Sporting goods & sports services
Books and taxes for bike shops.
Retail sales, tune-up labor, a special-order road bike deposit, and a rental fleet for weekend tourists all land in the same account. Gus sorts every dollar, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $12,500. The Trek order for the demo fleet went in as equipment, not inventory, since those bikes stay in the shop and get rented, not sold.
- Lightspeed Retail depositRetail sales
- Tune-up bench payoutService labor
- QBP wholesale orderParts and accessories
- Affirm financing payoutFinanced bike sales
- Trek dealer invoiceRental fleet
Why your books are different
A bike shop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a till and a stack of invoices. Your shop is a sales floor, a mechanic's bench, a rental fleet, and special orders that get paid for weeks before they arrive. When the books do not know the difference, you cannot tell what the bench earns against what the shelves earn.
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1
The tune-up bench hides inside retail sales
A $65 tune-up and a $65 helmet ring through the same register the same way. Lumped together, you cannot tell whether the service side of the shop is carrying its own weight or just filling time between sales.
What we doKeeps tune-up and repair labor in its own category, separate from parts and retail gear, so the bench shows its real number. -
2
A special order deposit gets counted as a sale too early
A customer puts $400 down on a custom road bike that will not arrive from the distributor for six weeks. Booked as income the day it lands, the month looks stronger than it is, and the shop still owes a finished bike.
What we doKeeps the deposit as money owed against the order until the bike ships and the sale is actually complete. -
3
A rental and demo fleet looks like a normal parts order
A batch of bikes bought to rent to weekend visitors or demo to buyers costs as much as a used car, but the distributor invoice reads like any other stock order. Filed as inventory, it muddles the month it was bought.
What we doFlags fleet and demo bike purchases the day they arrive, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how they get written off. -
4
Trade-in bikes get mixed into regular inventory cost
A used mountain bike taken as partial payment toward a new one is not the same as stock bought from a distributor. Mixed together, what the shop actually paid for its inventory gets distorted.
What we doKeeps trade-in value separate from wholesale parts and bike costs, so the true cost of goods stays accurate. -
5
A big spring order wrecks the seasonal picture
Most bike shops place their heaviest wholesale order once, before the spring rush hits. That one invoice can make March look like a loss and May look like a windfall once the season sells through.
What we doKeeps wholesale purchases visible against what actually sold, so a big spring order does not read as a bad month on its own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a bike shop.
Set up once for how you sell and how you get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesBikes, helmets, and accessories rung up on the floor.
- Service laborTune-ups, flat repairs, and overhauls billed separate from parts.
- Special order depositsMoney down on custom builds, tracked until the bike ships.
- Trade-in and used bike salesResale of bikes taken in on trade.
- Rental and demo fleet incomeDaily rentals and demo rides that lead to a sale.
Money out
- Wholesale parts and accessoriesQBP and similar distributor orders for tubes, chains, and components.
- New bike inventoryDealer orders from brands like Trek or Specialized for bikes sold, not rented.
- Fleet and demo equipmentRental and demo bikes, logged so they get written off right.
- Mechanic wagesBench pay, kept apart from parts cost so labor margin is visible.
- Shop rent and utilitiesThe floor, the bench, and the storage space.
- Financing and card feesWhat Affirm, Square, or the card processor kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Service margin
What the bench brings in against mechanic wages, separate from parts sales.
- Open deposit balance
Special order money already collected for bikes not yet delivered.
- Inventory turn
How fast this season's bikes are actually selling versus sitting on the floor.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked all season, so April lands as a number you already knew, not a spring surprise.
Ask Gus
Things bike shop 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. Fleet and demo bikes get logged as equipment, not inventory, since you keep them and rent or demo them rather than sell them outright. I flagged the order for the accountant.
Two special order deposits are still sitting as money owed, not sales, because those bikes have not shipped yet. Once they go out the door, they count.
That is above my pay grade to call on its own. I keep his pay separate either way, and the accountant will look at the actual working arrangement with you.
The tax side
The tax side of running a bike shop.
Most of what trips up a bike shop is timing and labels: deposits counted too early, a fleet purchase filed like parts, and inventory that never gets a real count.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsWhat the shop paid for bikes and parts actually sold, not just what it bought, is what counts against sales for the year. An accurate year-end count changes what the return shows as profit.
- Equipment for the bench and fleetTuning stands, tools, and rental or demo bikes can usually be written off in the year bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA mechanic or fitter not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- 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 bike shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Tune-up stand and shop tools
- Tubes and small parts stock
- Shop apron and uniforms
- POS and inventory software
- Freight on wholesale orders
- Buying show travel
- Bike rack and floor fixtures
- Liability insurance
- Local ride sponsorships
- Website and online store fees
- Card processing fees
- Continuing education for mechanics
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 shop year, kept every month.
The spring rush arrives fast and the winter slowdown lasts a while. Your team keeps you ahead of both, all year. 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 mechanic 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before the spring order goes out.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before the season peaks, with no scramble while the shop is busiest.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after the spring rush, what you will owe, and whether this year's demo fleet purchase changed the number.
- October
Before winter
Before the slow season, Gus looks at any bench equipment worth buying and what to do before December while cash is still steady.
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 shops. 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 shop owners ask first.
Can Gus separate my tune-up income from bike sales?
Yes. Service labor gets its own category apart from retail and parts sales, so you can see whether the bench is pulling its weight on its own.
I take deposits on special order bikes. How does that work in the books?
Gus keeps the deposit as money owed until the bike ships and the sale is complete, so a good deposit month does not overstate what you actually made.
Do I need to change how I run Lightspeed or my POS?
No. Keep ringing sales the way you do in Lightspeed. Gus reads the deposits off your bank statement afterward and asks once if a batch total looks off, then remembers the answer.
How does Gus handle my rental and demo fleet?
Fleet and demo bikes get logged as equipment rather than inventory, since you keep and use them rather than sell them right away. The accountant decides how they get written off.
My mechanic left mid-season and my books have gaps. Can Gus fill them in?
Usually yes. Send whatever bank statements and invoices you have from those months. Gus sorts what is there and flags anything that looks like it is missing a receipt or explanation.
What about the used bikes I take on trade?
Trade-in value is kept separate from wholesale inventory cost, so your true cost of goods and your true margin on new bikes both stay accurate.
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