Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for craft breweries and taprooms.
Taproom pours, distributor payouts, canned four-packs, and keg deposits that are not really income. 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
July came in at $17,300. The patio crowd carried it, and I kept the deposit from your keg leasing company out of your sales, since that money goes back when the kegs do.
- Arryved taproom depositTaproom pours
- Distributor payoutDistributor sales
- Country Malt GroupGrain and hops
- MicroStar keg chargeKeg deposits
- Airgas CO2 deliveryKegging and draft supplies
Why your books are different
A brewery's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and a bar tab. Your business is a taproom, a distributor relationship, kegs that are not yours to sell, and beer that ages in a tank before it is ever poured. When the books do not know that, the monthly number lies to you.
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1
Distributor payouts land short
A distributor invoice for forty cases of your seasonal release often nets out a delivery fee or a chargeback before the money ever hits your account. Booked as the deposit, both your wholesale price and your real cost disappear.
What we doBooks the full wholesale invoice as the sale and the distributor's cut as its own cost, so your real price and your real fee both show up. -
2
Keg deposits look like income
Money that comes in when a bar or a keg leasing company charges a deposit is not a sale, it is a deposit you owe back once the keg comes home. Counted as income, it inflates a month that was not actually that good.
What we doKeeps keg deposits in their own line as a liability, not income, so your taproom's real sales are never overstated. -
3
Comped pours and festival samples vanish
A flight poured for a distributor rep, a can handed to a beer festival judge, or a round comped to a regular are real product costs even though no cash changes hands. Left untracked, your cost of goods never matches what actually left the cooler.
What we doLogs comped and sample pours against inventory, so the true cost of what you made and gave away shows up on the books. -
4
A barrel-aged batch skews the month
Grain, hops, and labor for a barrel-aged stout go out the door months before that beer is ever tapped. Expensed the day you pay for it, a big brew day makes a quiet month look like a loss.
What we doKeeps grain, hops, and work in process in inventory until the batch is packaged and sold, so brew day does not wreck the number. -
5
The canning line gets filed as supplies
A used canning line or a new glycol chiller can cost as much as a truck. Filed as supplies, it muddles a month and gets missed at tax time.
What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they post, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how they are written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a brewery with a taproom.
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
- Taproom poursPints, flights, and growler fills rung through Arryved, Toast, or Square.
- Distributor salesThe full wholesale invoice, with the distributor's cut booked separately.
- Self-distribution deliveriesAccounts you deliver to directly in states that allow it.
- Can and merchandise salesFour-packs, growlers, and shirts sold to go.
- Mug club membershipsRecurring member charges, kept apart from one-off taproom sales.
- Festival and event salesBeer fest booths, farmers markets, and private events.
Money out
- Grain and hopsMalt, hops, and yeast from suppliers like Country Malt Group and Yakima Chief.
- Kegging and draft suppliesCO2, nitrogen, and tap system parts from Airgas and similar suppliers.
- Keg depositsWhat you owe back to leasing companies like MicroStar or to accounts holding your kegs.
- Cans, growlers, and labelsPackaging and label compliance costs.
- Taproom staff wagesBartenders and pourers, kept apart from production labor.
- Excise and alcohol taxFederal and state alcohol tax payments, tracked separately from sales tax.
- EquipmentTanks, canning lines, and glycol systems, logged so they get written off right.
- Insurance and permitsLiquor liability coverage and your federal and state alcohol permits.
What we watch for you
- Channel margin
Taproom pours pay far more than a distributor pallet. He shows you the split so you know which one is carrying the other.
- Keg deposit liability
What you owe back on kegs still out with accounts and leasing companies.
- Batches in tank
What is aging but not yet sold, so a slow-looking month makes sense.
- The excise set-aside
Federal and state alcohol tax sits apart from your income tax set-aside, on its own schedule.
Ask Gus
Things brewery 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.
You brewed a big barrel-aged batch this month. That grain and labor is sitting in inventory until it is packaged, not counted as a loss now.
No, it looks like their delivery fee and a chargeback came out before the payout. I booked your full invoice as the sale and their cut as a cost, so you can see both numbers.
That filing itself stays with your excise tax preparer, since it is separate from your income tax return. I keep your production and sales records clean so that filing is easy for whoever handles it.
The tax side
The tax side of running a brewery.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. Grain sitting in a tank, a canning line filed as supplies, and an excise tax bucket nobody separated from income tax.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Federal excise tax on alcoholA bonded brewery generally owes federal excise tax on what it removes from bond for sale, separate from its income tax return and based on volume and alcohol content. Rates are not something to guess at. Goatkeeper keeps the books clean for whoever files that return, it does not file it.
- Tanks, canning lines, and coolersProduction equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property placed in service after January 19, 2025. Whether to take it all now depends on the year you are having.
- Bartender or contractorA pourer who works your schedule, wears your logo, and pours from your taps is usually an employee, no matter how the shifts are set up. Getting that wrong gets expensive.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated breweries can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when taproom, wholesale, and distributor sales are kept separate all year.
Deductions craft breweries and taprooms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Grain, hops, and yeast
- Keg cleaning and CO2
- Canning and label costs
- Liquor liability insurance
- Taproom glassware and furniture
- Federal alcohol permit and bond fees
- Festival booth fees
- Distributor samples and comped pours
- Staff uniforms with your logo
- Refrigeration repairs
- Delivery vehicle fuel for self-distribution
- Water treatment for brewing
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 brewery year, kept every month.
Brew days happen year round, but your taproom's calendar swings hard with the seasons. 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, keg deposit and distributor payouts from the past year get reconciled, and you get a monthly set-aside for income tax so the excise tax bucket stays separate and April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your income tax return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January and the taproom's numbers were clean going in.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the height of patio season, what you will owe, and whether the summer taproom crowd changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday push
Before winter releases and holiday case sales, Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and anything to do 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 craft breweries and taprooms. 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 brewery owners ask first.
Can Gus handle both taproom sales and distributor payouts?
Yes. He keeps them in separate categories, so you can see what the taproom brings in against what wholesale and distribution bring in, instead of one blended number.
We use Arryved for the taproom. Does that change anything?
No. Keep running the taproom the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks once and remembers the answer.
Do keg deposits count as income?
No. A deposit you owe back once the keg returns is a liability, not a sale. Gus keeps it in its own line so your real taproom sales are not overstated.
Does Goatkeeper file our federal excise tax return?
No. That filing is separate from your income tax return and stays with your excise tax preparer. Gus keeps your production and sales records clean, which makes that filing much easier.
We just bought a canning line. Do we write it off this year?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
Our books are a mess from last season. Can Gus still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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 craft beverage producers
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Brewpubs
- Coffee roasters
- Liquor stores
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands
- Wineries & tasting rooms
- Arcade bars (barcades)
- Artisan cheese makers
- Bagel shops
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Beer gardens
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Cigar lounges
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Dive bars & neighborhood taverns
- Farmers market vendors
- Food hall vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hookah lounges
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