Live events & performance
Books and taxes for dirt tracks and racetracks.
Gate tickets, pit passes, a driver purse that pays out after the checkered flag, and a track prep bill before every race night. Gus sorts each apart, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June cleared $12,800 across four race nights. The new track grader from a farm equipment dealer went in as equipment, not a repair.
- Gate ticket salesGate admissions
- Pit pass and driver registrationPit and driver fees
- Purse payout, weekly featuresPurse and points fund
- Clay and track prep, dirt haulingTrack surface and prep
- Farm equipment dealer, track graderEquipment
Why your books are different
A racetrack's books go wrong the same way, week after week.
A generalist sees a Friday night deposit and a fuel bill. Your track is a weekly purse paid to a rotating field of drivers, pit passes on top of gate tickets, dirt hauled in before every race, and a season points fund that pays out only at the end. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell if a race night made money.
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1
Gate tickets and pit passes get counted as one admission
A driver's pit pass and a spectator's gate ticket are priced differently and paid by different people, and lumped together you lose track of how many cars actually showed up to race versus how many fans came to watch.
What we doKeeps gate admissions and pit and driver fees in their own lines, so both sides of a race night are visible. -
2
The weekly purse and the season points fund blur together
A track that pays a purse every week and also builds toward a season-end points fund can lose track of how much is owed out at year's end if both payouts sit in one category.
What we doKeeps the weekly purse separate from money set aside for the season points fund, so what is owed at year's end is a known number, not a surprise. -
3
Track prep and dirt hauling look like a one-time repair
Clay, dirt hauling, and grading before every race night is a recurring cost of running the track, not an occasional repair, and filed as maintenance it is easy to lose track of the real weekly cost of the surface.
What we doKeeps track surface and prep costs in their own category, tracked week to week, so the real cost of race night is visible. -
4
Sponsorship on the wall and on the car gets mixed with gate money
A local business paying for a fence sign or a class sponsorship is a different kind of income than ticket sales, and mixed together it hides how much of the track's revenue depends on sponsors versus fans.
What we doKeeps sponsorship money apart from gate admissions, so you can see what each side of the business brings in. -
5
A grader or track equipment purchase gets filed as supplies
A track grader, water truck, or packer can cost as much as a car, and filed as a supply run it muddles the month and misses a bigger write-off.
What we doFlags large equipment purchases the month they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a racetrack.
Set up once for how a race night makes money and where it goes. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Gate admissionsSpectator ticket sales at the gate or in advance.
- Pit and driver feesPit passes and weekly driver registration.
- SponsorshipsFence signs, class sponsors, and local business support.
- Concessions cutThe track's share of food and drink sales.
- Rental and special eventsTrack rentals for private test days or car shows.
Money out
- Purse and points fundWeekly payouts and money set aside for the season-end fund.
- Track surface and prepClay, dirt hauling, water, and weekly grading.
- Officials and flaggersRace director, flaggers, and scoring crew paid per race night.
- Security and medical staffingGate security and an on-site medic or ambulance crew.
- MarketingLocal radio, social promotion, and printed schedules.
- InsuranceEvent liability and driver waiver coverage.
- EquipmentGraders, water trucks, and packers logged so they get written off right.
- Utilities and grounds upkeepLighting, fencing repair, and restroom facilities.
What we watch for you
- Gate-to-pit ratio
How many drivers show up per spectator, useful when planning car counts and payout levels.
- Purse-to-gate ratio
What the weekly purse costs against what the gate actually brought in.
- Points fund balance
What is owed out at season's end, tracked all year instead of guessed at in October.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things track 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.
The purse goes up with the field size too. I keep purse payouts against pit fees so you can see whether a bigger car count actually paid for itself.
I keep that money apart from the weekly purse all season, so you have a real number instead of finding out in October.
That is a real budget call above what I settle alone. I put together what renting has cost you this season for the accountant to run the numbers with you.
The tax side
The tax side of running a racetrack.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping weekly payouts straight: the purse, the points fund, and officials all paid the same night, often in cash.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099s for officials and flaggersA race director, flagger, or scorer paid $2,000 or more over the year outside payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list across the season.
- Purse and points fund payouts to driversPurse money paid out to drivers is generally reportable the same way other contractor-style payments are, and Gus tracks who was paid what across the season so the paperwork is ready.
- Depreciation of track equipmentA grader, water truck, or packer owned by the track can usually be written off the year it is bought, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for gate and pit staffA gate worker or pit steward who works your schedule and follows your rules every race night is usually an employee, even for a seasonal, weekly role.
Deductions dirt tracks and local racetracks miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Clay and dirt hauling
- Track watering and grading
- Fence and wall repair
- Flagging and timing equipment
- Gate ticket rolls and scanners
- Event liability insurance
- Ambulance and medical staffing
- Printed schedules and programs
- Sanctioning body dues
- Light tower repair and bulbs
- Restroom and grounds upkeep
- Merchant 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 racetrack's year, kept every month.
A weekly season runs on its own rhythm from spring green flag to fall points banquet. Gus keeps the tax calendar lined up alongside it. 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, the 1099 list for officials is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Mid-season check
Where the season stands, what you will owe, and whether the points fund is on track for the fall banquet.
- October
Before the points banquet
The season-end payout and banquet usually land this time of year. Gus lays out the real number before you write those checks.
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 dirt tracks and local racetracks. 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 racetrack owners ask first.
Can Gus keep the weekly purse separate from the season points fund?
Yes. They are different obligations, and Gus keeps them apart so you know exactly what is owed out at the season banquet.
Do flaggers and officials get a 1099 like any other contractor?
Yes, if you pay one $2,000 or more over the year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list across the season.
Our concessions run through a separate vendor. Can that still be tracked?
Yes. Send whatever settlement or percentage the vendor pays the track, and Gus books the track's share as its own line.
How does Gus handle a season where car counts were down and the purse got cut?
He keeps purse payouts tied to the weeks they were paid, so a lean stretch shows up honestly instead of averaging into a number that hides it.
We are considering buying our own track equipment instead of renting. Does that change our taxes?
It can. Equipment the track owns outright is usually written off differently than a rental cost, and Gus flags a big purchase the month it happens so the accountant can make the call.
Our books are behind from a busy summer season. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements and race night settlement sheets you have, and Gus sorts them week by week. Most track 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 live events & performance
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Community & regional theaters
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- Event promoters
- Festival producers
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- Haunted houses & haunted attractions
- Helicopter tours
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- Hot air balloon rides
- Ice skating rinks
- Indoor go-kart tracks
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