Indoor entertainment
Books and taxes for arcades.
Card reloads, ticket redemption, a prize wall that needs restocking, and cabinets that break down on the busiest nights. 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
August came in at $9,200. A big prize wall restock landed this month, and I kept it apart from your regular cabinet repair costs.
- Card reload salesGame credits
- Walk-in admissionAdmission
- Prize distributor orderRedemption prizes
- Cabinet parts supplierCabinet repair
- Card system feesBooking and card software
Why your books are different
Arcade books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a room full of machines and a prize counter. Your business runs on money loaded onto cards before it is spent, cabinets that need parts nobody stocks anymore, and a prize wall that has to stay stocked without eating the margin. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell if a busy night was actually profitable.
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1
Card reloads look like income before they are played
Money loaded onto a game card is collected up front but not fully spent that visit, and a big load of unspent credits sits like a debt the arcade owes in future play, easy to overlook until it catches up all at once.
What we doKeeps card reloads visible as their own category and flags a growing unspent balance before it becomes a surprise. -
2
Prize wall restocking eats margin nobody is watching
Redemption prizes get bought in bulk and handed out ticket by ticket, and if prize cost is not tracked against redemption sales, an owner cannot tell whether the prize wall is a draw or a drain.
What we doKeeps prize cost against redemption sales visible and flags when the ratio drifts, so pricing or ticket payouts can be adjusted. -
3
Cabinet repair parts get lumped into general supplies
Vintage and modern cabinets alike need boards, monitors, and joysticks that are not always easy to source, and buried in general supplies, an owner cannot see which machines are actually costing money to keep running.
What we doKeeps cabinet repair in its own category so a costly machine shows up clearly instead of hiding in the noise. -
4
A cabinet purchase reads like a supply order
A new bank of cabinets or a redemption system upgrade can run into real money, and filed as supplies, it drags one month's numbers down and hides that it is a long-term asset.
What we doFlags a cabinet purchase the month it happens, books it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on writing it off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an arcade.
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
- AdmissionCover charge or entry fee, if you charge one.
- Game creditsCard reloads and token sales, kept apart from redemption.
- Redemption salesPrize wall purchases beyond what tickets already cover.
- Party packagesBirthday and group bookings that include game credits.
Money out
- Redemption prizesPrize wall stock bought in bulk from a redemption supplier.
- Cabinet repairBoards, monitors, joysticks, and other machine parts.
- Booking and card softwareGame card systems and any reservation software.
- WagesFloor attendants and redemption counter staff.
- Liability insuranceGeneral coverage for the facility.
- MarketingLocal ads, birthday party outreach, and social media posts.
What we watch for you
- Prize cost ratio
Redemption prize cost against game credit sales, so the prize wall stays worth running.
- Card balance growth
How much loaded card money is still unspent, a real liability worth watching.
- Cabinet repair cost
Which machines cost the most to keep running, useful before replacing them.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things arcade 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.
A lot of that is still sitting unspent on cards. I keep reloads separate from what's actually been played so you can see the difference.
Prize cost against redemption sales has been climbing this quarter. Worth a look at ticket payouts or restocking with cheaper items for a stretch.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of an arcade.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as inventory, what counts as equipment, and how to treat money sitting unspent on cards.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cabinets and redemption systemsArcade cabinets, redemption counters, and card systems can usually be written off up to $2,560,000 under Section 179 in the year bought, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA repair technician or freelance help who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Employee or contractorFloor attendants and redemption counter staff who work your posted schedule are usually employees, even if part time.
- Card balance liabilityMoney loaded onto a game card is not fully earned income until it is played. When and how to count an unused balance is a call for the accountant, not a guess.
Deductions arcades miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Cabinet repair parts
- Monitors and control panels
- Redemption prize inventory
- Card system software fees
- Liability insurance
- Groupon and daily deal fees
- Floor attendant uniforms
- Card processing fees
- Signage and lighting
- Cleaning supplies
- Prize wall display fixtures
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 arcade year, kept every month.
School breaks and rainy weekends bring the crowds, and party bookings run steady all year. Your team keeps you ahead of both, and of taxes on their own schedule. 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 1099 list for repair technicians is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- 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 will owe, and whether summer break traffic changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday season
Gus looks at cabinet upgrades and prize wall stock worth buying before the winter break rush.
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 arcades. 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 arcade owners ask first.
How does Gus handle card reloads that don't get spent right away?
He keeps reloads visible as their own category rather than counting them all as earned the day they are loaded, so you can see how much play is still owed against what has actually been collected.
Can Gus tell if the prize wall is losing money?
Yes. He keeps prize cost against redemption sales visible, so a ratio that is drifting the wrong way shows up before it becomes a bigger problem.
Do I write off a new bank of cabinets all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
Some of our cabinets are decades old, does that change anything?
Not for the bookkeeping. Repairs and parts for older machines get tracked the same as any other equipment cost, so you can see which cabinets are actually worth keeping running.
Our books have never separated card sales from redemption. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them into their own categories, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside 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.
More in indoor entertainment
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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