Pet services
Books and taxes for dog grooming salons.
Grooming appointments, retail shampoo and toy sales, staff or booth-rent groomers, and tips left on the card reader. 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 $12,500. Holiday photo package add-ons pushed retail sales up, so I kept those separate from the grooming appointments they rode along with.
- Vagaro payoutGrooming appointments
- Square, retail salesRetail product sales
- Ryan's Pet Supply orderGrooming supplies
- Groomer payrollStaff wages
- Booth rent, chair 3Booth rent income
Why your books are different
Dog grooming salon books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist sees card batches and a supply order. Your business is groomers who might be staff or booth renters, retail shelves next to the tub, and tips that come through three different ways. The books need to sort all of it.
-
1
Booth-rent groomers get mixed into salon revenue
A groomer who rents a station and keeps her own client fees still shows up in your bank feed as a deposit, and without separating booth rent from service income, your salon's real revenue looks inflated.
What we doKeeps booth rent income separate from grooming appointment revenue, so you see what your salon actually earns versus what independent groomers keep. -
2
Retail sales blur into grooming fees
A bag of treats or a bottle of shampoo sold at pickup gets counted the same as the grooming service. You lose the ability to see whether the retail shelf earns its keep after what you paid your supplier.
What we doKeeps retail sales in its own line against what you paid your supplier, so you know if the shelf is worth the space. -
3
Tips get lost between cash, card, and app
A groomer gets a cash tip, a card tip added at checkout, and a Venmo tip from a regular client, all in one week. If they never make it into the books, income is understated and payroll tax questions get messy.
What we doTracks tips across cash, card, and app so groomer pay and business income both reflect what actually came in. -
4
Bulk supply orders wreck one month's number
A large shampoo, blade, and towel order from a supplier lands once a quarter and makes that month look expensive, while the following months, living off that stock, look artificially cheap.
What we doKeeps grooming supplies in one steady line and tells you when a bulk order is the reason a month looks heavy. -
5
Dryers and tables get filed as supplies
A new hydraulic table or a high-velocity dryer can run into the thousands, and buried in supplies it wrecks a month's numbers and hides a purchase that usually gets written off differently.
What we doFlags big equipment purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and lets the accountant decide how it gets written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a dog grooming salon.
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
- Grooming appointmentsBaths, cuts, and full-service packages paid through Vagaro or Square.
- Retail product salesShampoo, brushes, toys, and treats sold at checkout.
- Booth rent incomeFees collected from independent groomers renting a station.
- Add-on servicesNail trims, teeth brushing, and deshedding treatments booked separately.
Money out
- Staff wagesEmployed groomers and bathers paid through payroll.
- Grooming suppliesShampoo, blades, combs, and towels bought in bulk.
- EquipmentTables, tubs, and dryers, logged separately so they get written off right.
- Facility rent and utilitiesSalon space, water, and electric.
- Booking softwareVagaro or a similar scheduling and payment tool.
- MarketingLocal ads, referral cards, and social posts.
What we watch for you
- Retail margin
What retail sales earn after supplier cost, to see if the shelf is worth the space.
- Labor share
Staff wages against grooming income, to check pricing covers what a chair actually costs.
- Booth rent income
What independent groomers pay to rent a station, tracked apart from service revenue.
- Supply cost per appointment
What shampoo, blades, and towels cost per booking, tracked so a bulk order does not confuse the picture.
Ask Gus
Things dog grooming salon 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 keep her booth rent payment to you separate from grooming income, so your salon's real revenue is not inflated by money that is really hers.
Retail sales stay in their own line against what you paid your supplier, so you can see if the shelf earns its keep beyond just the grooming appointment.
It does, and it can get complicated fast depending on how you pay it out. That part is above my pay grade to settle alone, so the accountant should walk through your tip handling with you.
The tax side
The tax side of a dog grooming salon.
Booth renters, retail inventory, and tips are the three places a grooming salon's taxes get complicated. Getting the labels right up front makes the return simpler.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Booth rent versus employee incomeGroomers who rent a station and set their own prices are generally independent, while groomers on your schedule using your supplies usually count as employees. Mixing the two up gets expensive.
- Retail sales and cost of goodsProduct sold at checkout is inventory, and what you paid your supplier for it offsets the sale when the return is prepared, so tracking that cost matters.
- Tips are taxable incomeTips collected by staff, whether cash, card, or app, are taxable income and generally need to run through payroll reporting when staff are employees.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when retail, booth rent, and service income are tracked separately all year.
Deductions dog grooming salons miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Shampoo, conditioner, and coat products
- Blades, combs, and shears
- Grooming tables and tubs
- High-velocity dryers
- Towels and grooming aprons
- Booking software subscription
- Liability insurance
- Facility rent and utilities
- Uniforms and smocks
- Continuing education courses
- 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 grooming salon year, kept every month.
Holiday photo packages and shedding season shift your calendar. 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, the 1099 list for any contract groomers is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned.
- 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 spring shedding season changed the number.
- October
Before holiday photos
Holiday grooming and photo packages ramp up. Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 dog grooming salons. 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 grooming salon owners ask first.
I have groomers who rent chairs and groomers I employ. Can Gus tell them apart?
Yes. Booth rent income from independent groomers stays separate from wages you pay employed groomers, so your books show your salon's real revenue instead of money that passes through on its way to someone else.
Do I need to track retail sales differently from grooming fees?
Yes. Retail product sales are kept in their own category against what you paid your supplier, so you can tell if the shelf is actually worth the space, not just lumped into overall revenue.
My groomers get tipped in cash, on cards, and through Venmo. Is that a mess?
It can be, and how it should be handled depends on whether your groomers are employees or booth renters. Gus tracks what comes in so the accountant can sort out the reporting side correctly.
Can I write off a new grooming table and dryer the year I buy them?
Often yes. Equipment purchases can usually be written off in the year you buy them, and Gus logs them separately from regular supplies so the accountant can make that call with your full year in view.
My books have never separated retail from services. Can Gus fix that going forward?
Yes. Send your bank statements and Gus starts sorting retail, appointments, and booth rent from here forward. Most owners are caught up and clear on their real numbers 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