Youth & adult sports training

Books and taxes for adult recreational sports leagues.

Flat team registration fees, free agents paying to join a roster, a forfeit deposit that's only partly refunded, and a bar sponsoring your Tuesday night league. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
JuneExample month
$11,000
what you made

June came in at $11,000. Two teams no-showed and forfeited part of their deposit, so I booked that as league income instead of leaving it sitting in the team fee line.

  • Team registration, summerTeam registration fees
  • Free agent placement feesFree agent fees
  • Umpire pay, June gamesGame officials
  • Field permit, city parksField permits
  • League shirts orderUniforms and gear
Money in$38,000
Money out$27,000
Set aside for taxes$2,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

An adult league's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your league charges a flat fee per team, places free agents onto rosters for their own fee, and collects a forfeit deposit that's only partly returned. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what's actually driving the season's revenue.

  1. 1

    Team fees and free agent fees get treated as the same money

    A team captain pays $650 to register a full roster, while an individual free agent pays $75 to be placed on a team with open spots. Mixed together, you cannot tell how much of your revenue comes from full teams versus individual sign-ups.

    What we doKeeps team registration fees and free agent fees on separate lines, so you can see which one is actually filling out your rosters.
  2. 2

    Forfeit deposits get forgotten until the season ends

    A team pays a deposit at registration that's partly kept if they forfeit a game during the season. Left untracked, that money sits in an unclear holding status and often gets missed entirely when it's finally earned.

    What we doTracks forfeit deposits separately and moves the kept portion into league income the moment a forfeit happens.
  3. 3

    Bar and venue sponsorships blur cash and in-kind trade

    A sponsoring bar might pay cash for a banner, offer free food for game nights, or discount drinks for league players, and all three get treated the same way even though only one of them is actual cash in your account.

    What we doKeeps cash sponsorships in their own line and flags in-kind trade separately, so your revenue reflects only real money received.
  4. 4

    Umpires paid in cash after games don't make it into the books

    An umpire paid $40 in cash right after a Tuesday night game is easy to forget by the time bookkeeping happens, leaving a real cost missing from the season's numbers.

    What we doTracks cash paid to officials as it happens, so umpire pay shows up as a real cost against what the season brought in.
  5. 5

    League shirts and awards get bought as one bulk order with no season attached

    A bulk order of league T-shirts for every team, plus end-of-season trophies, often gets logged as one expense disconnected from which season's fees are supposed to cover it.

    What we doTies shirt and award orders to the season they belong to, so the cost lines up with the fees meant to pay for it.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an adult recreational league.

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

  • Team registration feesFlat per-team fees for a full roster.
  • Free agent feesIndividual sign-ups placed onto a roster with open spots.
  • Forfeit deposits keptThe portion of a deposit kept when a team forfeits a game.
  • Sponsorship incomeCash sponsorships from bars, venues, or local businesses.

Money out

  • Game officialsUmpire and referee pay, whether by check or in cash.
  • Field permitsCity or park district fees for the fields you use.
  • Uniforms and gearLeague shirts, balls, and equipment, tied to the season.
  • InsuranceGeneral liability coverage for league play.
  • MarketingLocal ads, your website, and league sign-up promotion.

What we watch for you

  • Free agent share

    How much of your registration revenue comes from individual sign-ups rather than full teams.

  • Forfeit income

    What kept deposits are actually adding to the season's revenue.

  • Officiating cost per game

    What you're paying umpires against what a season of games brings in.

  • The set-aside

    What team fees and forfeit income actually owe, tracked monthly so nothing is left for April to discover.

Ask Gus

Things adult league organizers 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.

Two teams forfeited this month and lost part of their deposit. Does that count as income for us?

Yes, once a team forfeits, the kept portion becomes real league income, and I move it into that category the moment it happens.

Our sponsor bar gives us free food for game nights instead of paying cash. Does that count as revenue?

Not as cash revenue, no. I flag that kind of trade separately so your books only reflect real money, but it's worth mentioning to the accountant since in-kind sponsorships can have their own tax wrinkles.

We pay our umpires in cash right after games. Is that a problem for the books?

It's not a problem, but it needs to be tracked. Keep a running note of who you paid and how much, and I'll log it as officiating cost so it's not missing from the season's real numbers.

The tax side

The tax side of an adult recreational league.

Most of what trips up a league is tracking cash payments and telling apart revenue that looks similar but isn't the same kind of money.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Officials paid $2,000 or more in a yearAn umpire or referee paid $2,000 or more across the year, in cash or by check, and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • Cash income is still taxable incomeTeam fees and free agent fees collected in cash are just as taxable as anything paid by card, and belong in the books the same way.
  • In-kind sponsorship tradesA sponsor providing free food or discounted drinks instead of cash may still create a reportable value for both sides. Gus flags these for the accountant rather than guessing at a number.
  • The pass-through deductionMost league operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when team fees, forfeit income, and cash payments are tracked correctly.

Deductions adult recreational sports leagues miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • League shirts and jerseys
  • Kickballs, softballs, and bases
  • Field permit fees
  • Umpire and referee pay
  • Liability insurance
  • Registration and scheduling software
  • End-of-season trophies
  • Website and sign-up promotion
  • First aid supplies
  • Storage for league equipment
  • Field lining and marking supplies
  • League photographer fees

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

An adult league's year, kept every month.

Seasons run in blocks through most of the year, but your taxes come on a fixed schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the official 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, right as spring team registration opens.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer league season changed the number.

  4. October

    Before winter leagues

    Before indoor winter league sign-ups open, Gus looks at gear and sponsorship deals worth locking in before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 adult recreational sports leagues. 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 adult league organizers ask first.

Can Gus separate team fees from free agent fees?

Yes. He keeps them on separate lines, so you can see whether growth is coming from full teams signing up or individuals joining as free agents.

We collect some registration in cash at the field. Does that need special handling?

It needs to be tracked, but not treated any differently once it is. Keep a simple log of cash collected and Gus books it the same as any other registration fee.

Our forfeit deposits sit in a separate account until the season ends. How should that work?

Gus tracks what's held as a deposit and what's actually been kept due to a forfeit, moving the kept portion into income only once it's truly earned.

A local bar sponsors our league with free drinks instead of cash. Is that something we need to report?

It might be, depending on the value involved. Gus flags in-kind sponsorships like that so the accountant can tell you whether anything needs to be reported.

Our books are just a spreadsheet someone updates when they remember to. Can that be replaced?

Yes. Send over your bank statements and whatever the spreadsheet has been tracking, and Gus builds a real system from the actual account activity going forward.

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.

More in youth & adult sports training

We keep books for the business next door too.

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