Creative & production services
Books and taxes for video production companies.
A corporate shoot deposit, a rental house invoice for extra lighting, crew paid by the day, and a music license for the final cut. 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
October came in at $20,300. The Ashford Manufacturing shoot needed a second camera operator and a rented jib, so those went in as crew and rental costs, not general supplies.
- Ashford Manufacturing depositShoot deposits
- Harborview corp video finalProject milestones
- D. Whitfield camera opCrew day rates
- LA Camera Rental jibGear rental
- Artlist music licenseMusic and stock licensing
Why your books are different
Video production company books go wrong at the crew day and the rental invoice.
A generalist sees deposits and a gear bill. Your business is shoot deposits, milestone deliverables, crew paid by the day, gear you own and gear you rent for one job, and music or stock licenses tied to a single project. When the books blend those, you cannot tell which shoots are actually profitable.
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1
A shoot deposit is not the whole project's income
A client pays half of a $15,000 brand video before a single frame is shot. Booked as income the day it lands, that month looks great and the final delivery payment looks thin by comparison.
What we doHolds the deposit until the matching milestone ships, so income lands with the edit that actually earned it. -
2
Crew day rates get lumped in with your own gear costs
A second camera operator, a gaffer, and a sound recordist paid by the day for one shoot can land in the same bucket as your rented lighting kit, which hides what crew actually costs per project.
What we doKeeps crew day rates in their own line and tracks what you have paid each contractor toward the 1099 threshold. -
3
A rented jib or drone gets treated like your own equipment
Renting a specialty rig for one shoot from a local rental house is a cost tied to that project, not an equipment purchase, but it often gets filed the same way your owned cameras do.
What we doKeeps rental costs separate from equipment you own, so your gear purchases and your one-off rental costs each tell the truth. -
4
Music and stock licenses get missed at renewal
A client's video needs an Artlist or Epidemic Sound license that can be a one-time buyout or an ongoing subscription, and mixing those up either overpays or leaves a video used past its license.
What we doTracks licensing costs by project so you know exactly what usage rights you paid for and when. -
5
A camera package purchase gets buried as a supply
A new camera body, lens set, or drone can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and filed as a supply purchase it wrecks the month and misses the equipment write-off.
What we doFlags camera and lighting purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a video production company.
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
- Shoot depositsHeld until the matching milestone or delivery ships.
- Project milestonesPre-production, shoot day, and final delivery, billed and counted as each ships.
- Licensing and usage feesWhen a client wants extended rights beyond the original agreement.
- Rush delivery feesCharged for a faster turnaround than the standard timeline.
Money out
- Crew day ratesCamera operators, gaffers, and sound recordists paid by the shoot day.
- Gear rentalCameras, lenses, and rigs rented for a specific project.
- EquipmentCameras, lenses, and drones you own, logged so they get written off right.
- Music and stock licensingArtlist, Epidemic Sound, or stock footage tied to a client project.
- Editing softwarePremiere, DaVinci Resolve, and plugin licenses.
- Location and permit feesSite access, filming permits, and location scouting costs.
- Travel to shootsFlights, lodging, and mileage for on-location work.
What we watch for you
- Project margin
What a shoot brought in against crew and rental costs, so you know which projects are worth taking.
- Crew spend
What you pay day-rate crew against total income, tracked toward 1099 season.
- Rental cost per shoot
What you spend renting versus owning gear, worth knowing before a big equipment purchase.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on shoot income, tracked every month so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things video production 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
Yes, since it crossed $2,000. I have been tracking every day-rate payment to her, so the form is ready by January 31.
The rented jib and the extra crew day ate more of the margin than the invoice showed at a glance. I keep those broken out by project so you can see it clearly next time you quote a similar job.
The tax side
The tax side of a video production company.
Most of what goes wrong here is equipment filed as supplies and crew paid like they are not real contractors.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cameras, lenses, and rigsBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, which covers most camera packages.
- Crew 1099sAny camera operator, gaffer, or sound recordist not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Employee or contractorA crew member who works your schedule, uses your gear, and takes direction on set the way an employee would is usually an employee, even if hired for a single shoot day. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated production companies can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when the books are right all year.
Deductions video production companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Camera bodies and lenses
- Gear rental fees
- Music and stock footage licenses
- Editing software licenses
- Location and permit fees
- Travel to shoots
- Crew day rate payments
- Insurance for equipment and liability
- Hard drives and backup storage
- Demo reel production
- Studio or office rent
- Continuing education courses
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 video production year, kept every month.
Shoots come in waves tied to client budgets. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the return. 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 crew 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, no scrambling for receipts from last year's shoots. The set-aside covered it since January, so the bill is not a surprise.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the summer shoot season changed the number.
- October
Before year-end budgets close
Corporate clients spend remaining budget before December. Gus looks at equipment you might buy and moves worth making before year end.
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 video production companies. 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 video production owners ask first.
Can Gus keep a rented jib separate from the cameras I own?
Yes. Rental costs for a specific shoot stay separate from equipment you own, so your gear purchases and your one-off rental costs each tell the truth.
My crew gets paid different amounts for different shoots. Does that complicate the books?
No. Gus tracks each contractor's total payments across the year no matter how the day rate varies shoot to shoot.
Do I write off a new camera package all at once?
Often you can. Camera and lighting purchases can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, and sometimes spreading the cost out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
I bought a one-time buyout music license instead of a subscription. Does that matter for the books?
Yes, Gus tracks it as a project cost tied to that specific video rather than a recurring software expense, so you know what usage rights you actually paid for.
My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever shoot invoices and bank statements you have, even a year behind. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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