Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for alpaca and llama farms.
Fleece sold to a mill after spring shearing, a stud fee for a breeding, and a weekend farm tour where visitors pay to meet the herd. 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
May came in at $6,600. The shearing crew's day rate got booked as a service cost, kept apart from the mill's fiber processing fee.
- Fiber mill payoutFiber sales
- Weekend farm tour bookingsFarm tour admissions
- Shearing crew day rateHerd services
- Hay delivery, county co-opFeed and hay
- Veterinary herd checkVeterinary care
Why your books are different
Alpaca and llama farm books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a small livestock operation. Your business earns money from fiber, from breeding, and from visitors who pay to meet the herd, and every animal carries its own history of cost and value. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what the herd, the fiber, or the tours actually contribute.
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1
Fiber sales and tour income get rung up together
A mill payment for a season's worth of fleece and a Saturday visitor's tour fee both show up as deposits from the farm, but they come from two completely different parts of the business.
What we doKeeps fiber sales and farm tour admissions in their own lines, so you can see what each side of the operation brings in. -
2
Raised and purchased animals get treated the same at sale time
An alpaca born and raised on your farm has a different basis than one bought from another breeder, and mixing them up changes the gain when that animal is sold or retired from breeding.
What we doKeeps a simple note on which animals were raised and which were purchased, so the accountant has what is needed when a sale happens. -
3
Breeding fees and stud services get buried in general sales
A stud fee for a breeding, or income from boarding another owner's animal for breeding season, is a different kind of income than a fiber sale or a tour ticket, but it often lands in the same general revenue line.
What we doKeeps breeding and stud service income in its own category, so you can see what that part of the herd actually earns. -
4
Shearing and mill processing costs get lumped together
Paying a shearing crew to shear the herd and paying a mill to process the raw fleece into yarn or roving are two different services with two different costs, but on a bank statement they can look like one fiber expense.
What we doKeeps shearing labor and mill processing fees in separate lines, so you can see what fiber actually costs to bring to market. -
5
Veterinary and herd health costs swing hard by season
Cria births, shearing-season checkups, and the occasional emergency vet visit cluster in certain months, and without context a heavy vet month can look like a problem instead of a normal part of the herd calendar.
What we doTracks veterinary costs against the herd calendar, so a heavy month around birthing or shearing season reads as expected.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an alpaca or llama farm.
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
- Fiber salesRaw fleece or processed yarn and roving sold to a mill or direct to buyers.
- Farm tour admissionsVisitors paying to tour the farm and meet the herd.
- Breeding and stud feesStud fees and boarding income tied to breeding another owner's animal.
- Animal salesAlpacas or llamas sold to other breeders or hobby farms.
- Fiber product salesYarn, roving, or finished fiber goods sold at the farm stand or online.
Money out
- Feed and hayHay, grain, and mineral supplement for the herd.
- Herd servicesShearing crews and other seasonal herd service labor.
- Fiber processingMill fees for washing, carding, and spinning fleece into yarn.
- Veterinary careHerd checkups, vaccinations, and emergency care.
- Fencing and shelterPasture fencing, shelters, and barn upkeep for the herd.
- Farm tour expensesSignage, parking prep, and liability coverage for visitor days.
- Breeding and registration feesAssociation registration and breeding paperwork costs.
What we watch for you
- Fiber vs. tour income mix
How much comes from fleece and fiber versus visitor tours, so you know which side to grow.
- Feed cost per animal
What each animal costs in hay and grain, tracked from the books instead of a guess.
- Veterinary cost trend
Whether herd health costs are climbing year over year, tracked by season.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things alpaca and llama farm 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.
Yes, and I keep them separate. Shearing labor and mill processing fees are two different costs, so you can see what fiber really costs to bring to market.
It can, when either one is sold. I keep a simple note on which animals were raised and which were purchased, so the accountant has what is needed at sale time.
No. I track vet costs against the herd calendar, so a heavy spring reads as birthing season, not a warning sign.
The tax side
The tax side of an alpaca or llama farm.
Most of what goes wrong here is basis and labels. Raised and purchased animals mixed up, fiber costs bundled together, and a set-aside nobody started until tax season.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeRaising and selling alpacas or llamas, and selling their fiber, generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files.
- Livestock basis on saleAn animal you raised has a different basis than one you bought, which changes the gain when it is sold. Gus keeps the note, the accountant applies the rule.
- Contractor 1099s for shearing crewsAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for shearing or other seasonal herd work gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Equipment and shelter depreciationFencing, shelters, and farm equipment can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions alpaca and llama farms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Hay and grain feed
- Mineral and herd supplements
- Shearing crew day rates
- Mill processing fees
- Veterinary checkups
- Fencing repair
- Shelter and barn upkeep
- Farm tour liability insurance
- Association registration fees
- Farm tour signage
- Halters and herd handling supplies
- Trailer maintenance for animal transport
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 alpaca and llama farm year, kept every month.
Shearing, breeding, and cria season all land at different points in the year. Your taxes come on their own 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, the shearing crew 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so the year funds it evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before spring shearing and cria season pick up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after fiber sales and spring breeding, and what you will owe on the year so far.
- October
Before winter
Gus looks at fencing or shelter upgrades worth doing before winter and flags what the fiber season's numbers say about pricing.
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 alpaca and llama farms. 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 alpaca and llama farm owners ask first.
Can Gus tell fiber sales apart from farm tour income?
Yes. He keeps fiber sales, breeding and stud fees, and tour admissions in their own categories, so you can see what each part of the operation brings in.
Does it matter if an animal was born here versus bought from another breeder?
It can, at sale time. Gus keeps a simple note on which animals were raised and which were purchased, so the accountant has what is needed to figure the gain correctly.
Do I have to change how I sell fiber or book tours?
No. Sell fiber and book tours exactly the way you always have. Gus works from your bank statement, and a mill payment or tour booking he cannot place gets one question, answered once and remembered.
Vet bills spike every year around shearing and cria season. Is that a problem for the books?
No. Gus tracks veterinary costs against the herd calendar, so a heavy month reads as the season, not a warning sign.
Is new fencing or a shelter written off all at once?
Often, yes. Fencing or a shelter built for the herd usually qualifies to be deducted, sometimes all in the year it goes up, sometimes spread across a few years. Gus records the project and the accountant decides which fits.
We charge a stud fee for breeding. How does that get tracked?
Gus keeps breeding and stud fees in their own category, separate from fiber and tour income, so you can see what that part of the herd contributes.
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