Route, vending & coin-op assets
Books and taxes for claw machine and arcade routes.
Coin drops, cashless card taps, plush and prize restocks, and the ticket redemption counter at the mall. Your own bookkeeper keeps the payout math straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December came in at $11,700. The two new claw machines at Ridgeline Mall are logged as their own assets, and the plush restock ahead of the holiday rush is flagged so it does not read as a bad month next door.
- Claw machine coin depositCoin sales
- Embed Nexus cashless payoutCashless sales
- A&A Global plush orderPrize inventory
- Mall commission, RidgelineLocation commissions
- Ticket redemption prizesRedemption inventory
Why your books are different
Arcade route books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a coin deposit and a prize bill. Your business is claw machines with a payout ratio you tune on purpose, ticket games that trade tokens for redemption prizes, and mall leases that take a real cut. When the books do not separate any of that, you cannot tell if a machine is actually profitable.
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1
Plush cost never gets matched to the machine
A claw machine is set to pay out roughly one plush for every so many plays, but if the plush purchase and the coin revenue it earned sit in different months with no link between them, you cannot tell if a machine's payout is tuned right or bleeding money.
What we doKeeps prize inventory in its own line against coin and cashless sales, so a machine's real cost of paying out is visible month to month. -
2
Redemption tickets look like a straight cost, not a liability
Tickets earned from skee-ball and other redemption games get traded in for prizes later, and if ticket sales are booked as pure income the day the tokens are bought, the prize cost that eventually comes due gets disconnected from the play that earned it.
What we doKeeps redemption prize purchases in their own line, so the cost of what gets traded in stays visible against the games that generate tickets. -
3
The mall commission looks like plain rent
A mall or family entertainment venue often takes a percentage of gross machine sales rather than a flat lease, and booked as generic rent, you lose the ability to see what each location is really costing you as sales rise and fall.
What we doBooks each venue's percentage commission as its own line tied to that location's sales, so the real cut is visible, not blended into overhead. -
4
A new machine looks like a repair bill
A new claw machine or redemption cabinet can cost several thousand dollars, and filed as a repair or supply cost it never gets tracked as the equipment it is or written off the way equipment can be.
What we doTags every new claw machine or cabinet as equipment on the day it lands on location, so it gets the write-off treatment equipment is due instead of blending into repairs. -
5
A holiday restock swings the month
A large plush and prize order placed before the holiday rush lands in one month, making that month's cost look heavy and the following month look unusually strong once the stock earns its way out.
What we doKeeps prize purchases in a steady line and flags stock-up months, so a big holiday order does not read as a bad month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an arcade route.
Set up once for how your machines get paid and what keeps them stocked. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Coin salesCash pulled from claw, redemption, and arcade machine coin boxes.
- Cashless salesEmbed or Nexus card taps, booked at the full sale before fees.
- Token salesBulk token purchases at a counter or kiosk, when a venue sells them directly.
- Private event feesMachines booked for a birthday party or corporate event.
Money out
- Location commissionsThe percentage or flat fee a mall or venue takes on machine sales.
- Prize inventoryPlush, toys, and small prizes from A&A Global or a similar distributor.
- Redemption inventoryLarger prizes traded for tickets earned on redemption games.
- Machines and repairsNew and used claw machines, redemption cabinets, and coin mechanisms.
- Cashless card feesWhat the card network keeps before the payout lands.
- Vehicle and fuelFuel and repairs for restocking and servicing the route.
- InsuranceLiability and equipment theft or vandalism coverage.
What we watch for you
- Payout ratio
Prize cost against coin and cashless sales per machine, so a claw set too loose or tight gets caught.
- Revenue per machine
Shows which machines earn their keep and which ones cost more to stock than they return.
- Commission share
Tracked across all venues, so a new mall lease does not quietly eat into what you keep.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on the route's payouts, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things arcade route 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.
Yes. I keep plush cost tied to that machine's coin and cashless sales, so the payout ratio shows up plainly, no guessing after the fact.
Usually yes. I logged them as equipment, not supplies, and flagged the purchase so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
I track what Ridgeline actually nets you after its commission, month over month, so you will have the real number before that conversation, not a guess.
The tax side
The tax side of an arcade route.
Most of what goes wrong here is matching cost to the machine that earned it. Plush bought in one month, machines filed as supplies, and a commission that looks like rent.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Machines and cabinetsClaw machines and redemption cabinets usually qualify to be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax on tokens and prizesSome states tax coin-operated amusement revenue differently than retail sales, and the rule often depends on whether a prize is won rather than sold. Gus flags the detail for the accountant.
- Contractor 1099sA restocker or repair tech paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll usually needs 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 route profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when prize cost and commissions are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions claw machine and arcade routes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Plush and prize inventory
- Claw machine purchases
- Redemption cabinet repairs
- Coin mechanism parts
- Cashless reader hardware
- Mall and venue commissions
- Route vehicle fuel and repairs
- Liability insurance
- Storage for spare machines
- Tickets and redemption counter supplies
- Locks and security hardware
- Route management software
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
An arcade route year, kept every month.
Machines get restocked every week of the year. 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
Set the arcade year up
Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is ready, and your monthly set-aside begins now, sized to what the machines bring in, so April is already handled.
- April
Filed and signed off
Your business return is filed and signed. No scramble in April, because the set-aside has been building off coin and cashless sales since January.
- July
Midyear payout check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer mall traffic and payout ratios changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Claw machines and redemption games see their strongest weeks around the holidays. Gus looks at prize stock levels and any equipment worth adding 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 claw machine and arcade routes. 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 arcade route owners ask first.
Can Gus tell me if a claw machine's payout is set too loose?
He tracks plush cost against that machine's coin and cashless sales, so the payout ratio is right there for you to see. He will not tune the claw, but you will have the number to decide with.
I run games on coins and cashless cards. Does that complicate things?
No. Gus books coin deposits and cashless payouts separately from your bank and processor statements, so you see the mix without sorting it yourself.
How does the mall's commission show up in my books?
As its own line tied to that location's sales, not blended into general rent, so you can see exactly what each venue's cut is costing you.
Do I need to track redemption tickets separately from prizes?
Gus keeps the prizes traded for tickets in their own line, so the redemption cost stays connected to the games that generate the tickets, rather than looking like a random expense.
I just added two machines at a new mall. Does that change how the books work?
No, the process stays the same. Gus adds the new location and its commission as its own line, right alongside your existing venues.
My route records mix six months of prize and coin totals together. Can that be untangled?
Yes. Send the bank statements and any distributor invoices you have. Gus sorts them out machine by machine, and most owners know where they stand within a week 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.
More in route, vending & coin-op assets
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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