Childcare & youth programs
Books and taxes for before and after school programs.
Morning drop-off, afternoon pickup vans, no-school-day surges, and a staff that only works two short shifts a day. 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
November made $6,300. The two no-school days added a full-day fee on top of regular tuition, so I kept that under a separate line instead of blending it into weekly billing.
- Famly tuition batchWeekly program fees
- No-school day chargesFull-day event fees
- OnPay payroll runSplit-shift wages
- Van lease paymentTransportation
- S&S Worldwide orderActivity supplies
Why your books are different
Before and after school program books go wrong at the edges of the school day.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a payroll run and monthly fees. Your business runs in two short windows a day, disappears on school breaks, and spikes on the days school is closed entirely. Gus builds the books around that shape instead of a normal five-day week.
-
1
No-school-day fees blend into weekly tuition
A teacher in-service day or a snow makeup day turns your two-hour program into a full-day charge, but if that fee lands in the same line as regular weekly tuition, you cannot tell how much of your income depends on those extra days.
What we doKeeps full-day event fees in their own line so you can see how much of a month came from a normal week versus a school closure. -
2
Split-shift wages look like part-time payroll
Staff working a 7 to 9 a.m. shift and a 3 to 6 p.m. shift are full working days spread across a gap, but folded into one payroll line, it is hard to see what each shift actually costs against what it brings in.
What we doKeeps wages tied to the shift they cover when your schedule shows it, so morning and afternoon coverage can be priced on their own. -
3
Van and transportation costs get buried in general expenses
Fuel, a lease payment, and driver pay for the van that shuttles kids from school to your site is a real cost of doing business, but lumped into general expenses, you cannot see whether the pickup route is worth running.
What we doKeeps transportation costs in their own line so you can weigh what pickup service actually costs against what it lets you charge. -
4
School breaks look like lost months
Winter break, spring break, and summer can mean weeks with no regular program running, and a bookkeeper who does not know the school calendar reads that stretch as a business in decline.
What we doTracks the school calendar you run on, so a planned break reads as the normal shape of your year, not a warning sign.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a before and after school program.
Set up once for split shifts and a school-year calendar. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Weekly program feesRegular before-care and after-care billing through Famly or a similar app.
- Full-day event feesNo-school days, teacher in-service days, and snow makeup days charged at a full-day rate.
- Registration feesA one-time fee some families pay to hold a spot for the school year.
- Sibling discountsAdjustments that reduce what a family with more than one child owes.
Money out
- Split-shift wagesMorning and afternoon staff pay, kept apart when the schedule allows.
- Payroll taxes and workers compThe cost of keeping split-shift staff on payroll rather than contract.
- TransportationVan lease, fuel, and driver pay for school pickup.
- Activity suppliesS&S Worldwide orders and other craft and recreation materials.
- SnacksSnack service for the after-care window.
- Licensing and inspection feesState licensing renewal for the program's site.
- Background checks and certificationsFingerprinting and CPR and First Aid renewal for staff.
What we watch for you
- Labor share
Split-shift wages against program fees. It tells you if morning or afternoon coverage needs a price change.
- No-school-day income
How much of a month comes from full-day event fees versus regular weekly billing.
- Transportation cost
Van and driver cost against what pickup service lets you charge. Worth knowing before adding a route.
- The set-aside
What you will owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things before and after school program 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.
Those days billed at your full-day rate instead of the regular after-care rate. I kept that under its own line so you can see it is the closures, not a tuition increase.
I keep transportation in its own line, so you can weigh the new lease cost against what pickup service lets you charge before deciding whether to keep the route.
Not on its own. I track your school calendar, so a planned closure reads as the normal shape of your year rather than a sign something is off.
The tax side
The tax side of a before and after school program.
Most of what trips up this trade is keeping split-shift staff on the right side of employee status and tracking the vehicle that does the pickup run.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Split-shift staff are still employeesA worker covering a set morning and afternoon shift under your direction is an employee, not a contractor, even though the hours are short and spread out.
- Vehicle costs for the pickup vanA van used to shuttle kids from school is a business vehicle. Mileage or actual costs, including fuel and repairs, can usually be deducted, and the van itself may qualify for Section 179 or bonus depreciation.
- Contractor 1099sAn occasional driver or activity instructor not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed, which comes out right when program fees and event-day charges are booked to the right months all year.
Deductions before and after school programs miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Van lease, fuel, and repairs
- Activity and craft supplies
- Snack service costs
- Background check and fingerprinting fees
- CPR and First Aid renewal
- State licensing fees
- Enrollment software subscriptions
- Staff continuing education hours
- Liability insurance
- Marketing to parent groups
- Storage for seasonal activity gear
- Phone and tablet for check-in and dispatch
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 before and after school year, kept every month.
Your calendar follows the school district's. Your taxes follow their own. 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 driver and instructor 1099 list 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 before the new school year starts, and whether last year's van and staffing costs still make sense.
- October
Before winter break
A look at equipment worth buying before December and whether registration for the spring term is on track.
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 before and after school programs. 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 before and after school program owners ask first.
How do you handle income from no-school days differently from regular tuition?
Gus keeps full-day event fees in their own line, separate from weekly program fees, so you can see how much of a month came from a closure day charged at a higher rate.
Our staff work two shifts a day with a gap between them. Does that complicate payroll?
It stays payroll either way, since a worker on a set morning and afternoon schedule under your direction is an employee. When your schedule shows the shift, Gus can keep the wages tied to it.
We run programs at three different schools. Can the books keep that separate?
Yes, when you tell Gus which deposits and costs go with which site, he keeps them apart so you can see how each location is doing on its own.
Does the summer gap between school years cause a problem for our books?
No. Gus tracks the school calendar your program runs on, so a summer without regular before and after care reads as the normal shape of your year.
We lease a van just for school pickup. How should that be tracked?
Gus keeps the lease, fuel, and repairs in their own transportation line, separate from general expenses, so you can see what the pickup route actually costs against what it lets you charge.
Our enrollment is behind on paperwork from last semester. Can Gus still catch up the books?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have, even out of order. Gus sorts them and the accountant works from what is actually there.
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.
- Baby & toddler classes (music, sensory)
- Babysitting agencies
- 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