Gyms & fitness studios
Books and taxes for competitive kids dance studios.
Tuition on a school-year schedule, a costume order for the whole team, competition entry fees, and recital ticket sales in June. 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
November came in at $7,800. The competition team's costume order from this month is booked as a cost tied to the team, not general studio supplies, since parents already paid for it separately.
- Jackrabbit tuition draftTuition
- Costume payment collectedTeam costume fees
- Costume order paid to supplierCostume costs
- Choreographer paymentChoreography fees
- Competition entry feesCompetition costs
Why your books are different
A competitive dance studio's books go wrong around team and recital money.
A generalist sees tuition and a rent bill. Your studio bills on a school-year calendar, collects and pays out costume money for the competition team, hires outside choreographers, and sells recital tickets once a year. When the books miss that, the team program's real cost disappears into regular tuition.
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1
Costume money passes through without being tracked as its own thing
Parents pay the studio for costumes, and the studio pays a supplier, but when that money lands in the same bucket as tuition, you can't tell whether costume fees actually covered what the costumes cost.
What we doTracks costume fees collected and costume costs paid as their own pair of categories, so you can see whether they matched. -
2
Competition team costs blend into regular tuition
Entry fees, travel, and choreography fees for the competition team are real costs tied to a smaller group of dancers, but folded into general studio expenses they hide whether the team program pays for itself.
What we doKeeps competition entry fees, travel, and choreography in their own lines so you can see what the team program actually costs. -
3
Recital income lands once a year and looks like a windfall
Ticket sales and program ads for the annual recital bring in a lump of money in late spring that can look like an unusually great month instead of a predictable seasonal event.
What we doTracks recital income as its own category so a strong June reads as the expected season it is, not a mystery. -
4
School-year tuition doesn't match the calendar year
A family that pays a September-to-June tuition schedule doesn't map cleanly onto twelve calendar months, which can make comparing one month to the same month last year confusing without the right context.
What we doKeeps tuition tracked against the studio's actual season, so a slow August reads as summer break, not a real drop.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a competitive dance studio.
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
- TuitionMonthly class fees drafted through Jackrabbit or a similar system.
- Team costume feesWhat competition families pay toward costumes, kept apart from tuition.
- Competition team duesThe added monthly or seasonal fee for team members.
- Recital incomeTicket sales and program ads, collected once a year.
Money out
- Instructor payRegular class teachers, paid on a school-year schedule.
- Choreography feesOutside choreographers hired for competition routines.
- Costume costsWhat's paid to suppliers, tracked against what families paid in.
- Competition costsEntry fees and travel for the team, kept apart from tuition.
- Rent and utilitiesThe studio space and the power it runs on.
- SoftwareJackrabbit or a similar dance studio management system.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new families.
What we watch for you
- Costume fees vs costs
Whether what families paid for costumes actually covered what they cost the studio.
- Team program margin
Whether competition entry fees, travel, and choreography are covered by team dues.
- Active enrollment
The base tuition rests on, tracked against the studio's school-year calendar.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things dance studio 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.
Because recital income lands once a year. I keep it in its own category so a strong June reads as the season it is, not a random spike.
Close. You collected $2,400 and the order came to $2,150, so the team came out a bit ahead this round. I track both sides so you can see that every time.
If she's not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. I keep that list running so it's ready.
The tax side
The tax side of running a competitive dance studio.
Most of what trips up a dance studio is timing and labels. Costume money passing through untracked, recital income landing all at once, and choreographer pay that needs a second look.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Instructor or contractorA choreographer who works one routine on her own schedule may be a contractor, but a regular class teacher who follows your schedule usually counts as an employee. Gus flags the difference before it becomes a habit.
- Contractor 1099sA guest choreographer or judge not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Sales tax on costumes and recital ticketsCostume sales and recital ticket income can be subject to state or local sales tax depending on where the studio operates, and the rule varies widely. Gus keeps both separate so the number is easy to find.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when tuition, team costs, and recital income are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions competitive kids dance studios miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Studio flooring and mirrors
- Jackrabbit or studio software fees
- Choreography fees
- Costume storage and racks
- Liability insurance
- Competition entry fees
- Recital venue rental
- Business phone and booking line
- Marketing and referral incentives
- Website and booking widget
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 competitive dance studio's year, kept every month.
The season runs September to June. Your taxes run on the calendar year. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so competition season spending doesn't turn into an April surprise.
- 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'll owe, and whether recital income and summer intensives changed the number.
- October
Before year-end
Before the calendar closes, Gus looks at studio 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 competitive kids dance studios. 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 dance studio owners ask first.
Can Gus track whether costume fees actually covered costume costs?
Yes. Both sides are tracked as their own categories, so you can see whether what families paid in matched what the supplier order actually cost, instead of it all blending into general studio income and expenses.
I bill tuition through Jackrabbit. Do I have to change anything?
No. Keep running the studio the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and billing drafts, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Does recital income need its own category?
Yes. Ticket sales and program ads land once a year, so keeping them separate means a strong June reads as the expected season, not an unexplained jump in revenue.
Our competition team has its own dues on top of tuition. Does that complicate things?
No. Gus keeps team dues, entry fees, and choreography costs in their own lines, so you can see clearly whether the competition program is covering its own costs.
My books are behind from earlier in the season. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever's on hand from earlier this season. Gus sorts through it, the accountant checks his work, and you'll have a clear picture 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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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