' regular splits, so you can see what the weekend actually brought the shop.
Not by itself, but whether any of them are really working like employees depends on how much control you have over their schedule and clients. That one is above my pay grade, so a real accountant is looking at it.
The tax side
The tax side of a tattoo shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and classification. Deposits counted early, artists misclassified, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Worker classification for booth rentersAn artist who works your schedule, uses your equipment, and follows your rules is usually an employee, even if the arrangement is called booth rent or a commission split.
- Contractor 1099sAny true independent artist paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, including guest artists you pay directly.
- Equipment write-offsTattoo machines, autoclaves, and shop furniture can usually be written off the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Quarterly estimated taxesNothing withholds tax from booth rent or commission income automatically, so most owners pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions tattoo shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Ink and needle cartridges
- Autoclave and sterilization supplies
- Barrier film and sharps disposal
- Tattoo machines and power supplies
- Shop furniture and chairs
- License renewal and health permits
- Liability insurance
- Flash art licensing fees
- Marketing and social media ads
- Guest artist travel reimbursement
- Sanitizing supplies
- Card processing 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 tattoo shop year, kept every month.
Summer brings the heaviest custom and flash bookings, with guest events scattered through the year. Your team keeps you ahead of both the rush and the tax deadlines. 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 true contractors and guest artists 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 summer custom bookings changed the number.
- October
Before the holidays
Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and moves worth making before December.
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 tattoo 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 tattoo shop owners ask first.
Can Gus keep booth rent separate from commission splits?
Yes. He tracks each artist's arrangement, whether it is flat rent or a percentage split, so you can see which structure is actually working for the shop.
How does Gus handle deposits for custom pieces booked weeks out?
He holds the deposit as a balance until the session happens, then books the full job as income that month, so nothing gets counted before the work is actually done.
I have a guest artist in for a weekend event. Does that complicate the books?
No. Gus tracks a guest event's bookings and payout separately from your resident artists, so it is clear what the weekend brought in and what you owe the guest.
Are my booth renters employees or contractors?
An artist who works your schedule and uses your equipment is usually an employee, even on booth rent. Gus flags any artist whose setup looks off, and the accountant makes the final call.
My shop's books have always been mostly cash and never tracked well. Can that get fixed?
Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts it, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside 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.
More in skin, nails & body art
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Men's grooming lounges
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- Scalp micropigmentation studios
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