top of page

Case Study: QuickBooks Clean-Up for an Independent Book Publisher

Writer: Miranda KishelMiranda Kishel
book publishers

Client Background

An independent book publishing company that published self-help and business books needed a QuickBooks Clean-Up after expanding its operations and losing track of author royalty payments, advertising costs, and book sales revenue. The client hired Development Theory to help with a QuickBooks clean-up for a book publishing firm.


The Challenge

  • Untracked Royalty Payments to Authors: The company owed authors payments but had no clear records of who was paid what.

  • Amazon & E-Commerce Sales Not Integrated Properly: Book sales from Amazon, Shopify, and direct website sales were not properly recorded in QuickBooks.

  • Overpaid Advertising Expenses: The company had been miscategorizing ad costs, missing deductions.

  • Confusing Profitability Reports: The owner didn’t know which books were most profitable, leading to poor inventory management.


Our Approach

  1. Royalty Payment Tracking & Fixes: Created a system to track author royalties and ensure accurate payments.

  2. E-Commerce Integration: Linked Amazon, Shopify, and PayPal transactions to QuickBooks, improving sales tracking.

  3. Advertising Expense Review: Ensured all Facebook and Google ad spend was categorized correctly for deductions.

  4. Profitability Analysis per Book: Created a structured report to analyze profit margins by title, improving inventory planning.

  5. Quarterly Bookkeeping Support: Set up a monthly financial reporting system to track progress.


The Solution

  • Royalty payments tracked properly, preventing underpayments.

  • E-commerce sales reporting automated, making revenue tracking seamless.

  • Over $9,500 in missed advertising deductions claimed, reducing taxable income.

  • Profitability reporting structured, helping the owner focus on high-performing books.


Results & Impact

  • Sales tracking accuracy improved by 90%, preventing revenue underreporting.

  • Tax savings of $12,000, thanks to expense categorization fixes.

  • Owner now understands profitability per book, improving marketing strategies.

  • Time spent on bookkeeping reduced by 60%, freeing up time for business growth.


Client Feedback

"Before, I had no idea if my books were profitable. Now, I can see exactly where my money is going, and I’m saving thousands in taxes!"


Development Theory Can Help Business Owners Like You

Are your accounting records a mess? Would you like help getting them straightened out? Our QuickBooks Clean-Up service gets one year of your historic accounting data balancing again. Don't wait until tax season to deal with your books!


Comments


Commenting has been turned off.
bottom of page