Creative Services QBO Setup Kit
A chart of accounts that reflects how creative businesses actually work, not how the software thinks they should.
$47 $23.50 50% Off
A chart of accounts that reflects how creative businesses actually work, not how the software thinks they should.
Creative businesses have a bookkeeping problem that generic software cannot solve. Your revenue comes from projects with wildly different scopes. You spend money on equipment that depreciates, software subscriptions that recur, and subcontractors who show up for one shoot and disappear. You might sell prints, license images, and bill for editing hours all in the same month. The default QuickBooks chart of accounts has no idea what to do with any of that.
This kit was built from bookkeeping work across photographers, graphic designers, videographers, and other creative professionals. The account structure captures the way creative businesses actually earn and spend: project-based revenue separated by type, equipment and gear tracked for depreciation, software and subscriptions in their own category, subcontractor costs separated from your own labor, and production expenses broken out from general overhead.
The result is a Profit & Loss report that tells you what it actually costs to produce your work, not just a single line of expenses under "Cost of Goods Sold" that mixes your camera body with your Dropbox subscription.
One for each entity type: Sole Proprietor, S-Corp, and Partnership. Import directly into QuickBooks Online with 94-97 industry-specific accounts.
Every account listed with its account type, detail type, and a description of what it is for. Especially useful for creatives who are new to bookkeeping or working with a bookkeeper for the first time.
Step-by-step instructions for importing the CSV, customizing accounts for your specific creative discipline, and handling the transition from an existing QBO setup. Includes guidance on tracking equipment for depreciation, recording project income and expenses, handling deposits and final payments, managing subcontractor payments, and capturing gear purchases under current bonus depreciation rules.
A printable reference for common creative business transactions: gear purchases, rental equipment, prop and set expenses, model or talent fees, editing software, second shooter payments, print fulfillment, and more. Each one mapped to the correct account.
This kit is built for creative professionals who use or are setting up QuickBooks Online.
This kit separates your production costs (gear, second shooters, props, sets, location fees) from your overhead (insurance, software, marketing, office space). Most free templates do not make that distinction, which means your P&L cannot show you whether your project pricing is covering your direct production costs before overhead even enters the picture.
The restored 100% bonus depreciation under the OBBBA means you can write off the full cost of a camera body, lighting kit, drone, or editing workstation in the year you buy it, instead of spreading the deduction over several years. The expanded Section 179 limits ($2.5 million cap) give you even more room, though most creative businesses will find bonus depreciation more than sufficient. This chart of accounts has the right asset and depreciation categories set up to capture these purchases correctly. Your tax preparer will thank you.
You do not run your business the way a plumber or a retailer runs theirs. Your revenue comes in chunks tied to projects with deposits, milestones, and final payments. Your expenses include things like location fees, model releases, and stock photo licenses that do not exist in any other industry's books. This kit accounts for all of that.
Stop wrestling with a chart of accounts that wasn't built for creative work. Get a system that makes sense from day one and saves you hours every month.