Childcare & youth programs
Books and taxes for baby and toddler classes.
Six-week session enrollments, hourly studio rental, instrument and sensory prop restocking, and instructors who teach the same class across a few different locations. 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
September made $4,600. The West Music order for new shaker eggs and scarves went under class materials, since the fall session needs a full restock of props.
- Fall session enrollmentsSession fees
- Church hall rentalStudio rental
- West Music orderClass materials
- Instructor payInstructor wages
- Local parent newsletter adMarketing
Why your books are different
A baby and toddler class business goes wrong when a small operation gets treated like a big one.
A generalist bookkeeper expects one location and one lease. You rent studio time by the hour across a few different spaces, sell six-week sessions instead of monthly tuition, and might teach the classes yourself alongside a contract instructor or two. Gus keeps that small-and-scattered setup straight.
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1
Six-week sessions get counted as income all at once
A family who enrolls in a six-week fall session in September did not hand you six weeks of earned income that day, and booking it all up front overstates the first week and understates the rest of the session.
What we doRecognizes session fees across the weeks the class actually runs, so each week reflects what it actually earned. -
2
Hourly studio rentals at different locations blend together
Renting a church hall for a Monday class and a yoga studio for a Wednesday class are two different costs at two different rates, and lumped into one rent line, you cannot tell which location is worth the price.
What we doKeeps each rented location's cost tied to the sessions held there, so you can compare what each space actually costs against what it brings in. -
3
Class materials and personal purchases get mixed together
A West Music order for shaker eggs and scarves for class is easy to mix in with your own family's music purchases if nobody separates the receipts.
What we doKeeps class materials in their own line, separate from personal purchases, so only what actually supports the classes becomes a deduction. -
4
Instructor pay across multiple locations looks inconsistent
Paying one instructor to teach the same curriculum at three different rented spaces can look like scattered, unpredictable payroll if the books do not tie the pay to the sessions actually taught.
What we doTies instructor pay to the sessions and locations taught, so it reads as planned cost, not unexplained swings.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a baby and toddler class business.
Set up once for six-week sessions across a few rented rooms. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Session feesSix to eight week session enrollments, paid up front.
- Drop-in class feesSingle-class fees for families trying it before committing to a session.
- Retail salesInstruments, scarves, or take-home materials sold to families.
- Private or birthday session feesOne-off booked sessions outside the regular class calendar.
Money out
- Instructor wagesPay for yourself or contract instructors teaching sessions.
- Studio rentalHourly or per-session rent for each location used.
- Class materialsWest Music orders and other instruments, props, and sensory items.
- Background checks and certificationsBackground check and CPR renewal where required by a venue or license.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for classes held across multiple rented spaces.
- MarketingFacebook parent groups, local ads, and referral promotions.
What we watch for you
- Cost per location
Rental cost against session fees earned there, so you can see which rooms are worth keeping.
- Session fill rate
How full each six-week session runs, tracked from enrollments against room capacity.
- Materials cost per session
Class materials spending against sessions run, so a restock month doesn't look like overspending.
- The set-aside
What you will owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things baby and toddler class 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.
Not quite. I spread that payment across the six weeks the session actually runs, so this week and the following weeks each show what they really earned.
Yes, I keep each location's rent tied to the classes held there, so you can see which room is actually worth the price.
It does. Tell me what was for class and what was personal, and I'll only count the class materials as a deduction.
The tax side
The tax side of a baby and toddler class business.
Most of what matters here is timing session income correctly and keeping the classification of contract instructors straight, since many businesses in this niche are just you and a helper or two.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Session fees and revenue timingMoney collected for a multi-week session is not fully earned until each class actually happens, which matters for an accurate month-to-month and year-end number.
- Contract instructor classificationAn instructor who teaches their own curriculum, sets their own schedule across multiple studios, and works independently may be a genuine contractor. One who follows your set curriculum and schedule is usually an employee.
- Self-employment tax for solo instructorsIf you run the business as a sole proprietor and pay yourself directly rather than through payroll, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed, a benefit that is now permanent. It comes out right when each session's fees are spread across the weeks the classes actually ran.
Deductions baby and toddler class providers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Instruments and sensory props
- Studio or hall rental
- Liability insurance
- Background check fees
- Class registration software
- Marketing to parent groups
- Mileage between rented locations
- Storage for class materials
- Continuing education or certification courses
- Printed class materials for families
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
A baby and toddler class year, kept every month.
Your sessions run in six-week blocks tied loosely to the school 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, any instructor 1099s are 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 for the year, including how the summer session schedule changed what you will owe.
- October
Before the winter session
A look at materials worth restocking and rooms worth booking before winter session registration opens.
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 baby and toddler class providers. 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 baby and toddler class owners ask first.
Families pay for a six-week session all at once. How does that get booked?
Gus spreads that payment across the weeks the session actually runs, so no single week looks inflated and the rest of the session doesn't look thin.
I teach the same class at two different rented spaces. Can the books tell them apart?
Yes. Gus ties each location's rental cost to the sessions held there, so you can see which room is actually worth the price you're paying.
I have one contract instructor who also teaches at other studios. Is she a contractor or an employee?
If she sets her own schedule and teaches her own curriculum across multiple places, she may genuinely be a contractor. Gus flags her situation so the accountant can confirm it.
Some class materials also get used by my own kids at home. Does that matter for deductions?
Yes, only the portion actually used for class counts as a business deduction. Tell Gus what a purchase was really for and he'll split it accordingly.
We're closed for a few weeks between sessions. Will that look like a slow business?
No, Gus tracks your session calendar, so a break between six-week blocks reads as the normal rhythm of the business, not a decline.
My records are just a notebook of who paid what. Can Gus still work with that?
Yes. Send whatever you have, notebook included. Gus sorts it into sessions and the accountant works from what actually happened.
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 childcare & youth programs
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Babysitting agencies
- Before & after school programs
- Drop-in & hourly childcare
- In-home family daycares
- Overnight summer camps
- Parents' night out programs
- Specialty camps (STEM, arts, sports)
- Summer day camps
- Tutoring-plus-childcare hybrids
- Kids birthday party venues
- Kids gyms & play programs
- Nanny agencies
- Childcare & daycare centers
- Preschools
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