Creative & production services
Books and taxes for voiceover artists.
A per-word e-learning script, a casting site fee taken from a booking, a home studio microphone upgrade, and a commercial usage residual paid months after the session. 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 $8,300. A commercial you recorded back in March finally paid its usage residual, so I booked it separately from your regular session fees.
- E-learning script, direct clientSession fees
- Commercial usage residualUsage and residual income
- Voices.com booking feeCasting site fees
- Neumann mic upgradeStudio equipment
- Source Connect subscriptionSoftware
Why your books are different
Voiceover artist books go wrong at the casting fee and the residual payment.
A generalist sees a freelancer with a microphone. Your business runs on casting site fees taken out before you get paid, home studio equipment that is your entire production setup, and usage residuals that can land months after a session wrapped. When the books blend those, you cannot see what your voice is actually worth.
-
1
Casting site fees get missed before the payout lands
A site like Voices.com or Backstage can take a percentage before a booking payout reaches you, and if only the smaller deposited amount gets recorded, the real fee never shows up as the cost it is.
What we doBooks the full booking amount as income and the casting site's cut as an expense, so the real cost of finding work there is visible. -
2
A usage residual looks disconnected from the original session
A commercial recorded in March might not pay its usage residual until months later, and if the books do not connect the two, a residual payment looks like random extra income instead of what it actually is.
What we doKeeps usage and residual income in its own line so you can see what past sessions keep earning over time. -
3
Home studio equipment is your whole production budget
A quality microphone, an audio interface, and acoustic treatment are not incidental purchases, they are the entire setup that makes the work possible, and lumping them into general supplies hides what running a home studio actually costs.
What we doKeeps studio equipment in its own category, logged so it gets written off right instead of disappearing into supplies. -
4
Union and non-union work get mixed together
Session terms and payment timing can differ between union and non-union bookings, and treating every booking the same way hides which kind of work actually pays more reliably.
What we doTracks session income by type so you can see over time which kind of booking is worth prioritizing. -
5
A demo reel production cost looks like a one-off expense
Producing or updating a demo reel is a recurring marketing cost for landing new bookings, not a random one-time purchase, even though it might only happen once or twice a year.
What we doKeeps demo reel costs in their own line so you can see what it costs to keep marketing yourself for new work.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a voiceover artist.
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
- Session feesDirect bookings for e-learning, commercial, and narration work.
- Casting site bookingsJobs booked through Voices.com, Backstage, or similar sites, at the full amount before fees.
- Usage and residual incomePayments tied to how long or where a recording is used.
- Rush feesCharged for a faster turnaround than the standard timeline.
Money out
- Casting site feesWhat a booking site kept before a payout landed.
- Studio equipmentMicrophones, interfaces, and acoustic treatment, logged so they get written off right.
- SoftwareSource Connect, editing software, and session tools.
- Demo reel productionCosts to produce or update a marketing demo reel.
- Union dues and feesMembership costs for union session work.
What we watch for you
- Residual income
What past sessions keep earning over time, separate from new bookings.
- Casting site cost
What booking sites actually take, worth knowing before you decide where to find new work.
- Session rate trend
What your work actually pays over time, worth knowing before you raise your rates.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across session and residual income, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things voiceover artists 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.
I book the full booking amount as your income and the site's cut as an expense, so the real cost of finding work there is visible, not hidden in a smaller deposit.
I keep it in its own usage and residual line, tied conceptually to past work, so you can see what old sessions keep earning over time.
Usually it can. I logged it as studio equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a voiceover artist's business.
Most of what goes wrong here is casting fees hidden in a smaller payout and equipment filed as supplies.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Studio equipment as a deductionMicrophones, interfaces, and acoustic treatment can usually be written off the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost solo voiceover artists can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when the books are right all year.
- Self-employment tax on solo incomeA voiceover artist working alone pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both.
- Quarterly estimated taxesSession and residual income rarely has anything withheld, so estimated payments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions voiceover artists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Microphones and interfaces
- Acoustic treatment
- Source Connect and session software
- Casting site fees
- Demo reel production
- Home studio share of rent
- Union dues
- Continuing education and coaching
- Editing software licenses
- Business cards and marketing
- Internet and phone share
- Accounting and legal 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 voiceover artist's year, kept every month.
Bookings and residuals land on no fixed schedule. Your books stay current no matter the month, and the return follows. 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, residual income included, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, residuals and casting site fees all sorted out. 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 how session and residual income have moved since January.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at studio equipment worth buying before December and flags any casting site fee creep worth watching.
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 voiceover artists. 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 voiceover artists ask first.
I book through a few different casting sites plus direct clients. Does that complicate the books?
No, Gus sorts every booking by where it came from and books casting site fees separately so the real cost of each site is visible.
A residual for old work paid out this month with no new session behind it. Is that a problem?
No, that is normal for usage-based work. Gus keeps residual income in its own line so it reads clearly as ongoing earnings from past sessions.
Do I write off a new microphone all at once?
Often you can. Microphones and studio gear 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 do both union and non-union bookings. Does that matter for the books?
Gus tracks session income by type so you can see over time which kind of booking pays more reliably, though union terms themselves are something your union handles directly.
My books are a mess of casting site payouts and direct client checks. Where do we start?
Wherever you are. Send whatever casting site payouts and direct client checks you have. Gus sorts it out, 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