Gyms & fitness studios
Books and taxes for 24-hour access gyms.
Key fob dues that draft on their own schedule, a skeleton overnight staff, and a vending machine that quietly earns its keep. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February came in at $10,300. The key fob deposit machine and the vending route both paid out this month, and I kept them apart from dues so you can see each one clearly.
- ABC Financial EFT batchMembership dues
- Vending route payoutVending income
- Brivo access systemAccess control
- Overnight cleaning crewCleaning service
- Equipment repair invoiceEquipment
Why your books are different
A 24-hour gym's books go wrong in their own particular way.
A generalist sees a rent bill and a deposit. Your business runs unstaffed most of the day, collects a key fob deposit nobody remembers to refund, and earns a little from a vending machine nobody tracks. When the books miss that, small money leaks out unnoticed.
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1
Key fob deposits sit in the wrong bucket
A member pays a small deposit for their fob, expecting it back if they cancel and return it. Booked as regular income, it looks like revenue you got to keep, and forgetting to refund it becomes a habit that catches up with you.
What we doKeeps fob deposits in their own line, separate from dues, so what's actually owed back to members stays visible. -
2
A near-empty overnight shift still costs money
Even with almost no staff between midnight and 5 a.m., the access system, cameras, and emergency call service run all night and add up to a real monthly cost that gets buried in a general utilities line.
What we doKeeps access control and monitoring costs in their own category, so you can see what running unstaffed hours actually costs. -
3
Vending and locker rental income gets ignored
A vending machine or locker rentals bring in real money every month, but the payouts are small and irregular, so they often get skipped instead of counted.
What we doTracks vending and locker income as its own category so those small, steady dollars actually show up in the monthly number. -
4
Failed EFT drafts look like member losses
A billing batch retries failed dues drafts for weeks before giving up, so a member who's actually still paying can look like a cancellation in a given month, and one who truly quit can look like they're still active.
What we doReconciles the EFT batch against actual member status, so a retry shows up as a retry, not a phantom loss or a phantom member.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a 24-hour access gym.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Membership duesMonthly EFT drafts through ABC Financial or Zen Planner.
- Key fob depositsKept apart from dues since part of it may be owed back.
- Vending incomePayouts from the machine or drink cooler, tracked monthly.
- Locker rentalsSmall recurring fees for members who rent storage.
- Personal training add-onsSession packages for members who want more than the floor.
Money out
- Access control and camerasThe fob system, door hardware, and overnight security monitoring.
- Cleaning serviceOvernight and early morning crews who service the floor.
- EquipmentCardio machines, plates, and repair calls.
- Rent and utilitiesThe lease, plus power running around the clock.
- SoftwareABC Financial, Zen Planner, and the fob or app-entry system.
- InsuranceGeneral liability, higher here given the unstaffed hours.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new signups.
What we watch for you
- Active member count
The base the dues number rests on, since one location runs on volume.
- Fob deposits owed back
What's sitting in that bucket that may need to be refunded later.
- Overnight cost per hour
What running unstaffed hours actually costs against what those hours bring in.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things 24-hour gym owners ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
Its own line, separate from dues. It's small money, but it's real, and I don't want it disappearing into a general category.
Yes. Fob deposits sit in their own bucket, not counted as income, so you can see exactly what's owed back at any time.
If he's not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. I keep that list running so it's ready.
The tax side
The tax side of running a 24-hour access gym.
Most of what trips up this business is small money that gets miscounted, either as income that isn't yours to keep, or as an expense category too broad to see through.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Access control and camera equipmentFob systems, door hardware, and monitoring gear can usually be written off in the year they're bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA cleaning crew or repair contractor not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Sales tax on vendingVending machine sales are often taxed differently than membership dues, and the rule varies by state. Gus keeps vending as its own category so that piece is easy to find.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when dues, deposits, and vending are all tracked separately.
Deductions 24-hour access gyms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fob and key card hardware
- Camera and monitoring service
- Equipment repair calls
- Overnight cleaning contracts
- Membership software fees
- Emergency call service
- Liability insurance
- Locker hardware
- Vending machine maintenance
- Signage and lighting
- Business phone line
- Website and app-entry system
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A 24-hour gym's year, kept every month.
The doors never close, but your taxes still run on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so the busy January signup season doesn't turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you'll owe, and whether vending and locker income are pulling their weight.
- October
Before the next surge
Before the next round of January signups gets planned, Gus looks at any equipment worth buying before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for 24-hour access gyms. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions 24-hour gym owners ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between a canceled member and a failed draft?
Yes. He reconciles the billing batch against actual member status, so a retried payment shows up as a retry, and a real cancellation shows up as one, instead of the two getting confused.
Do fob deposits count as income?
Not the way dues do. Gus keeps them in their own bucket since part of that money may need to go back to a member who cancels and returns their fob.
Is vending machine money worth tracking separately?
Yes. It's small and irregular, which is exactly why it gets missed. Gus tracks it as its own category so those dollars actually show up in your monthly number.
I run almost no staff overnight. Does that change anything?
It changes what your costs look like. Overnight hours still cost money in access control, cameras, and monitoring, even without a person on the floor, and Gus keeps that cost visible on its own.
My books are behind from when we opened. Is that a problem?
No. Whatever statements you have since opening are enough to start. Gus works through the gap, the accountant checks it, and you'll be caught up faster than you'd expect.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever