Print, sign & promo
Books and taxes for trade show display producers.
Custom booth deposits, rental units reused show after show, drayage and electrical billed at a markup, and storage between events. 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
September came in at $21,000. The deposit on the Denver expo booth landed back in June, but I did not count it as earned until the crew installed it on the show floor this month.
- Balance, Denver expo boothCustom booth builds
- Rental fee, modular unitRental units
- Show contractor, drayageShow services
- Aluminum extrusion orderBooth materials
- Storage warehouse rentStorage
Why your books are different
Trade show display books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a deposit collected months before a show floor exists, drayage and electrical you pay a general contractor and mark up for the client, and rental units sitting in storage between events. When the books do not know that, a job's real profit hides until long after the show is over.
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1
Show services get billed at a markup but tracked as one cost
You pay the show's general contractor for drayage, electrical, and rigging, then bill the client more than you paid. Lumped together as one line, you cannot see what your markup actually earned versus what you simply passed along.
What we doKeeps what you paid the show contractor separate from what you billed the client, so your real markup shows clearly. -
2
A deposit lands months before the show floor does
A client puts down half on a custom booth in June, but the crew does not install it until a September show. Booked as income in June, the job's real profit never lands in the month it was actually earned.
What we doHolds the deposit until the booth is installed, then recognizes the income against what that specific build cost. -
3
Storage between shows gets buried in overhead
A rental client's modular unit sits in your warehouse for months between three shows a year, but if that storage cost is not tied to the account, you cannot tell whether that client is actually profitable once storage is counted.
What we doTies storage cost to the account it belongs to, so a rental client's real profit includes what it costs to hold their unit between shows. -
4
Design work for a job you do not win disappears
Two weeks spent rendering a concept for a client who ultimately books with a different producer is real cost, but it usually gets swallowed into general overhead instead of tracked as its own number.
What we doTracks design hours spent on jobs that do not close, so you can see how much unpaid design work is costing you across the year. -
5
Install and dismantle labor swings wildly but reads the same
A $30,000 install and dismantle crew at a major convention center and a $3,000 crew at a small regional show can land in the same generic labor category, hiding what each show actually cost to staff.
What we doKeeps install and dismantle labor tied to the specific show, so cost per event is visible, not averaged away.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a trade show display producer.
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
- Custom booth build depositsDown payments collected before fabrication starts.
- Custom booth build balancesThe remainder due once a booth is installed at the show.
- Rental unit feesFees for reusing a modular or portable display across multiple shows.
- Storage and refurbish feesHolding and touching up a client's unit between events.
- Design and render feesUpfront concept work billed separately from a build.
- Show services billed to clientsDrayage, electrical, and rigging marked up over what the show contractor charged.
Money out
- Booth materialsAluminum extrusion, fabric structures, and graphic panels.
- Show services paid to contractorsDrayage, electrical, and rigging paid to the show's general contractor.
- Install and dismantle laborCrews who build and break down the booth on the show floor.
- Freight and truckingGetting booth components to and from show sites.
- Storage warehouse rentSpace for rental units and client property between shows.
- Design and rendering softwareTools used to concept and visualize a booth before it is built.
- Crating and packing materialsCases and crates that protect a booth in transit.
- Card processing feesOn invoices paid by card instead of check.
What we watch for you
- Show services margin
What you billed clients against what you paid the show contractor, so your real markup is visible.
- Job margin by build type
Custom builds, rentals, and refurbishes costed separately, so you know which jobs are worth chasing.
- Deposit backlog
What has been paid but not yet installed at a show, so a busy quarter of deposits is not mistaken for a busy quarter of income.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month even in the gaps between show dates.
Ask Gus
Things trade show display producer 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.
Yes, but I keep what you paid the show contractor as its own cost right next to it, so what you actually marked up shows clearly instead of hiding inside one big number.
Because the booth wasn't built and installed yet. I held it until the crew set up on the show floor, so the income lands with the job it belongs to.
It's a real cost either way. I'm tracking design hours on jobs that don't close, so you can see how much unpaid design work is costing you across the year.
The tax side
The tax side of a trade show display producer.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing between a deposit and a show date, and costs that get buried instead of tied to the job they belong to. Both get fixed by keeping the books straight all year.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Booth materials and cost of goodsAluminum extrusion, fabric structures, and graphic panels held in stock count as inventory, not an immediate write-off. They become a deduction as cost of goods sold once they are used on a build.
- Equipment write-offsFabrication tools, crating equipment, and company trucks used to haul booths usually count as business equipment that can often be written off the year they are bought.
- Worker classification for install crewsA crew you bring yourself and direct on the show floor is usually your employee, separate from union labor hired through the show's own labor hall.
- Contractor 1099sA freelance designer or rigger who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions trade show display producers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Aluminum extrusion and fabric structures
- Graphic panel printing
- Crating and packing materials
- Freight and trucking to show sites
- Storage warehouse rent
- 3D rendering and design software
- Company truck fuel and upkeep
- Trade show badge and registration fees
- Liability insurance for show floor work
- Union labor hall fees
- Showroom sample components
- 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 trade show display year, kept every month.
Show dates set your calendar, not the seasons. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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 show year
Last year's return gets started, the freelance designer's 1099 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, right as the year's first big shows kick off.
- April
Filed before the next show
Your return is filed and signed, with booth deposits from months back already booked against the shows they were actually earned for.
- July
Summer standing
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring show circuit changed the number. Summer's quieter show calendar is a good stretch for shop upkeep.
- October
Before fall convention season
Fall brings some of the year's biggest shows. Gus looks at any fabrication equipment worth buying before the busiest stretch.
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 trade show display producers. 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 trade show display producer owners ask first.
Can Gus tell what I'm really making on show services I bill to clients?
Yes. What you pay the show's general contractor for drayage and electrical is kept separate from what you bill the client, so your actual markup is visible instead of buried in one number.
Why doesn't a booth deposit show up as income right away?
Because the job is not finished until the booth is built and installed. Gus holds the deposit as a liability until then, so the income lands with the show it was earned for.
Do you track storage costs for a client's rental unit between shows?
Yes. Storage is tied to the account it belongs to, so you can see whether a rental client is actually profitable once the cost of holding their unit is counted.
What happens to the cost of designing a concept for a client who doesn't book with us?
It still gets tracked. Gus keeps design hours spent on jobs that don't close visible on their own, so you can see how much unpaid design work is really costing you.
Should I write off my fabrication equipment all at once?
Often you can. Fabrication equipment usually qualifies to be written off the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading the deduction out works better for a given year. Gus flags any equipment purchase right away so the accountant can weigh it against your whole year.
We haven't looked at the books since before our last big show. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts deposits and job costs in order, 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