Apparel, resale & collectibles
Books and taxes for watch dealers and watch repair shops.
Waitlist deposits on hard to get models, pre-owned watches taken on consignment, and movement servicing billed as parts and labor apart. 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 $19,000. Two waitlist deposits from last spring finally converted when their watches arrived, so I moved them out of deposits owed into real sales.
- Authorized dealer saleNew watch sales
- Pre-owned consignment saleConsignment sales
- Movement service and repair feesRepair services
- Brand allocation invoiceInventory
- Movement parts orderRepair parts and supplies
Why your books are different
Watch dealer and repair books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a shop selling expensive items. Your business holds waitlist deposits on watches that have not arrived yet, sells pre-owned pieces on consignment for other owners, and bills repair work as parts plus labor that most shops lump into one number. When the books do not know that, a big deposit month looks like a windfall and the service bench looks like it earns nothing.
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1
Waitlist deposits count as a sale before the watch arrives
A customer puts down $500 to hold a spot on the list for a hard to get model that may not arrive for a year. Booked as income the day it is collected, the shop still owes a watch it may not have in hand for months.
What we doKeeps waitlist deposits as money owed against the order until the watch arrives and is delivered, so the sale only counts once it is real. -
2
Consigned pre-owned watches get booked as owned inventory
A pre-owned watch sold on behalf of a collector for a commission is not the same as a watch the dealer bought outright, and mixed together, the payout owed to the original owner disappears into the dealer's own cost of goods.
What we doKeeps consignment sales and the payout owed to the original owner separate from watches the shop actually purchased and owns. -
3
Movement servicing gets billed as one number
A full service includes parts, a cleaning, and hours of bench labor, but rung through as a single repair charge, the shop cannot tell whether the labor rate or the parts markup is actually covering the technician's time.
What we doKeeps parts and labor in separate lines on repair work, so the real cost and margin of servicing shows up honest. -
4
Warranty work billed to the brand looks like a normal sale
Authorized service work billed back to the watch brand under warranty is reimbursement, not a customer sale, and if it is counted the same way, the shop's real retail and service numbers both get distorted.
What we doKeeps brand warranty reimbursements in their own category, separate from customer-paid repair and retail income.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a watch dealer and repair shop.
Set up once for how you sell, service, and take in pre-owned pieces. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- New watch salesAuthorized dealer sales of new watches, rung through the shop's system.
- Consignment salesPre-owned watches sold on behalf of a collector, with their cut owed out.
- Repair servicesMovement servicing, battery, and band repair labor.
- Warranty reimbursementsPayments from a brand for authorized warranty repair work.
Money out
- InventoryNew and pre-owned watches bought outright for resale.
- Repair parts and suppliesMovements, crystals, gaskets, and bench consumables.
- SecuritySafes, alarm monitoring, and insured transport for high-value stock.
- Rent and utilitiesThe storefront and service bench space.
- PayrollSales staff and watchmakers, kept apart from owner draw.
- Certification and authentication feesCosts to verify a pre-owned watch before it is listed for sale.
- InsuranceInventory and in-transit coverage for high-value pieces.
What we watch for you
- Waitlist deposit backlog
What is owed on watches not yet delivered, so it is never mistaken for spendable cash.
- Consignment payable balance
What is owed out to consignors on sold pre-owned watches, tracked apart from owned inventory.
- Labor share of repair revenue
Bench labor against parts cost, so servicing prices can be checked against what the work actually takes.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things watch dealers 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 am holding it as money owed until the watch actually arrives and is delivered, so the sale only counts once it is real.
Only your 10 percent counts as your income. The rest is money collected on his behalf, and I keep it tracked as owed back to him.
That sounds like a genuine contractor relationship, but I flagged it for the accountant to confirm before it becomes a habit either way.
The tax side
The tax side of a watch dealer and repair shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating a deposit, a consignment sale, or a warranty reimbursement like an ordinary sale.
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 watches actually sold during the year, not just what was spent buying, is what counts against sales. Unsold waitlist and consignment inventory at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
- Consignment income is only the commissionWhen a pre-owned watch is sold on consignment, only the shop's cut counts as its income, not the full sale price paid by the customer.
- Contract watchmaker 1099sA watchmaker not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 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 deposits and consignment payouts are kept separate all year.
Deductions watch dealers and watch repair shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Movement parts and gaskets
- Bench tools and loupes
- Authentication and certification fees
- Safes and security systems
- Insured transport and shipping
- Trade show and authorized dealer travel
- Display cases and lighting
- Card processing fees
- Business liability insurance
- Storefront rent and utilities
- Continuing watchmaking education
- Cleaning and polishing supplies
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 watch dealer's year, kept every month.
Waitlists move on the brand's schedule and holiday buying comes on its own. 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 contract watchmakers 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 allocations and waitlists are converting to sales as expected.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Holiday gift buying for watches 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 watch dealers and watch repair 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 watch dealers ask first.
How does Gus handle a waitlist deposit for a watch that has not arrived?
He keeps it as money owed against the order until the watch actually arrives and is delivered, so a busy deposit month does not read as a sales spike that is not real yet.
I sell pre-owned watches for other collectors on consignment. How is that different from my own inventory?
Only your commission counts as your income. Gus keeps the rest tracked as owed back to the consignor, separate from watches you own and sold outright.
My repair invoices mix parts and labor. Does Gus need them split?
He works from your bank statement and the totals you send. Splitting parts and labor on your invoices is optional, but it helps show whether the bench's labor rate is actually covering its time.
Does warranty work I bill back to the brand count as a regular sale?
No. Gus keeps brand reimbursements in their own category, separate from customer-paid repair and retail sales, so neither number gets distorted.
My books are behind by a few months. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the statements covering that stretch, waitlist deposits and consignment sales included. Gus sorts it out, the accountant reviews the work, 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.
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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