Bars & nightlife
Books and taxes for beer gardens.
A packed patio on a warm Saturday, a keg tapped for the weekend, a food truck paying a share of its sales, and a rainy week that empties the tables. 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
July came in at $16,500. Two weekends of rain cut deep into what should have been the busiest stretch, so I flagged the weather dip against the keg orders that already went out.
- Square payoutBeer and drink sales
- Food truck revenue shareVendor revenue share
- Beer distributor invoiceKeg purchases
- Patio furniture supplierPatio upkeep
- Payroll, servers and bar staffWages and tip pool
Why your books are different
A beer garden's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a keg bill. Your business is a patio that lives and dies by the weather, kegs bought ahead of a weekend that might get rained out, and food trucks that pay a share of their sales instead of a flat rent.
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1
A rained-out weekend looks like a bad month
A beer garden can lose most of its best weekend to a single storm, and averaged into one flat monthly number, that loss can look like a demand problem instead of what it really was, bad weather on the two biggest nights.
What we doFlags weeks that were clearly hit by weather, so a rained-out weekend reads as weather, not a sign business is slipping. -
2
Kegs bought ahead of a weekend go stale if it rains
Ordering kegs ahead of a warm weekend makes sense until the weather turns and a chunk of that beer sits unsold longer than it should, and a big keg order that does not move can wreck the month's beer cost if nobody explains why.
What we doKeeps keg purchases against actual pours, so a weather-driven slowdown in sales does not look like a beer cost problem. -
3
Food truck revenue share gets treated like a flat sale
A food truck that pays a percentage of its sales instead of a flat rent brings in a different amount every week, and if that revenue share is not tracked on its own, an owner cannot tell whether food trucks are actually worth having on site.
What we doKeeps food truck revenue share in its own category so you can see what vendors bring in against what the beer garden alone earns. -
4
Patio and lawn upkeep gets lumped into general repairs
String lights, lawn games, communal tables, and umbrella replacement are ongoing costs specific to an outdoor space, and buried in general repairs, they make it hard to see what it really costs to keep the patio running.
What we doKeeps patio and outdoor upkeep in its own line so those costs are visible against what the space brings in. -
5
A covered structure or new patio build looks like a repair
A new pergola, a covered seating area, or an expanded patio is a real capital improvement, but it can land on a bank statement looking like ordinary maintenance and get expensed the wrong way.
What we doFlags large patio and structure purchases the month they happen and gets the accountant's call on how they should be written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a beer garden.
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
- Beer and drink salesEverything rung through Square or a similar system on the patio.
- Vendor revenue sharePercentage payments from food trucks and pop-up vendors.
- Private eventsReserved sections and buyouts for groups and celebrations.
- MerchandiseBranded steins, shirts, and koozies sold at the counter.
Money out
- Keg purchasesRotating and house draft beer bought from your distributor.
- Liquor purchasesSpirits and mixers if the garden pours a full bar.
- Patio upkeepTables, string lights, umbrellas, and lawn games.
- Wages and tip poolServer and bar staff pay, kept apart from pooled tips.
- CO2 and tap linesDraft gas and line cleaning for the tap system.
- Grounds and landscapingMowing, tree trimming, and outdoor space upkeep.
- Card processing feesWhat the card processor keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Weather-adjusted sales
Sales against rained-out days, so demand and weather stay separate.
- Keg cost per pour
Beer purchases against pours, watched for waste from slow weekends.
- Vendor revenue share
What food trucks bring in against what they cost to host.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things beer garden 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 all in the year you build it. I logged the pavilion as a capital improvement and flagged the cost so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
Those kegs were bought ahead of weekends that got rained out. I keep purchases against actual pours, so the weather is the story here, not waste.
If you pay a truck owner directly rather than just splitting sales at the register, and it is $2,000 or more this year, they likely get a 1099. I flag it and the accountant confirms.
The tax side
The tax side of a beer garden.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Weather swings that look like demand problems, keg costs tied to the wrong week, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Patio structures and equipmentPavilions, covered seating, and outdoor equipment can usually be written off the year you build or buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA landscaper, sound tech, or event vendor not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Employee or contractorA server or bartender who works your schedule and your patio is usually an employee, not a contractor, even seasonal help.
- 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 beer gardens miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Patio furniture repair
- String lights and umbrellas
- Tap line cleaning
- CO2 and draft gas
- Lawn game replacement
- Card processing fees
- Branded staff uniforms
- Liquor liability insurance
- Landscaping and grounds care
- Outdoor heater fuel
- Pest control service
- Menu board printing
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 beer garden year, kept every month.
Warm weather drives most of the year's revenue, and the shoulder seasons swing hard with the forecast. Your team keeps you ahead of the season and the return. 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 vendors and contractors is ready, and your monthly set-aside is planned around the season ahead.
- 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 how the summer weather has actually treated the patio so far.
- October
Before the patio closes
As the outdoor season winds down, Gus looks at equipment and structure upgrades 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 beer gardens. 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 beer garden owners ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between a slow month and a rained-out weekend?
Yes. He flags weeks that were clearly hit by weather, so a couple of rained-out nights read as weather, not a sign that demand is actually dropping.
We host food trucks that pay us a percentage of sales. How does that get tracked?
Vendor revenue share stays in its own category, separate from your own beer and drink sales, so you can see what hosting trucks actually brings in.
Do rained-out kegs count against us in the books?
They show up honestly. Keg purchases are tracked against actual pours, so a slow weekend from bad weather reads as exactly that, not a beer cost problem.
Do I write off a new covered patio structure all at once?
Often you can. Structures and equipment built for the business can usually be deducted in the year they go up, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My books are behind from a busy summer season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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.
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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