Tutoring, test prep & alternative schools

Books and taxes for chess instructors and chess clubs.

After-school program fees paid by the school, private lessons billed by the hour, tournament entry fees fronted for students, and a rating fee paid to the national chess federation every season. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
NovemberExample month
$5,300
what you made

November made $5,300. I fronted three students' tournament entry fees this month and kept them apart from my own costs since the families pay those back.

  • School program invoiceSchool program fees
  • Private lesson paymentsPrivate lessons
  • Federation membership duesFederation dues
  • Tournament entry fees, frontedFronted tournament fees
  • Chess sets and clocks orderEquipment and sets
Money in$14,200
Money out$8,900
Set aside for taxes$900
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Chess instructor and club books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees invoices and a supply order. Your business runs on school program contracts paid separately from private lessons, tournament fees fronted for students, and equipment that lasts years, not months. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which part of the work actually pays.

  1. 1

    School program fees and private lesson income blur together

    A payment from a school for running its after-school chess club looks the same in the bank feed as a private family's payment, and if both land in one category, you cannot see which side of the business actually drives revenue.

    What we doKeeps school program fees and private lesson income in separate categories from the start.
  2. 2

    Tournament fees fronted for students look like your own expense

    You often pay a student's tournament entry fee up front and get reimbursed by the family later, and if that reimbursement is booked as income, your revenue looks inflated for money that was never really yours.

    What we doKeeps fronted tournament fees and their reimbursements separate from your actual teaching income.
  3. 3

    Chess sets and clocks get filed as a routine supply cost every time

    A full set of tournament-grade boards, pieces, and clocks for a new school program is a real equipment investment, and filing it the same as a box of pencils understates what it is worth.

    What we doFlags larger equipment purchases as they happen so the accountant can treat them as the asset they are.
  4. 4

    Federation dues and tournament fees get treated as one lump cost

    National federation membership dues, paid once a year, and per-event tournament entry fees, paid all season, are different kinds of costs, and lumping them together makes it hard to plan for either one.

    What we doKeeps federation dues in their own line, separate from ongoing tournament entry costs.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a chess instructor or club.

Set up once for schools, private families, and tournaments. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • School program feesPayments from schools for running an after-school or in-school chess program.
  • Private lessonsOne-on-one and small-group lessons billed by the hour.
  • Club membership duesOngoing dues for a standalone chess club not tied to a school.
  • Tournament fee reimbursementsMoney families pay back for entry fees fronted on their behalf.

Money out

  • Federation duesAnnual membership dues paid to the national chess federation.
  • Fronted tournament feesEntry fees paid up front for students, reimbursed later.
  • Equipment and setsTournament-grade boards, pieces, and clocks.
  • Travel to tournamentsMileage and travel costs for tournaments you attend with students.
  • Liability insuranceCoverage for working with students at schools and tournaments.
  • Marketing and school outreachFlyers and materials used to build new school program relationships.

What we watch for you

  • School program share

    How much of revenue comes from school contracts versus private families.

  • Active private students

    The base your private lesson income rests on, tracked season to season.

  • Fronted fee balance

    Money paid out for students that is owed back to you, so nothing gets lost.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things chess instructors and club 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.

I paid three students' tournament entry fees and they're paying me back this week. Is that income?

No, that's a reimbursement, not revenue. I keep it separate from your teaching income so your real earnings stay clear.

I run programs at two schools and also teach private lessons. Do those need to be tracked differently?

Yes, and I already keep them apart. That way you can see which side of the business is actually growing.

I just bought a full set of tournament boards and clocks for a new school program. That's a lot at once.

I flagged it as equipment rather than a routine supply, since a purchase that size can often be written off differently on your return.

The tax side

The tax side of a chess instructor or club.

Most of what goes wrong here is fronted fees mistaken for income and school work blending with private lessons. Fix the labels and the rest follows.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Fronted tournament fees are not incomeMoney paid up front for a student's entry fee and reimbursed later is not business revenue, and keeping it separate keeps your real earnings from looking inflated.
  • Equipment write-offsTournament-grade boards, pieces, and clocks bought for a program can usually be written off in the year they are bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Self-employment taxA solo instructor taking profit directly, without running payroll, owes self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • The pass-through deductionMost solo instructors and small clubs can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when school fees, private lessons, and fronted costs are tracked cleanly all year.

Deductions chess instructors and chess clubs miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Federation membership dues
  • Chess sets, boards, and clocks
  • Tournament travel and mileage
  • Liability insurance
  • Marketing and school outreach materials
  • Continuing coaching education
  • Business phone and scheduling tools
  • Home office for planning
  • Printed lesson materials
  • Card processing fees

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 chess instructor or club year, kept every month.

School programs run on the school calendar while tournaments run on their own schedule. Gus keeps both organized alongside the tax calendar. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Spring programs begin

    Spring school programs and private lessons pick up. Last year's return gets started and the monthly set-aside gets planned.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Summer camp check-in

    Where you stand as summer chess camps replace school programs, and whether the season changed what you will owe.

  4. October

    Before the fall push

    Fall school programs bring the year's biggest wave of new students. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 chess instructors and chess clubs. 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 chess instructors and club owners ask first.

I front tournament fees for my students all the time. Will that make my books look inflated?

No. Gus keeps fronted fees and their reimbursements in their own category, so the money passing through does not get counted as your actual teaching income.

Can Gus tell me whether school programs or private lessons are actually more profitable?

Yes. Since the two are tracked in separate categories from the start, you can see exactly what each side of the business brings in.

Do I need to pay myself through payroll or can I just take money out?

Most solo instructors take profit directly and pay self-employment tax on it. Gus keeps the set-aside running so that tax is never a surprise.

I just bought a full set of tournament equipment for a new program. Is that fully deductible this year?

Often it can be written off the year you buy it. Gus flags a purchase that size and logs it so the accountant makes the right call for your year.

My invoicing has been a mix of checks, Venmo, and cash for two years. Can Gus make sense of it?

Yes. Send what you have and he sorts it into one clean set of books. Most instructors know exactly where they stand within 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.

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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