Youth & adult sports training
Books and taxes for baseball and softball training facilities.
Hitting bay rentals, private lesson packages, winter clinic sign-ups, and a HitTrax unit that cost more than a truck. 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
February came in at $15,000. The new HitTrax bay you added got logged as equipment, not a supply run.
- LeagueApps payoutWinter clinic fees
- Venmo, private lessonsPrivate lessons
- Jugs machine partsMachines and equipment
- On Deck Sports nettingFacility upkeep
- Stripe payout feesCard and processing fees
Why your books are different
A hitting facility's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is hourly bay rentals, coached lessons, a winter clinic that runs three months, and sensor gear that costs as much as a car. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what actually paid for the lights.
-
1
Winter clinic money lands before the clinic starts
A family pays $450 in November for a twelve-week winter hitting program that runs December through February. Booked as November income, that month looks huge and January looks bare, even though the lessons are still happening.
What we doSpreads clinic income across the months the sessions actually run, so each month's number reflects the lessons you gave that month. -
2
Bay rental and coached lessons blur together
A team renting a cage for open swings pays a flat hourly rate, while a one-on-one lesson with your best coach costs three times as much. Deposited into one bucket, you cannot see whether open bay time or coaching is actually paying the bills.
What we doKeeps bay rental income separate from coached lesson income, so each can be checked against what it costs to run. -
3
A HitTrax or Rapsodo unit is not a supply purchase
A swing analysis system or a launch monitor can run $15,000 or more. Filed as supplies, it wrecks that month's number and misses being written off as equipment.
What we doFlags big sensor and machine purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on writing them off. -
4
Showcase and tryout fees get mixed with lesson income
A prospect camp or a college showcase you host charges a separate entry fee from your regular lesson packages. Lumped together, you cannot tell whether hosting the event was worth the extra staffing.
What we doKeeps showcase and event income in its own line so you can see whether an event paid for itself. -
5
Part-time coaches paid per lesson look like a stock check
A former college player who teaches ten lessons a week for a flat rate per session looks like plain payroll once it hits the bank feed, hiding whether lesson pricing actually covers what you pay coaches.
What we doKeeps coach pay on its own line against lesson revenue, so you can see the margin on every hour of instruction sold.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a hitting and pitching facility.
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
- Winter clinic feesThe multi-week program that runs through the off-season, tracked apart from single lessons.
- Private lessonsOne-on-one and small group hitting or pitching sessions, paid by the visit or the package.
- Open bay rentalsTeams and individuals renting cage time without a coach.
- Showcase and camp feesCollege showcases, prospect camps, and holiday clinics you host.
- Team and league rentalsLocal travel teams booking regular practice time.
Money out
- Coach payPer-lesson pay to instructors, kept apart from your own draw.
- Machines and equipmentPitching machines, HitTrax and Rapsodo units, and radar guns.
- Facility upkeepNetting, turf, flooring, and lighting for the bays.
- Facility rent or mortgageThe building or bay space you train in.
- InsuranceGeneral liability and equipment coverage for the facility.
- Card and processing feesWhat Stripe or Square keeps before you get paid.
- MarketingLocal ads, your website, and showcase listing fees.
What we watch for you
- Clinic fill rate
How many winter clinic spots are actually booked against capacity.
- Coach pay share
Instructor pay against lesson revenue, so pricing keeps up with what you pay.
- Bay utilization
How much of your rentable hours are actually booked each month.
- The set-aside
What the winter clinic and lesson income actually owe in taxes, updated every month so nothing catches you by April.
Ask Gus
Things training facility 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
Families paid in November for a December through February program. I'm spreading that income across the months the lessons actually happen, so January isn't as bare as the deposit made it look.
If he works your set schedule and uses your bays, he usually looks like an employee, not a contractor. That one is above my pay grade, so the accountant is reviewing how he's classified.
The tax side
The tax side of a hitting and pitching facility.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. Clinic money booked too early, machines filed as supplies, and a coach paid like a contractor who works like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Sensor and machine equipmentA HitTrax unit, a Rapsodo, or a new pitching machine can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent, for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Coach classificationAn instructor who works your schedule and uses your bays is usually an employee, not a contractor. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Contractor 1099sA guest clinician or one-time showcase coach paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, as long as they are not on payroll.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when clinic and lesson income are booked to the right month.
Deductions baseball and softball training facilities miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pitching machine parts
- HitTrax and Rapsodo subscriptions
- Batting cage netting
- Turf and flooring repair
- Radar guns
- Whiteboards and lesson planning tools
- Uniforms with your logo
- Website and booking software
- Showcase listing fees
- Liability insurance
- First aid supplies
- Storage for equipment
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 hitting facility's year, kept every month.
Winter clinics fill your bays. Your taxes come on a 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 coaching staff 1099 list is ready, and the winter clinic's set-aside is already running.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as the winter clinic wraps and spring travel ball starts booking bays.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer showcase bookings changed the number.
- October
Before winter clinics
Before winter clinic sign-ups open, Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing before December.
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 baseball and softball training facilities. 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 training facility owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a winter clinic that spans two tax years?
Yes. He tracks clinic deposits against the months the sessions actually run, so income lands in the year and month the work happened, not just when the family paid.
I run lessons through an app I built with a booking company. Do I have to change anything?
Not at all. However you're taking bookings now is fine. Gus reads what lands in your bank account, and if a deposit doesn't explain itself, he asks you once and remembers your answer from then on.
My coaches are paid per lesson. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Gus keeps coach pay visible against lesson revenue so you can see the margin on every session sold.
Do I write off a new pitching machine all at once?
Depends on the year you're having. A machine can usually be deducted in full the year you buy it, but stretching it across a few years sometimes fits better. Gus tags the purchase and leaves the call to the accountant.
I haven't touched the books since we opened last spring. Can that be sorted out?
It can. Hand over every statement you've got, even a stack of them. Gus works backward through the backlog and tells you where the facility actually stands, usually within a couple of weeks.
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