Property operations & real assets
Books and taxes for boat and RV storage facility owners.
Space rent priced by length, winterizing and de-winterizing fees each fall and spring, wash bay and dump station charges, and a lot that fills up before winter and empties before summer. Gus sorts all of it, and an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
October came in at $15,500. Winterizing requests came in heavy this month, so I kept that fee income on its own line instead of folding it into space rent.
- Space rent, outdoor lotSpace rent
- Space rent, covered canopySpace rent
- Winterizing service feesSeasonal service fees
- Gravel lot regradingGrounds upkeep
- Antifreeze and suppliesSeasonal service supplies
Why your books are different
A boat and RV storage yard's books swing hard between two seasons a year.
A generalist sees rent and a quiet lot. Your business fills up before winter, empties before summer, and adds a wave of winterizing and de-winterizing work twice a year on top of ordinary rent. When the books do not know that, a strong October looks like a mystery instead of the season it is.
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1
Winterizing fees mixed into space rent
A customer paying $95 a month for space and $180 to have their boat winterized gets billed together, and lumped as one number you cannot tell how much of a strong October is rent growth versus a seasonal service surge.
What we doBooks winterizing and de-winterizing fees on their own line, separate from space rent, so a seasonal spike is labeled for what it is. -
2
Pricing by length gets lost in a flat rent category
A 40-foot motorhome and a 16-foot jon boat pay very different rates for space, and if every space just gets recorded as generic rent income, you cannot tell whether your pricing by length is actually matching what each space costs you to maintain.
What we doKeeps rent tagged by space type, outdoor, covered, or indoor, so pricing by size stays visible against actual occupancy. -
3
Wash bay and dump station cash gets treated as incidental
A few dollars here and there for the wash bay or the RV dump station adds up over a season, but treated as pocket change instead of tracked income, it never shows up as the real revenue line it is.
What we doBooks wash bay and dump station charges as their own income line, so a real source of revenue does not disappear into miscellaneous cash. -
4
A seasonal prepay looks like one huge month
A snowbird paying six months upfront to store their RV before heading south hands you a large payment today for storage that is not earned yet, which can make one month look unusually strong and the following months look weak by comparison.
What we doSpreads a seasonal prepayment across the months it actually covers, so no single month looks inflated because of it. -
5
An abandoned boat or RV follows different rules than a storage unit
A vehicle or vessel left behind after nonpayment is usually subject to state title and lien laws for vehicles, not the same lien process a self-storage unit follows, and treating the sale proceeds the same way as ordinary rent income misses that difference.
What we doFlags a vehicle or vessel lien sale separately and has the accountant confirm what portion, if any, actually counts as your income under your state's rules.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a boat and RV storage yard.
Set up once for how spaces get rented and what the yard costs to run through both seasons. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Space rent, outdoorUncovered spaces priced by length.
- Space rent, covered or indoorCanopy or enclosed spaces at a premium rate.
- Seasonal service feesWinterizing and de-winterizing charges each fall and spring.
- Wash bay and dump station feesPer-use charges at the self-serve stations.
- Late and administrative feesCharges for late payment or account setup.
Money out
- Storage management softwareFacility management and billing subscription costs.
- Grounds upkeepGravel regrading, striping, and drainage repairs.
- Security and access systemsGate hardware, cameras, and monitoring service.
- Seasonal service suppliesAntifreeze, fuel stabilizer, and winterizing kits.
- Water and sewer for the wash bayUtility costs tied directly to the wash and dump stations.
- Property tax and insuranceThe facility's own tax bill and coverage.
- Payroll for yard staffStaff moving vehicles and running seasonal service work.
What we watch for you
- Occupancy by space type
Covered, outdoor, and indoor spaces often fill at different rates, and one number hides that.
- Seasonal service attach rate
How many stored customers actually book winterizing or de-winterizing, real income beyond rent.
- Waitlist against turnover
A long waitlist against how often spaces actually turn over tells you whether it is time to expand.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked through the winter lull as well as the busy season, so nothing piles up by spring.
Ask Gus
Things boat and RV storage 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.
Mostly winterizing fees. I kept that income on its own line, and it is carrying a good chunk of this month on top of your normal space rent.
That usually runs through your state's vehicle title and lien process, not the same rules as an ordinary storage unit. I flagged it so the accountant can walk through what applies before anything gets sold.
That depends on your state, since some tax storage and vehicle space rent and some do not. I flagged it for the accountant to confirm against your state's specific rule.
The tax side
The tax side of a boat and RV storage yard.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels: a seasonal prepay counted too early, and gravel or paving filed like the buildings instead of on their own schedule.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Buildings and land improvements depreciate differentlyAny storage buildings sit on a long depreciation schedule, while gravel lots, paving, and fencing are often land improvements that can qualify for 100 percent bonus depreciation when placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax on space rent varies by stateSome states apply sales tax to storage or vehicle space rent and some do not. This is a state-specific rule the accountant confirms rather than a fixed federal answer.
- Vehicle and vessel lien sales follow their own rulesAn abandoned boat or RV usually falls under state title and lien law for vehicles, not ordinary storage lien law, so only the accountant working from your state's specific rules should confirm what portion of a sale counts as income.
- Contractor 1099sGravel and paving contractors, gate technicians, and other vendors not on payroll get a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
Deductions boat and RV storage facility owners miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Storage management software
- Gate and access system repairs
- Gravel and paving upkeep
- Winterizing supplies and antifreeze
- Security cameras and monitoring
- Wash bay water and sewer costs
- Yard staff payroll
- Signage and site lighting
- Property insurance premiums
- Fencing repairs
- Bank and processing fees
- Drainage and grading work
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 boat and RV storage year, kept every month.
The fall rush in and the spring rush out run on their own calendar. 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 vendor 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so tax season 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, what you will owe, and whether spring de-winterizing demand changed the number.
- October
Before the winter fill-up
Right as winterizing season peaks, Gus looks at occupancy by space type and any equipment worth buying 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 boat and RV storage facility owners. 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 boat and RV storage owners ask first.
How do you handle the swing between our busy fall and quiet summer?
Gus expects the seasonal pattern and tracks it month to month rather than judging one slow month against a busy one, so you get an honest read on the whole year, not a false alarm in the off season.
Do you separate winterizing income from regular space rent?
Yes. Seasonal service fees get their own line, so you can see how much of a strong month is rent and how much is the winterizing and de-winterizing work on top of it.
A customer left an RV behind and stopped paying. What happens with the books?
Gus flags it as a vehicle lien situation rather than an ordinary storage unit, since most states handle abandoned vehicles and vessels under title and lien law. The accountant confirms what applies before any sale affects your books.
We charge different rates by vehicle length. Can Gus track that?
Yes. Rent gets tagged by space type, outdoor, covered, or indoor, so your pricing by size stays visible against how each type is actually filling up.
Is the wash bay and dump station money worth tracking separately?
It usually adds up to real revenue over a season, so Gus keeps it on its own income line instead of letting it blend into miscellaneous cash.
Our books are a mess from running things out of a personal account for years.
Send the bank statements you have going forward, even if the past is messy. Gus sorts what comes in from here, and most owners know where they stand within a month or two.
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