Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for wholesale candle manufacturers.
A Faire wholesale payout, a private label retailer order, a soy wax and fragrance oil order, and a case of glass jars. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August came in at $11,300. The private label order for Birchwood Home is logged against that account, so its packaging cost doesn't blend into your own line.
- Faire wholesale payoutWholesale marketplace sales
- Birchwood Home, private labelPrivate label orders
- Soy wax and fragrance oil orderWax and fragrance
- Glass jar supplierVessels and packaging
- Wick supplier orderWicks and hardware
Why your books are different
Candle manufacturer books go wrong between the pour and the retailer's shelf.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop pours batches that need days to cure before they can ship, fills private label orders in a retailer's own packaging, and sells through both a wholesale marketplace and direct retailer accounts. When the books do not track that arc, a big wax order looks like a bad month and cured stock waiting to ship looks invisible.
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1
Cured stock waiting to ship is invisible
A batch poured this week may need days to fully cure before it can be boxed and shipped, and if the books only see cash bought and cash sold, a month heavy on pouring looks like a loss even though the candles are simply sitting in the cure room.
What we doTracks batches in cure as work in progress, separate from finished stock ready to ship, so a heavy pouring week does not read as a bad one. -
2
Private label packaging gets mixed with your own line
A retailer's own labels, boxes, and vessels for a private label order cost differently than your own branded packaging, and lumped together you cannot see whether a private label account is actually worth the volume.
What we doTags private label packaging and material to the account it was bought for, so each account's real margin is visible. -
3
Wholesale marketplace payouts arrive short of the order total
A wholesale marketplace like Faire takes a cut before paying out, and if only the payout is booked, your sales look smaller than what retailers actually ordered.
What we doBooks the full wholesale order as sales and the marketplace fee as its own cost, so your numbers stay honest on both sides. -
4
Wax and fragrance bought ahead skews a month
Buying wax and fragrance oil in bulk to get a price break can make one month look expensive and the next look great, when the material is really just sitting in the shop for future batches.
What we doKeeps wax and fragrance in one steady line and flags when a bulk order is the reason a month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a candle manufacturer.
Set up once for how wholesale and private label orders get paid and what a batch costs to pour. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Wholesale marketplace salesOrders through Faire or a similar wholesale marketplace, tracked apart from the fee.
- Private label ordersBatches poured and packaged under a retailer's own brand.
- Direct retailer accountsWholesale orders billed directly, outside a marketplace.
- Sample and event salesSmaller direct sales at markets or trade shows.
Money out
- Wax and fragranceSoy, paraffin, or coconut wax and fragrance oil, tracked by batch.
- Vessels and packagingGlass jars, tins, and boxes, including private label packaging.
- Wicks and hardwareWicks, tabs, and labels.
- Marketplace feesWhat a wholesale marketplace keeps before paying out.
- Shop rent and utilitiesIncludes the cure room and pour station power draw.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on pour tanks, melters, and filling equipment.
- Freight and shippingOutbound shipping to retailers and marketplace fulfillment fees.
What we watch for you
- Cure room inventory
The value of batches curing but not yet ready to ship, so a heavy pouring week is not mistaken for a loss.
- Margin by account type
Private label orders against your own branded line, so pricing reflects what each really earns.
- Wax cost share
Material as a percent of sales. A jump means supplier prices moved and quotes need a look.
- Marketplace fee cost
What a wholesale marketplace keeps, worth knowing before leaning harder on that channel.
Ask Gus
Things candle manufacturer 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.
It only looks that way because the wax cost hit already and the sale hasn't. Once it ships, that batch will show up as the sale it really is.
Faire keeps a fee before paying out. I book the full order as sales and the fee as its own cost, so your sales are not understated.
If she is not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a candle manufacturing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on batches in cure and keeping wax and vessels on hand valued right at year end.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Pour tanks and filling equipmentPour tanks, melters, and filling equipment can usually be written off, often in the year they are bought. Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Wax and vessels on handWax, fragrance, jars, and packaging bought ahead and sitting in the shop at year end get valued and matched against what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought.
- Wholesale marketplace feesFees kept by a wholesale marketplace before paying out are a real cost of doing business, deductible against the full order amount.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when wholesale payouts and wax cost are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions wholesale candle manufacturers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wax and fragrance oil
- Glass jars and tins
- Wicks and wick tabs
- Labels and private label packaging
- Shipping boxes and fill material
- Marketplace listing fees
- Scale and thermometer calibration
- Trade show and market booth costs
- Safety gear for hot wax handling
- Freight on incoming supplies
- Sample candles for retailers
- Shop uniforms
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 candle manufacturing year, kept every month.
Wholesale orders land year round, though holiday scent lines shift the busy stretch earlier than the season itself. Your taxes still run on their own schedule. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Pours planned
Year end wax and vessel stock get valued, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Pour season filed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since the set-aside has been running since January, a month heavy on wax buying ahead of the holidays does not turn into a scramble.
- July
Midyear pour check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether retailers ordering ahead of the holidays changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Gus looks at any pour tank or filling equipment buy worth making before December and flags it for the accountant's call on depreciation.
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 wholesale candle manufacturers. 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 candle manufacturers ask first.
How does Gus handle a batch that's still curing at month end?
He keeps it as work in progress until it fully cures, separate from stock that is ready to box and ship, so a big pour does not read as a loss before the wax has actually set.
Can Gus keep private label orders separate from our own branded line?
Yes. Each retailer's jars, labels, and wax get tagged to their own account, so you can see which private label relationships are actually worth the minimum order size they ask for.
Do we have to change how we sell through Faire or a direct retailer?
No. Keep selling the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a payout is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
We buy wax in bulk to get a better price. Does that mess up the books?
No. Gus flags a bulk buy so it does not read as a bad month, since the wax is just sitting in stock for future batches.
Our books are behind after picking up two new retailer accounts. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts wholesale payouts and private label orders alike, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off new pouring equipment all at once?
Often you can. Pour tanks or filling equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted the year they are bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits a shop's year better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
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