Indoor entertainment
Books and taxes for cat cafes.
Timed cat room reservations, a shelter partnership behind the adoptions, a real cafe menu, and vet bills that never really stop. 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
April came in at $5,600. Two cats got adopted out this month, and I kept those adoption fees apart from your regular cafe and reservation income.
- Cat room reservationsTime-slot admission
- Adoption fee, passed to shelter partnerAdoption fees
- Vet clinic invoiceAnimal care
- Coffee distributorCafe sales
- Litter and supply orderAnimal care
Why your books are different
Cat cafe books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a coffee shop with cats around. Your business runs on timed reservations, a shelter partnership that has its own money rules, ongoing animal care costs, and a menu on top of all of it. When the books do not know that, adoption money and cafe money get tangled together.
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1
Adoption fees get treated as regular cafe income
Money collected for an adoption usually passes through to or is shared with a shelter or rescue partner, and if it is booked the same as a coffee sale, the cafe's own income looks inflated by money that is not really the cafe's to keep.
What we doKeeps adoption fees in their own category and tracks what portion, if any, passes through to the shelter partner, so cafe income stays honest. -
2
Vet bills and animal care costs get folded into general supplies
Vet visits, vaccinations, and ongoing medical care for resident cats are a real and sometimes unpredictable cost, and buried in general supplies, an owner cannot see whether animal care spending is climbing.
What we doKeeps animal care and vet costs in their own line so the true cost of housing the cats is visible. -
3
Time-slot reservations and walk-in cafe orders blur together
A reserved cat room visit is a different kind of sale than someone just grabbing coffee in the front cafe area, and mixed together, an owner cannot tell whether the cat room or the coffee bar is driving a strong month.
What we doKeeps time-slot reservations apart from walk-in cafe sales so each side shows its own number. -
4
A shelter partnership payment structure gets guessed at
Some cat cafes pay the shelter a flat fee per cat housed, others split adoption fees, and without a clear structure recorded, it is easy to misstate what belongs to the cafe versus what is owed to the partner.
What we doAsks how the shelter partnership is structured and books payments accordingly, rather than guessing.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cat cafe.
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
- Time-slot admissionReserved cat room visits, usually sold in blocks of time.
- Cafe salesCoffee and food sold in the front cafe area.
- Adoption feesFees collected on behalf of or shared with your shelter partner.
- MerchandiseBranded mugs, toys, and cat-themed retail items.
Money out
- Animal careVet visits, vaccinations, food, and litter for resident cats.
- Cafe food and drinkCoffee, pastries, and drinks from your distributor.
- Shelter partner paymentsAny fee-sharing or per-cat payments to your rescue partner.
- WagesCat room attendants and cafe staff.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for a facility mixing food service and live animals.
- Rent and utilitiesThe building, its ventilation, and its cat room setup.
What we watch for you
- Reservation fill rate
How many time slots book out, so you know if the cat room schedule needs more or fewer slots.
- Animal care cost
Vet and supply spending per cat, so a health issue shows up in the numbers early.
- Cafe versus room mix
How much revenue comes from the coffee bar versus reserved visits.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things cat cafe 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.
Depends on your shelter agreement. I keep adoption fees in their own category and only count what's actually yours to keep, based on how your partnership is set up.
I kept it in the animal care line, so you can see it was a one-time medical cost, not a shift in your regular monthly spending.
Vet clinics are usually businesses themselves and don't need a 1099 from you, but I keep a running tally of what you pay them either way, in case the accountant needs it.
The tax side
The tax side of a cat cafe.
Most of what goes wrong here is mixing money that passes through to a shelter partner with the cafe's own income, and treating animal care like a routine supply cost.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cat room and cafe equipmentCat room furnishings and cafe equipment can usually be written off up to $2,560,000 under Section 179 in the year bought, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA freelance cat room attendant or event photographer who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Employee or contractorCat room attendants and cafe staff who work your posted schedule are usually employees, even if part time.
- 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 cat cafes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vet visits and vaccinations
- Cat food and litter
- Cafe food and beverage stock
- Liability insurance
- Reservation software fees
- Cat room furnishings and enrichment
- Cleaning and sanitizing supplies
- Card processing fees
- Merchandise inventory
- Local pet event advertising
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 cat cafe year, kept every month.
Weekends and school breaks bring the most reservations, and adoption interest often rises around the holidays. Your team keeps you ahead of both, and of taxes on their own schedule. 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 contract help 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, what you will owe, and how the cat room reservation pattern has shifted.
- October
Before the holiday season
Holiday adoption interest tends to rise. Gus looks at cat room upkeep and cafe equipment worth doing before the busy stretch.
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 cat cafes. 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 cat cafe owners ask first.
How does Gus handle adoption fees that go to our shelter partner?
He asks how your partnership splits or passes through fees, then books only the cafe's actual share as income, so your books do not overstate money that belongs to the shelter.
Can Gus separate cafe sales from cat room reservations?
Yes. Time-slot admission and coffee bar sales get their own categories, so you can see which side of the business is actually driving a strong month.
Vet bills vary a lot month to month, is that normal to track?
Yes, and it is useful. Gus keeps animal care costs in their own line so a spike from a medical issue is visible and does not get mistaken for a spending problem elsewhere.
Do I need a special license to keep cats in a cafe?
Requirements vary by city and state health department, and often involve separating the cat area from food prep. That is a licensing question for your local health department, not something Gus files.
Our books have never separated adoption money from cafe income. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts adoption fees, cafe sales, and reservations into their own categories, the accountant checks it, 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.
More in indoor entertainment
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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