Pet services
Books and taxes for dog boarding kennels.
Nightly boarding rates, holiday deposits taken months out, overnight staff pay, and medication administration fees. 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
December came in at $20,800. Holiday deposits taken back in October finally turned into real stays this month, so I moved them out of the deposit balance and into income.
- PetExec payoutNightly boarding fees
- Holiday deposit, appliedBoarding deposits
- Overnight staff payrollStaff wages
- Costco bulk food runFood and kennel supplies
- Kennel run repairFacility maintenance
Why your books are different
Dog boarding kennel books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a deposit and a payroll run. Your business is holiday reservations booked months out, staff on site around the clock, and medication and special-care fees that vary stay to stay. The books need to track all of it.
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1
Holiday deposits get counted the moment they land
A family books their Christmas week stay in September with a deposit, and if that deposit is booked as September income, the month the dog is actually boarded looks smaller than it really was.
What we doHolds boarding deposits as owed work until the stay happens, so income matches the nights you actually cared for a dog. -
2
Overnight staffing costs hide what a full kennel really earns
Running a kennel at capacity over the holidays means more overnight staff on the clock, but if those wages sit in one lump sum against total revenue, you cannot tell whether a full house at holiday rates is actually more profitable.
What we doKeeps overnight staff wages visible against nightly boarding revenue, so you can see what a full kennel actually earns after the extra labor. -
3
Medication fees blur into the nightly rate
A dog needing twice-daily medication gets charged extra, but if that fee gets folded into the base boarding rate, you lose track of how often special-care stays are actually worth the added attention they take.
What we doKeeps medication and special-care fees on their own line, separate from the standard nightly rate. -
4
A bulk food or bedding order wrecks one month's number
A large order of food, bedding, and cleaning supplies lands once and makes that month look expensive, while the following months, living off that stock, look artificially cheap.
What we doKeeps food and kennel supplies in one steady line and tells you when a bulk order is the reason a month looks heavy.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a dog boarding kennel.
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
- Nightly boarding feesStandard per-night rates paid at drop-off or pickup.
- Boarding depositsHeld as owed work until the actual stay happens, common around holidays.
- Medication and special-care feesExtra charges for dogs needing meds or extra attention.
- Add-on servicesBaths and grooming booked alongside a boarding stay.
Money out
- Staff wagesOvernight and daytime kennel staff paid through payroll.
- Food and kennel suppliesFood, bedding, and cleaning supplies bought in bulk.
- Facility maintenanceKennel run repairs, HVAC, and general upkeep.
- EquipmentKennel runs and crates, logged separately from consumables.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for dogs boarded overnight in your care.
- Booking softwarePetExec, Gingr, or a similar kennel management tool.
What we watch for you
- Deposit balance
Money held for stays that have not happened yet, so you know what is truly owed.
- Labor share
Staff wages against boarding revenue, to see if a full kennel actually pays off after the extra hands.
- Occupancy rate
How many kennel runs are filled against total capacity, tracked from bookings.
- Medication fee revenue
How much special-care fees add on top of the standard nightly rate.
Ask Gus
Things dog boarding kennel 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.
No, I held those as owed work until the stays actually happened in December, so each month shows the nights of boarding you really provided.
Separately from the standard nightly rate, so you can see how often special-care stays are actually worth the extra attention they take.
That's a bigger call than I can make alone. More capacity usually means more staff and a facility permit review, so bring the accountant in before you commit to the build-out.
The tax side
The tax side of a dog boarding kennel.
Deposits taken months ahead and staff scheduled around the clock are the two things that matter most here.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Deposits are not income yetA holiday deposit taken months before a stay is money you owe work for, not profit you have earned. Gus tracks the balance so income reflects nights of care actually delivered.
- Employee overnight staffStaff working overnight shifts in your facility on your schedule are almost always employees, not contractors, regardless of how the shifts are structured.
- Kennel runs and facility equipmentNew kennel runs, HVAC, and facility build-outs can often be written off in the year you buy them, with Section 179 expensing available up to $2,560,000.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when deposits and staff costs are tracked accurately all year.
Deductions dog boarding kennels miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Food and treats for boarded dogs
- Bedding and kennel supplies
- Cleaning and disinfectant supplies
- Kennel runs and crates
- Facility HVAC and maintenance
- Liability insurance
- Booking software subscription
- Staff uniforms
- Waste disposal fees
- Continuing education for staff
- Local advertising
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 dog boarding kennel year, kept every month.
Your busiest nights come around holidays and summer travel. Your taxes come on a schedule of their own. 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 a monthly set-aside is planned around your typical occupancy pattern.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer travel season filled your runs more than usual.
- October
Ahead of the holiday rush
Deposits for Thanksgiving and Christmas start rolling in. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December and keeps the deposit balance clear.
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 dog boarding kennels. 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 dog boarding kennel owners ask first.
When does a holiday deposit taken months out actually count as income?
When the stay itself happens, not the day the deposit clears. That keeps deposits taken during a slow month from making your books look stronger than the boarding you have actually delivered.
My overnight staff work irregular shifts. Are they still employees?
Almost always yes. Staff working shifts you schedule in your facility are structured too closely to your business to count as independent contractors, regardless of how irregular the hours are.
Can I deduct the cost of new kennel runs and HVAC upgrades?
Usually yes, often in the year you buy them. Gus logs facility equipment separately from routine supplies so the accountant can decide how it gets written off.
We charge extra for dogs needing medication. Does that need its own category?
Yes, Gus keeps medication and special-care fees separate from the standard nightly rate, so you can see how often those stays are worth the extra attention they take.
My books have never separated deposits from actual stays. Can that change?
Yes. Send your bank statements and Gus starts holding deposits as owed work until the stay happens, so your income lines up with the nights you actually board dogs, going forward.
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