Faith-based, nonprofit & membership orgs
Books and taxes for Christian camps and retreat centers.
Camper registration fees, a campership fund that covers kids whose families cannot pay full price, seasonal counselor pay, and weekend retreat rentals in the off months. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July came in at $13,300 after expenses. The new waterfront rescue equipment from the summer safety order is logged as equipment, not program supplies.
- UltraCamp registration depositCamper fees
- Grace Fellowship campership giftCampership fund
- US Foods weekly orderFood service
- Summer counselor payrollSeasonal staff pay
- Diesel, camp van fleetTransportation
Why your books are different
A camp's books go wrong in the same seasonal places.
A generalist sees a big summer and a quiet winter and calls it seasonal. Your camp runs on camper fees, a scholarship fund covering kids whose families cannot pay full price, seasonal staff paid room and board on top of wages, and weekend rentals that keep the lights on the rest of the year. Miss that mix and you cannot tell if summer actually paid for itself.
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1
Campership gifts get spent like general donations
A church or individual gives $2,000 specifically to help cover camper fees for kids who cannot afford full price, and it lands in the same account as general camp giving, so nobody can track how much scholarship money is actually available for the summer.
What we doTags campership gifts the day they arrive and tracks what has been awarded against them, so the fund never runs dry without warning. -
2
Room and board for counselors gets left out of labor cost
A counselor paid a modest stipend plus free housing and meals for the summer looks cheap on the payroll line, but the housing and food are real costs the camp is absorbing that never show up if only the stipend is counted.
What we doKeeps the value of counselor housing and meals visible alongside stipend pay, so the true cost of running summer staff is not hidden. -
3
Off-season retreat rentals get lumped in with camper fees
A fall men's retreat or a winter youth group weekend brings in facility rental income that looks the same as summer camper registration on a bank statement, even though it is a different kind of revenue with different costs.
What we doKeeps retreat rental income in its own category, separate from camper fees, so you can see what the off-season actually contributes. -
4
A big food order swings the month
A summer's worth of food gets ordered in bulk from a foodservice distributor, and one large delivery can make a slow week look like a disaster and a light week look flush.
What we doKeeps food service costs in one steady category and tells you when a bulk order is the reason a week looks off, not a real problem. -
5
Waterfront and ropes course gear gets buried in supplies
Rescue equipment, harnesses, and ropes course hardware are safety-critical equipment, not a supply run, and filed as supplies they distort the month and blur what needs regular replacement.
What we doFlags safety equipment purchases as their own line and gets the accountant's read on how they should be written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a camp or retreat center.
Set up once for how registrations, giving, and rentals flow through your season. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Camper registration feesSummer session fees processed through UltraCamp, CampMinder, or a similar registration service.
- Campership fund giftsDonations designated to cover camper fees for families who cannot pay full price.
- Retreat and facility rentalsWeekend group rentals in the off-season, separate from camper fees.
- General givingUndesignated donations supporting the camp's operations.
Money out
- Seasonal staff payCounselor and summer staff wages, stipends, and lifeguard pay.
- Food serviceBulk food orders and kitchen staff for the camp season.
- Program and safety equipmentWaterfront, ropes course, and activity gear, logged so it gets written off right.
- Facility and cabin maintenanceLodging repairs, utilities, and grounds upkeep.
- TransportationCamp van and bus fleet fuel, insurance, and repairs.
- InsuranceLiability coverage for high-risk activities like the waterfront and ropes course.
- Marketing and registration feesCamp fair booths, brochures, and registration software fees.
What we watch for you
- Campership fund balance
What is still available to award against families who applied for help this season.
- Cost per camper week
What it actually costs to run a week of camp, useful before setting next year's fees.
- Off-season rental income
How much of the year's budget the shoulder-season retreats and rentals cover.
- The set-aside
What the camp will owe on any taxable activity, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things camp directors 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.
About $4,200 based on what has come in against what has gone out. I am tracking every award against the fund so you know before you promise the next family a spot.
I keep it in its own category since it is a different kind of income, and I flag it for the accountant to look at whether any of it counts as taxable activity outside your mission.
Often it can, but it depends on whether the camp has any taxable income it applies against. I logged it as equipment and flagged it so the accountant can look at the whole picture.
The tax side
The tax side of running a camp or retreat center.
Most of what matters here is keeping camper fees, camperships, and rental income sorted, and getting seasonal staff classified right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Worker classification for counselorsA counselor who works your schedule, lives on site, and follows your program is an employee, not a contractor, even for a ten-week summer season.
- Facility rental incomeRenting the property to outside groups in the off-season is common and usually fine, but a steady, unrelated rental business run separately from camp programming is worth the accountant's look for unrelated business income.
- Contractor 1099sA guest speaker, outside instructor, or maintenance contractor not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Depreciation of equipment and vehiclesVans, kitchen equipment, and program gear can factor into depreciation schedules, most relevant if the camp has taxable income from rentals or other unrelated activity to apply it against.
Deductions Christian camps and retreat centers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Waterfront and ropes course gear
- Van and bus fleet maintenance
- Kitchen equipment repairs
- Cabin and lodging repairs
- Program and craft supplies
- Liability and accident insurance
- Registration software fees
- Lifeguard certification costs
- Camp fair and marketing costs
- Well and septic maintenance
- Background check fees for staff
- Uniforms and staff apparel
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 camp year, kept every month.
Summer runs the show, but the books stay steady across every season. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the summer budget
Last year's records are wrapped up, camp fees for the coming summer are set, and the campership fund's starting balance is clear before applications open.
- April
Camperships closed out
Whatever filing applies to your camp's structure is ready to hand off, with campership awards, seasonal payroll, and rental income already sorted.
- July
Midsummer look
Where camper fees and campership spending stand at the season's peak, and whether the summer is tracking to cover the year.
- October
Before the retreat season builds
Fall and winter retreat bookings pick up. Gus looks at off-season rental income and any equipment needs before the next wave of groups arrives.
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 Christian camps and retreat centers. 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 camp directors ask first.
Can Gus track how much campership money we have left to award?
Yes. Every gift designated for camperships is tagged the day it arrives, and every award against it is tracked, so you always know the fund's real balance before you tell a family yes.
We use UltraCamp for registration. Do we need to change how we take payments?
No. Keep registering campers the way you always have. Gus works from your bank and registration reports and asks when a deposit needs to be split or clarified.
Does renting our facility to outside groups in the off-season create a tax problem?
Usually not, but a steady rental business run apart from your camp programming is worth a look. Gus keeps that income in its own category and flags it so the accountant can weigh in.
Our counselors get free housing and meals plus a small stipend. How does that get recorded?
The stipend runs through payroll like any wage, and Gus keeps the value of housing and meals visible too, so the true cost of running your summer staff is not hidden.
Do you prepare our camp's annual filing with the IRS?
No. That is not part of this subscription. Your books stay clean and categorized every month so whoever prepares that filing is working from accurate numbers.
Our books have not been touched since the summer season ended. Can you catch us up?
Yes. Send the bank and registration records you have. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, and most camps know where they stand within a couple of weeks.
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