Land recreation & adventure
Books and taxes for bike rental and tour companies.
Hourly and daily rentals, guided city and trail tours booked online, damage deposits, and a fleet that needs tires and tune-ups every week. Gus sorts it as it lands, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June came in at $13,700. A returned damage deposit from a scratched rental frame came back out of income this month, so I logged it separate from your regular rental fees.
- Peek tour bookingsGuided tour income
- Hourly and daily rental feesRental income
- Damage deposit refundDeposit adjustments
- Trek fleet parts orderFleet maintenance
- Tour guide wagesGuide wages
Why your books are different
Bike rental and tour books go wrong between the deposit and the return.
A renter pays a damage deposit that is not really your money, a tour guest books online weeks before a summer trip, and the fleet needs constant small repairs that add up fast. A generalist counts every swipe as income. Your books need to know which charges are actually yours to keep.
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1
Damage deposits are not rental income
A refundable deposit held against a scratched frame or a lost lock is not money you earned, and if it gets counted as rental income the day it is charged, your real rental revenue looks inflated until the refund quietly drags a later month down.
What we doKeeps damage deposits separate from rental income and matches refunds to the deposit they came from, so your rental revenue stays honest. -
2
Tour bookings made months ahead get counted too early
A guest books and pays for a guided tour in March for a July ride, and if that payment counts as March income, July shows almost nothing from a tour that actually happened that month.
What we doHolds tour booking income as money owed until the tour happens, then counts it that month. -
3
Small fleet repairs add up without anyone noticing
Tubes, brake pads, and tune-ups on a rental fleet are frequent and individually small, and if they get buried in general supplies, the real cost of keeping the fleet rentable stays invisible.
What we doKeeps fleet maintenance in its own line so the running cost of the fleet is visible, not lost in a pile of small receipts. -
4
Guide pay and rental counter pay blur together
A guide leading a paid tour and a counter clerk checking out rentals do very different jobs, and if their wages blend into one line, you cannot see what tours actually cost to run in labor.
What we doKeeps guide wages separate from rental counter wages.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a bike rental and tour company.
Set up once for how rentals, tours, and deposits get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Rental incomeHourly and daily bike, e-bike, and accessory rentals.
- Guided tour incomeCity and trail tours booked online or walk-in.
- Deposit adjustmentsDamage deposits collected and refunded, kept apart from rental income.
- Group and event bookingsPrivate group tours and corporate outings.
- Retail and accessory salesHelmets, locks, and gear sold at the counter.
Money out
- Fleet maintenanceTubes, brake pads, chains, and tune-ups across the rental fleet.
- Fleet replacementNew bikes and e-bikes bought to refresh or grow the fleet.
- Guide wagesPay for staff leading guided tours, kept apart from counter staff.
- Rental counter wagesFront counter and check-out staff.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for rentals and guided tours.
- Booking site feesThe cut taken by your online reservation system.
- Shop rent and utilitiesRent, power, and water for the storefront or kiosk.
- Marketing and tour listingsAds and paid listings on tour discovery sites.
What we watch for you
- Deferred tour balance
How much tour booking money is still owed in trips not yet run.
- Fleet maintenance cost per bike
What upkeep runs per bike, useful for deciding when replacement beats another repair.
- Tour versus rental income split
Whether guided tours or straight rentals are carrying the season.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things bike rental and tour 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.
No, I keep deposits separate from your rental fees since most of it goes back to the renter. Only what you actually keep after a refund counts as income.
It's held as money owed to them in a tour they haven't taken yet. I'll count it in July, when the ride actually happens.
I keep every tube, brake pad, and tune-up in one fleet maintenance line, so you can see the real running cost instead of it disappearing into a pile of small receipts.
The tax side
The tax side of a bike rental and tour company.
Most of what trips up a rental and tour business is timing on tour bookings, keeping deposits out of income, and getting the fleet's depreciation right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Damage deposits are not incomeRefundable deposits held against damage are not earned revenue and should not be counted as income until, and unless, they are kept for actual damage.
- Tour bookings are earned at the rideMoney collected for a tour booked ahead of time is deferred income, recognized only when the tour actually happens.
- Rental fleet depreciationBikes and e-bikes bought for the rental fleet are equipment, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, though spreading it out sometimes fits a fleet that is still growing.
- Guide or contractorA guide working your posted tour schedule and following your route is usually an employee, even if paid per tour.
Deductions bike rental and bike tour companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fleet tubes, chains, and brake pads
- Bike tune-up labor
- Liability insurance premiums
- Guide wages and training
- Online booking system fees
- Helmets and safety gear stock
- Locks and security equipment
- Shop rent and utilities
- Tour route permits
- Radios for guide communication
- Marketing and tour listing fees
- Uniforms for guides and counter staff
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 bike rental and tour year, kept every month.
Warm months bring the rentals and tour bookings, and the fleet needs its own off season attention. 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, and a monthly set-aside is planned based on how last season's rentals and tours actually landed.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as tour bookings start picking up for the season.
- July
Peak season check
Where you stand at the busiest stretch, and whether fleet maintenance costs are keeping pace with rental income.
- October
Before the season winds down
Fleet repairs, replacement bikes, and equipment worth buying before the off season.
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 bike rental and bike tour 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 bike rental and tour owners ask first.
We collect a damage deposit on every rental. How does that get handled in the books?
Gus keeps deposits separate from rental income, since most of it goes back to the renter, and only counts what you actually keep after a refund as real income.
Guests book our tours online weeks or months ahead. Does Gus handle that timing?
Yes. He holds tour booking money as income owed until the tour actually happens, so the numbers match the trip that ran, not the day it was booked.
Can Gus tell me if our rental fleet upkeep is getting out of hand?
Yes. He keeps all fleet maintenance in one line, so you can see the real running cost per bike instead of it hiding in scattered receipts.
We run both a walk-in rental shop and scheduled guided tours. Can the books track both clearly?
Yes. Rental income and guided tour income stay in separate categories, so you can see which side of the business is carrying the season.
Our season is short and intense. Will a slow winter throw off our set-aside?
No. Gus adjusts the set-aside as the season's real numbers come in, so the off season does not leave you overpaying ahead of a lighter year.
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 land recreation & adventure
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Aerial adventure & ropes courses
- Archery ranges & pro shops
- ATV & off-road parks
- Disc golf courses & shops
- Fly fishing guides & shops
- Gun clubs & private shooting clubs
- Hiking & backpacking guide services
- Hunting land leasing
- Hunting outfitters & guides
- Hunting preserves & lodges
- Mountain bike parks
- Paintball & airsoft fields
- Small ski hills & tubing hills
- Sporting clays ranges
- Stargazing & dark sky tours
- Survival & bushcraft schools
- Zip line & canopy tours
- Indoor shooting ranges
- Ski & snowboard shops
- Bait & tackle shops
- Cabin & cottage resorts
- Campground & RV park buyers / investors
- Campground developers (new builds)
- Farm stay & boondocking hosts
- Fishing guides (inshore / freshwater)
- Glamping resorts
- Group camps & retreat centers
- Houseboat rentals
- Kayak & paddleboard rentals and tours
- Long-term & monthly RV parks
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