The budget app for artists' irregular project income

Treat each large payment as both income for the moment and prepaid income for future months. When a $5,000 commission lands, immediately do three things in Cash Compass: log the full amount as income with the project tag, transfer 30% to a Savings: Taxes category (because you owe self-employment tax plus federal income tax on it), and split the remaining 70% across your projected monthly budget for as many months as it covers. If your fixed costs are $2,200/month, $3,500 net commission funds about 1.6 months. The 2024 NEA Artist Earnings report showed about 73% of self-identified working artists had at least one month of zero project income in the prior year — the windfall-to-runway translation is the most important habit. Cash Compass tracks both the immediate deposit and the Buffer category running balance.

Schedule C deductions for a 1099 or self-employed artist: materials (paint, canvas, clay, film, digital subscriptions), studio rent or home-studio prorated portion, framing and presentation costs, photography of work for portfolio and submissions, exhibition entry fees and jurying fees, gallery commission on sales (deducted from gross), shipping art to shows or buyers, art handler and installation fees, professional development (workshops, conferences, residencies), professional dues (gallery memberships, artist associations), liability insurance if you teach, mileage to studio if not your primary location, marketing and website costs, accounting and legal fees. The 2024 IRS Schedule C data for self-identified artists showed average deductible expenses around $6,800-$14,200. Larger purchases ($2,500+) like a kiln or printing press get capitalized and depreciated. Track everything in Cash Compass with matching categories for clean year-end export.

Yes, and the IRS hobby-loss rules become relevant. The IRS expects an activity to be a 'trade or business' to claim Schedule C losses — generally meaning you intend profit, behave like a business, and either show profit in 3 of any 5 years or document the business-like intent through actions (separate bank account, marketing, professional development, sales records). The 2024 IRS hobby-loss audit guidance puts pressure on creative activities that claim losses for many years running. If your art operates like a business — you sell, you exhibit, you reinvest — Schedule C with full deductions usually holds up. If you make and sell occasionally for fun, the IRS may classify it as hobby income (reported as other income, no deductions). Cash Compass tracks the activity either way; the categorization matters at tax time. Many side-hustle artists work with a tax preparer specifically because the hobby-vs-business line is judgment-call territory.

FreshBooks, Wave, or QuickBooks Self-Employed all have stronger invoicing and client-billing features than Cash Compass. If you regularly send invoices to clients or galleries with net-30 terms and want to track unpaid invoices, FreshBooks at $19/month or Wave for free are real options. The 2024 Wave artist-user survey showed about 41% of working artists used dedicated invoicing tools, mostly for commission and B2B sales. Cash Compass complements rather than replaces this — it tracks the personal-household budget plus expense capture, while invoicing software handles the client-billing and receivables side. Some artists run both: Cash Compass for daily expense logging and personal budget, FreshBooks or Wave for sending invoices and tracking what clients owe. Pick based on whether you actively manage receivables — if everything is point-of-sale (Etsy, gallery cash, instant Venmo), Cash Compass alone is enough.