Travel agencies & tour operators
Books and taxes for domestic tour operators.
Room blocks bought wholesale before a season starts, driver payroll next to contracted local guides, and a tour price that bundles every cost inside it. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June netted $14,000. The Yellowstone room block bought back in March finally got used up across four departures, so I matched that cost to this month's tours instead of March.
- Tour package sales, June runsTour package sales
- Optional excursion add-onsAdd-on sales
- Grand Teton Lodge blockHotel and lodging blocks
- Driver payroll, JuneDriver and guide payroll
- Fleet diesel, both coachesFleet fuel and maintenance
Why your books are different
A domestic tour operator's books go wrong when the tour price hides the cost.
You are not earning a commission, you are buying rooms, tickets, and a driver's day at wholesale and selling the whole package at retail. Bundled into one ticket price, it is easy to lose track of what a tour actually costs to run against what it sells for.
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1
The tour price hides the cost of goods inside it
A seven-day national parks tour sells for $2,400 a person, but that price bundles hotel rooms, park tickets, meals, and driver wages bought wholesale months earlier. Booked as a lump sale, you cannot tell whether that tour actually made money once every piece is paid for.
What we doBreaks the tour price into what it actually costs to deliver against what it sells for, so you can see the real margin on each departure. -
2
Hotel rooms get bought wholesale before a single seat sells
Booking a block of rooms for a summer season of departures means paying for them months ahead, whether every tour fills or not. Expensed only as rooms get used, an early bulk purchase can make a quiet spring look like a loss.
What we doBooks the room block cost against the season it covers, so an early bulk purchase does not distort a month where no tours have run yet. -
3
Drivers and guides blend payroll with contractor pay
A driver who runs your schedule in your vehicle is an employee, but a local guide brought on for one departure looks the same on a bank statement. Lumped together, you cannot see what labor actually costs against what a tour brought in, and worker classification gets murky.
What we doKeeps payroll and contractor guide pay in separate lines and flags anyone who looks like an employee but is paid like a contractor. -
4
The motorcoach is not a repair, it is equipment
A used motorcoach or a fleet of vans can cost as much as a building, and if it is filed as a repair or a supply purchase, it muddles the month and misses out on how the purchase can usually be written off.
What we doFlags vehicle purchases the month they happen, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it should be depreciated. -
5
Bulk ticket and attraction buys wreck the monthly number
National park passes, museum tickets, and meal vouchers bought in bulk for a whole season of departures show up as one large expense, making a slow month look terrible and the next one look great even though neither reflects a single tour.
What we doKeeps bulk ticket and attraction purchases in one steady line and tells you when a bulk buy is the reason a month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a domestic tour operator.
Set up once for how tour sales, wholesale costs, and payroll move. You never sort a receipt. Gus does, and an accountant checks every one.
Money in
- Tour package salesFull retail price collected for a scheduled departure.
- Deposits on future departuresKept apart from sales for tours that have already run.
- Add-on salesOptional excursions, upgraded rooms, or extra activities sold on top of the base package.
- Group and charter bookingsPrivate departures booked for a school, club, or company.
- Merchandise and gift shop salesBranded gear sold on board or at the departure point.
Money out
- Hotel and lodging blocksRooms bought wholesale ahead of the season the tours run in.
- Driver and guide payrollWages for staff who run your schedule and your vehicles.
- Contracted local guidesGuides brought on for a single departure, paid outside of payroll.
- Fleet fuel and maintenanceFuel, tires, and repairs for the motorcoaches or vans.
- Attraction tickets and meal vouchersPark passes, museum tickets, and meals bought in bulk for the season.
- Vehicle insurance and permitsCoverage and operating permits for the fleet.
- MarketingWebsite, brochures, and travel show booth fees.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor keeps on tour package sales.
What we watch for you
- Margin per departure
What a tour actually nets once every wholesale cost is counted against the price it sold for.
- Fleet cost per mile
Fuel and maintenance against miles run, useful before adding a route.
- Room block fill rate
Rooms used against rooms bought, so a bulk purchase does not go to waste unnoticed.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so a busy touring season does not end in an April surprise.
Ask Gus
Things domestic tour operators 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.
I booked that room block against the season it covers instead of the month you paid for it, so March should not look worse than it is.
Probably not, since she sets her own schedule and works other companies too, but I flagged it so the accountant can confirm before it becomes a habit.
Often it can. I logged it as equipment, not a repair, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a domestic tour operator's business.
Most of what matters here is separating a tour's real cost from its sale price and getting labor classified right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods for a bundled tourA tour package bundles wholesale room, ticket, and meal costs into one retail price. Tracking the wholesale cost separately from the sale price is what makes the return reflect actual profit, not gross bookings.
- Motorcoaches and fleet equipmentVehicles bought for the business can usually be written off the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000.
- Driver versus contractor guideA driver who runs your schedule in your vehicle is usually an employee. A guide who works other companies and sets his own schedule is more likely a contractor, and getting it wrong gets expensive.
- Contractor 1099sA local guide or subcontracted driver paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running all year.
Deductions domestic tour operators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fleet fuel and repairs
- Vehicle insurance and permits
- Hotel and lodging blocks
- Attraction and museum tickets
- Driver uniforms
- Trade show booth fees
- Brochure printing
- Website hosting
- Two-way radios and dispatch gear
- Continuing education for guides
- Business liability insurance
- 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 domestic tour operator's year, kept every month.
Room and ticket blocks get bought a season ahead, and taxes come on their own schedule. 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 touring season
Last year's return gets started, next season's room and ticket blocks get planned, and the 1099 list for contracted guides gets finalized.
- April
Filed as spring departures roll
Your return is filed and signed as the spring departures start running and summer bookings pick up.
- July
Midseason margin check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this summer's departures are covering the room blocks bought back in the spring.
- October
Before next season's room blocks
Before locking in next season's hotel and ticket purchases, Gus looks at what this season's margin per departure actually was.
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 domestic tour operators. 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 domestic tour operators ask first.
I buy hotel rooms wholesale months before the season starts. How does that get booked?
Gus matches the room block cost to the season it covers instead of the month you paid for it, so an early bulk purchase does not make a quiet month look like a loss.
Some of my guides work one tour a month for me and other companies the rest of the time. Are they employees?
Usually not, if they set their own schedule and work elsewhere too. Gus flags anyone who looks borderline so the accountant can weigh in before it becomes a habit.
Do I write off a used motorcoach all at once?
Often you can. Vehicles bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My tour price bundles hotels, tickets, and meals. Can Gus break that apart?
Yes. He tracks the wholesale cost of each piece against what the tour sold for, so you can see real margin per departure instead of just gross sales.
My books are behind from a busy season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements and supplier invoices you have. Gus sorts it, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand 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