Travel agencies & tour operators
Books and taxes for adventure travel companies.
A wilderness permit paid for before the trip fills, guide day rates that mix payroll with contractors, and gear that wears out and needs real replacement. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August netted $11,000. The river permit you paid for back in January finally covered this month's rafting trips, so I matched that cost to August instead of leaving it in the winter.
- Rafting trip sales, AugustExpedition sales
- Gear rental add-onsGear rental and add-on sales
- Staff guide payrollStaff and contract guide pay
- Whitewater raft replacementGear replacement
- Shuttle van fuelVehicle and trailer costs
Why your books are different
An adventure travel company's books go wrong at the permit and the guide day rate.
A wilderness permit gets paid for before you know if the trip fills, a guide gets a day rate that changes with the trip's length, and gear that looks like a repair is really a capital replacement. Booked as ordinary expenses, none of that tells you what a single expedition actually earned.
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1
Wilderness permits are a cost whether the trip fills or not
A river or backcountry permit awarded through a lottery is often paid for and non-refundable a year before the trip departs, whether every seat sells or not. Expensed only when the trip runs, an early permit purchase can make a slow month look like a bigger loss than it is.
What we doBooks the permit cost against the expedition it belongs to, so an early non-refundable payment does not distort a month where the trip has not happened yet. -
2
Guide day rates blend payroll with contractor pay
A guide paid a day rate for a five-day trek looks similar on paper whether they are a regular staff guide or a certified contractor brought in for one expedition, and lumping them together hides what labor actually costs per trip.
What we doKeeps staff guide pay and contracted guide day rates in separate lines and flags anyone who looks like an employee but is paid like a contractor. -
3
Gear replacement gets filed as a repair
A season's worth of ropes, kayaks, or tents wearing out and getting replaced all at once can look like ordinary maintenance on a bank statement, when it is really a capital purchase that should be tracked as equipment.
What we doFlags large gear replacement purchases the month they show up and logs them as equipment so the accountant can decide how they should be written off. -
4
International outfitter payments hide the real trip cost
Wiring a porter crew or a local outfitter in Peru or Tanzania for one expedition often covers several services in a single payment, so it is easy to lose track of what a foreign trip actually cost to run against what it sold for.
What we doKeeps international outfitter payments itemized by trip, so you can see real margin on expeditions that run abroad. -
5
High-risk insurance premiums swallow a slow month
Liability coverage for climbing, whitewater, or backcountry travel often renews as one large annual premium, and paid all at once it can make a single month look like the business lost money when it is really a yearly cost spread thin.
What we doSpreads the annual premium across the months it actually covers, so one payment does not distort a single month's number.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an adventure travel company.
Set up once for how trip sales, permits, and guide pay move. You never sort a receipt. Gus does, and an accountant checks every one.
Money in
- Expedition salesFull price collected for a scheduled trek, raft trip, or climb.
- Deposits on future expeditionsKept apart from trips that have already run.
- Gear rental and add-on salesRented equipment, extra nights, or upgraded logistics sold on top of the base trip.
- Group and custom trip bookingsPrivate expeditions booked for a club, school, or company outing.
- Merchandise salesBranded gear sold at the shop or on the trip.
Money out
- Wilderness and backcountry permitsLottery or agency permits, often non-refundable once awarded.
- Staff and contract guide payDay rates for staff guides and certified contractors, kept in separate lines.
- Gear replacementRopes, kayaks, tents, and safety equipment replaced on a schedule.
- International outfitter paymentsPorters, local guides, and ground logistics paid abroad.
- High-risk activity insuranceLiability coverage sized for climbing, whitewater, or backcountry travel.
- Vehicle and trailer costsFuel, maintenance, and insurance for shuttle vans and gear trailers.
- MarketingWebsite, trade shows, and outdoor expo booth fees.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor keeps on trip deposits and final payments.
What we watch for you
- Margin per expedition
What a trip actually nets once permits, guide pay, and gear are counted against the price it sold for.
- Guide cost per trip day
What staff and contract guide pay actually runs per day out, useful before pricing the next season.
- Permit spend versus fill rate
What was paid for permits against how many seats on those trips actually sold.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so a strong guiding season does not end in a surprise bill.
Ask Gus
Things adventure travel companies 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.
I booked that permit against the August trip it belongs to, not the month you paid for it, so last month should not carry a cost that is not really its own.
I keep it itemized against that specific expedition, so you can see what the trip actually cost to run once every piece is counted.
Usually yes. I logged the gear as equipment rather than a repair, and flagged it so the accountant decides how it should be written off with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of an adventure travel company's business.
Most of what matters here is timing and classification. A permit paid a year early, a guide who might really be an employee, gear that is really equipment.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Non-refundable permits and timingA wilderness permit paid a year before departure is usually a cost tied to the trip it funds, not the month it was purchased, which changes what a given month's number should show.
- Guide equipment and gearRopes, rafts, and safety gear bought for the business can usually be written off the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Staff guide versus contract guideA guide who runs your set trips on your schedule is usually an employee. A certified guide brought in for one expedition who works other outfitters too is more likely a contractor.
- 1099s for contracted guides and outfittersA contract guide or a domestic outfitter paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Foreign outfitters usually do not.
Deductions adventure travel companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wilderness permit fees
- High-risk activity insurance
- Gear replacement and repair
- Guide certification courses
- Vehicle and trailer fuel
- Outdoor expo booth fees
- Website hosting
- Satellite communication devices
- First aid and rescue supplies
- Storage for seasonal gear
- Business liability insurance
- Card processing 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 adventure travel company's year, kept every month.
Permits and gear get bought a season ahead of the trips they cover. Your team keeps the picture honest every month in between. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the guiding season
Last year's return gets started, next season's permit applications go in, and the 1099 list for contract guides gets finalized.
- April
Filed before summer expeditions
Your return is filed and signed as spring trips begin and summer expedition bookings pick up.
- July
Midseason expedition check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer's expeditions are covering the permits and gear bought back in the winter.
- October
Before next season's permits
Before next year's permit lottery deadlines, Gus looks at what this season's margin per expedition actually was.
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 adventure travel companies. 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 adventure travel companies ask first.
I paid for a wilderness permit last year for a trip that has not run yet. How does that get booked?
Gus matches the permit cost to the expedition it belongs to instead of the month you paid for it, so an early non-refundable payment does not distort a month where the trip has not happened yet.
My guides are paid a day rate. Are they employees or contractors?
It depends on whether they run your set trips on your schedule or work other outfitters and set their own terms. Gus flags anyone who looks borderline so the accountant can weigh in.
We replaced all our climbing gear this year. Is that a repair or something bigger?
Usually something bigger. Gear replaced on a schedule like that is often equipment that can be written off, and Gus flags it so the accountant makes the call.
I pay a porter crew and local outfitter in Tanzania. Does that complicate the books?
Gus keeps foreign outfitter payments itemized by trip and flags anything the accountant should weigh in on, so it does not change how you run the business day to day.
My books are a mess from a busy guiding season. Can you still take this on?
Yes. Send the bank statements and supplier invoices you have. Gus sorts it and most owners know where they stand within a week.
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