Booth rent or W-2? Built for salons that know the difference.
Multi-stylist 1099s done by January 31. Product cost capitalized correctly. Tip income reconciled to the payroll. The books your shop needs without the lectures you don't.
Misclassifying a booth-renter as a W-2 (or vice versa) is a fast IRS audit and a slow state-DOR one. Product cost expensed when it should be capitalized inflates this year and starves next. Tip income that doesn't reconcile to W-2 wages catches every IRS matching program.
How we fix it.
Classification audit
We review each stylist arrangement against IRS factors. Booth rent (1099) vs. employee (W-2) — and document which is which.
Books built
Per-chair revenue, product COGS, supplies, retail margin. POS (Booksy, Square Appointments, Vagaro) integrated to the chart of accounts.
Payroll + 1099s
W-2s for employees, 1099-NECs for booth renters, all filed by January 31.
Annual return
Federal + state. S-Corp where the math works for the owner. Sales tax on retail products handled monthly.
Why us for salons & barbershops.
IRS Enrolled Agent, enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states, alongside CPAs and attorneys.
Finance training: the math behind every recommendation we make. Currently in law school.
Booth rent vs. W-2 — get this right.
The IRS uses behavioral, financial, and relationship factors to decide. Calling someone a booth renter doesn't make them one. We document the arrangement so the classification holds up.
Product cost — capitalize, then sell.
Color, shampoo, and tools used in services are supplies (current expense). Retail product is inventory — capitalized at cost, expensed as COGS when sold. Most salons mix these. We split them.
Tip income — reconcile or get matched.
Tips reported on W-2 must match what the IRS sees from electronic-payment processors. Mismatches trigger CP2000s. We make them match.
Pricing, on the page.
Published prices · Quoted in writing before any work startsHow it works: one annual fee, half paid at engagement and half before your return is filed. Everything past the package baseline is a published add-on at a fixed price, so nobody counts forms. Books, payroll and sales tax are the only monthly items, because they are the only monthly work. See the full grid and every add-on or get your price in a minute.
One practitioner. Every file, personally led.
Cody is an IRS Enrolled Agent with an MBA — a solo practitioner with a small support team, working out of Lakeland, Florida. He is also currently in law school.
Every client engagement is led by Cody personally. The firm stays deliberately small so the work stays deliberately careful — and so when the IRS calls, the person who picks up is the person who filed your return.
Common questions.
If yours isn't here, ask it on the intake — we read every one before the first call.
Do my booth renters count as employees?
Not if they set their own hours, use their own tools, set their own prices, and you don't direct their work. The right structure has all three. We document it.
Should I form an S-Corp?
If the shop nets $60K+ to the owner, almost always. Below that the math doesn't clear payroll overhead.
How do I track product vs. supplies?
Two SKU groups in the POS. We help set it up. The bookkeeping pulls it cleanly every month afterward.
Are continuing-ed classes deductible?
Yes. Continuing education to maintain or improve current skills is deductible. New-license schooling generally isn't.
What about retail sales tax?
Taxable in most states. Services may or may not be — varies. We file the right schedule monthly.
Multi-location?
Yes. We can run each as a separate entity or under a common holding co. depends on liability and your operating model.
Related
- Business tax preparationS corp, partnership, C corp and Schedule C returns, with the owner's return included.
- S corp tax servicesWhether the election pays, Form 2553, a salary you can defend, and the 1120-S.
- Monthly bookkeepingMonthly close and reconciliations from the firm that files your return.
- Florida sales tax auditsFlorida DOR sales tax audits and protests, starting from the DR-840.
The chair makes the money. The books make it keep.
Send your POS export and current 1099s. We'll quote within the week.