Accounting

Board game publishing has an accounting quirk that catches almost everyone: the money and the costs arrive at different times. You collect crowdfunding revenue in one tax year, then pay for manufacturing, freight, and fulfillment months later, sometimes in the next year. Without a plan, that can make your first year look wildly profitable on paper and generate a tax bill on money you have already committed to spending. Understanding how inventory and cost of goods sold work, or hiring someone who does, is not optional once real money flows.

The foundation is simple: open a separate business bank account on day one and run every business transaction through it. Track income and expenses as they happen, using accounting software or even a disciplined spreadsheet at the start. Keep receipts for everything, including convention travel, prototype printing, software subscriptions, and advertising, because legitimate business expenses reduce your taxable income. The habit matters more than the tool.

Sales tax (and VAT internationally) is its own topic. In the US, selling direct to consumers can create sales tax obligations in multiple states once you pass certain thresholds, and platforms and marketplaces handle some of this for you while your own website does not. Internationally, shipping to the EU and UK involves VAT that either you or your customers pay. None of this is a reason to panic at small volume, but it is a reason to ask a professional what applies to you before your first big campaign.

Most small publishers do their own day-to-day bookkeeping and hire an accountant once a year for taxes, upgrading to more help as revenue grows. A one-hour session with an accountant who understands inventory businesses, ideally before you collect crowdfunding money, is one of the highest-value purchases a new publisher can make. Treat this page as general information and that conversation as the real answer for your situation.