Equipment & specialty rentals

Books and taxes for audio-visual equipment rental companies.

Corporate net-30 accounts, wedding and event bookings, tech rehearsal fees, and setup and breakdown crews. Gus keeps every event's real cost straight, 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
AprilExample month
$17,400
what you made

April came in at $17,400. Two corporate accounts paid on their net-30 terms this month for March events, so I counted that income against the month the work happened.

  • Corporate event account, net-30Corporate accounts
  • Wedding event booking, depositEvent and wedding bookings
  • Load-in crew wages, conferenceSetup and breakdown labor
  • Speaker and cable inventory orderGear purchases
  • Box truck fuel, venue runDelivery and hauling
Money in$56,800
Money out$39,400
Set aside for taxes$4,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

AV rental books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs corporate accounts that pay thirty days after the event and weddings that pay up front, crews that set up and break down on a schedule you do not control, and rehearsal days billed apart from the event itself. When the books blur those, event pricing gets guessed at.

  1. 1

    Corporate net-30 income and upfront event deposits blur together

    A corporate client pays thirty days after the conference wraps, while a wedding client pays a deposit up front and the balance before the event. Lumped into one pile, a month with several late corporate payments can look thinner than the actual work done.

    What we doSplits corporate accounts from event and wedding bookings, and tracks what corporate clients still owe, so a slow-looking month is not mistaken for a slow one of actual events.
  2. 2

    Setup and breakdown labor hides inside general event costs

    Crew wages for load-in, setup, and breakdown are a real cost that can eat a large share of an event's price, but lumped in with gear repairs and delivery fuel, you cannot see whether an event's day rate actually covers what the crew costs.

    What we doKeeps setup and breakdown labor in its own line so you can see labor cost against each event's day rate.
  3. 3

    Rehearsal and tech day fees blur with the event day charge

    A tech rehearsal or sound check day is often billed separately from the main event day, but mixed into one lump sum, you cannot tell whether rehearsal day pricing is actually worth the extra crew time it takes.

    What we doKeeps rehearsal and tech day fees in their own line so that extra day can be judged on its own.
  4. 4

    A new sound or lighting system reads like a bad month

    Buying a new line array or a lighting rig to grow the business is a real equipment purchase, but filed as a straight expense it flattens a good month and skips the write-off equipment gets.

    What we doFlags a system purchase the day it shows up, logs it as equipment, and routes the depreciation decision to the accountant.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an AV equipment rental company.

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

  • Corporate accountsConferences and corporate events billed net-30.
  • Event and wedding bookingsWeddings and private events paid by deposit and balance.
  • Rehearsal and tech day feesSound checks and rehearsal days billed apart from the event.
  • Staging and trussing add-onsStage decks, trussing, and rigging rented alongside the core AV package.
  • Livestream and production add-onsRecording and livestream services sold with an event.

Money out

  • Setup and breakdown laborCrew wages for load-in, setup, and breakdown at each event.
  • Gear purchasesSpeakers, projectors, lighting, and cabling added to the inventory.
  • Delivery and haulingTruck fuel, tolls, and mileage to and from venues.
  • Repairs and maintenanceSpeaker, projector, and lighting fixture repairs.
  • Warehouse and storageRent for where gear sits between events.
  • Event management softwareCurrent RMS or similar tools for scheduling and inventory.
  • InsuranceFleet and liability coverage for gear used at venues you do not control.

What we watch for you

  • Corporate receivables outstanding

    What corporate clients owe on net-30 terms. It shows how much of your income is already earned but not yet in the bank.

  • Crew cost per event

    Setup and breakdown labor against each event's day rate. It shows whether pricing covers the crew it takes.

  • Rehearsal day margin

    What rehearsal and tech days bring in against what they cost in crew time.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe in taxes, tracked event by event, so filing season is not a scramble.

Ask Gus

Things AV rental 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 corporate client still owes me for last month's conference. Does that count as income yet?

Yes, I count it against the month the event happened and flag it as outstanding until the payment lands, so your real work shows up even before the check does.

Just bought a new line array system for $34,000. Can that come off this year?

Usually, yes. I logged the line array as AV equipment rather than a straight expense and flagged it, so the accountant can decide how much to write off this year.

Do I need to pay my setup crew as employees or can they be contractors?

A crew that follows your load-in schedule and uses your gear usually counts as employees. That is worth getting right with the accountant before it becomes a habit.

The tax side

The tax side of an AV equipment rental business.

Most of what goes wrong here is a gear purchase filed as a straight expense, and a setup crew paid like contractors who work like employees.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Depreciating the AV inventorySpeakers, projectors, and lighting systems bought for rental are usually depreciable equipment. Section 179 expensing and 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025 are often available, and the accountant decides the timing.
  • Setup crew classificationA tech who works your load-in call time, uses your rigging and cabling, and takes direction from your crew lead usually counts as an employee, no matter how the pay is arranged.
  • Contractor 1099sA fill-in technician or subcontracted crew lead not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, due January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions audio-visual equipment rental companies miss

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

  • Speaker and projector repairs
  • Cabling and connector replacement
  • Delivery truck fuel and tolls
  • Warehouse rent
  • Event management software
  • Setup crew uniforms
  • Trade show and venue networking
  • Equipment insurance
  • Rigging and safety inspections
  • Card processing fees
  • Storage racking and cases
  • Business liability insurance

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 AV equipment rental year, kept every month.

Conferences, weddings, and events book up on their own calendar. Your taxes come on a fixed one. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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 1099 list for any subcontracted techs is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already covered.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and how the spring conference and wedding season is shaping up.

  4. October

    Before the holiday push

    Corporate parties and year-end events pick up before the holidays. Gus looks at gear purchases and moves worth making 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 audio-visual equipment rental 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 AV rental owners ask first.

How does Gus handle corporate clients who pay thirty days after the event?

He counts the income against the month the event happened and flags the payment as outstanding until it lands, so a month full of late corporate checks does not look slower than it was.

Do rehearsal days need to be billed and booked differently than the event itself?

It helps to see them separately, and Gus does it from your bank statement. That way you can tell whether rehearsal day pricing is worth the crew time it takes.

Can I write off a new sound system the same year I buy it?

Often yes. AV equipment bought for rental can usually be written off in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. The accountant decides with your whole year in view.

My setup crew works event to event. Should they be on payroll?

Usually yes, if they follow your load-in schedule and use your gear. Gus flags that pattern early so it does not turn into an expensive mistake.

My books are behind from a busy wedding season. Is that a problem?

No. Hand over the bank statements from the events you have already worked. Gus sorts corporate and event income apart from there, 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 equipment & specialty rentals

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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