Personal & lifestyle services

Books and taxes for etiquette schools.

A multi-week course enrollment paid upfront, private coaching for one family, a partnership with a local school, and workbooks printed by the box. Your own bookkeeper stays on all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
SeptemberExample month
$6,400
what you made

September brought in $6,400 as the fall course session filled up. The school partnership fee from Lincoln Academy landed in its own line, apart from your regular enrollments.

  • Fall course enrollment paymentsGroup course tuition
  • Private family coaching packagePrivate lessons
  • Lincoln Academy partnership feeSchool and organization partnerships
  • Vistaprint workbook orderCourse materials
  • Classroom space rentalVenue rental
Money in$9,600
Money out$3,200
Set aside for taxes$1,300
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Etiquette school books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is group course tuition paid upfront, private one-on-one coaching, partnerships with schools or organizations, and printed materials bought by the box for each session. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.

  1. 1

    Course tuition gets counted before the classes are taught

    A family that enrolls a child in an eight-week course and pays upfront has paid for sessions that have not happened yet. Booking the whole tuition as income on enrollment day overstates that month.

    What we doKeeps course tuition visible against sessions actually delivered, so an enrollment rush does not make one month look bigger than the classes taught.
  2. 2

    Private lessons and group tuition blur together

    A private family coaching package prices very differently than a group course seat, and lumped into one line, you cannot tell which side of the business is actually driving revenue.

    What we doKeeps private lessons and group course tuition in separate lines so each is visible on its own.
  3. 3

    School and organization partnerships get missed as their own category

    A fee paid by a school, club, or organization to bring you in for a program is a different kind of client relationship than an individual family enrolling directly, and treating it the same hides how much repeat institutional work you actually have.

    What we doKeeps partnership income in its own line so you can see how much of the business comes from standing relationships.
  4. 4

    A big materials order swings a month

    A season's worth of workbooks, place settings, and course materials ordered in one bulk purchase makes that month look thin and the following months look artificially strong.

    What we doKeeps course materials in one steady line and flags when a stock-up, not a slow month, explains a thin-looking number.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an etiquette school.

Set up once for how courses and lessons get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Group course tuitionMulti-week course enrollments, paid upfront or in installments.
  • Private lessonsOne-on-one or single-family coaching packages.
  • School and organization partnershipsFees paid by schools, clubs, or companies to run a program.
  • Workshop and single-session feesOne-time workshops not part of a full course.

Money out

  • Course materialsWorkbooks, place settings, and printed handouts for sessions.
  • Venue rentalClassroom or event space rented for courses.
  • Marketing and websiteAdvertising, website hosting, and promotion of upcoming courses.
  • Continuing educationCertification and training in etiquette instruction.
  • Business insuranceLiability coverage for in-person instruction.

What we watch for you

  • Group versus private mix

    How much of revenue is group course tuition versus private lessons. It shows which side is actually growing.

  • Partnership revenue

    Income from schools and organizations against direct family enrollments. It shows how steady the institutional side is.

  • Materials cost per session

    Workbook and supply spending against sessions taught. A rising number often means it is time to raise tuition, not just reorder.

  • The set-aside

    What the year will cost in taxes, tracked monthly, so April holds no surprises.

Ask Gus

Things etiquette school 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.

This month looks huge because of the fall enrollment rush. Is that a problem?

Not at all. I keep tuition tied to the sessions actually taught, so the books reflect the classes, not just the signup rush.

Is the Lincoln Academy partnership actually worth much compared to my regular courses?

It is running steady and separate from your direct enrollments. I can pull the exact split whenever you want to compare.

I ordered a year's worth of workbooks at once. Will that make this month look bad?

I flagged it as a stock-up, not a spending problem, so it will not read as a warning sign against a quieter month.

The tax side

The tax side of an etiquette school.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Tuition counted too early, materials bought in bulk, and a set-aside nobody started until April.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Self-employment tax on tuition incomeFor an etiquette school, self-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax when the owner is not paid through payroll, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • 1099s for guest instructorsA guest instructor or assistant not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
  • Mileage for off-site classesDriving to a partner school or an off-site classroom can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026.
  • The 20 percent profit breakFor an etiquette school, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.

Deductions etiquette schools miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Workbooks and printed materials
  • Place settings and demonstration supplies
  • Classroom or venue rental
  • Website and course marketing
  • Continuing education and certification
  • Business liability insurance
  • Vehicle mileage or fuel for off-site classes
  • Trade association dues
  • Business cards and stationery
  • Video call software for virtual sessions
  • Guest instructor fees
  • Storage for course supplies

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

An etiquette school's year, kept every month.

Enrollment tends to spike around the school year and the holidays, and courses run for weeks after. Your team keeps you ahead of both the calendar and the tax deadlines. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Begin the year

    For an etiquette school, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed, signed, sent

    For an etiquette school, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway mark

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the fall enrollment push is already shaping up.

  4. October

    Before holiday workshops

    Holiday party etiquette workshops often pick up in the fall. Gus looks at any moves worth making before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 etiquette schools. 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 etiquette school owners ask first.

Does a big enrollment rush distort my monthly numbers?

No. Gus keeps tuition tied to sessions actually taught, so a strong signup month reflects the classes delivered, not just the payments received.

Can Gus separate school partnership income from my own enrollments?

Yes. Partnership fees from schools or organizations are kept in their own line, apart from direct family enrollments.

Do I need to track every workbook order?

No. Send the bank statement and Gus sorts materials into their own line, flagging any bulk order so it does not look like a spending spike.

I bring in a guest instructor sometimes. Do I owe her anything at tax time?

If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099 by January 31. Gus keeps that running as we go.

My books are behind from focusing on teaching. Is that fixable?

That is not unusual. Send whatever bank statements you have and Gus sorts through them, with the accountant checking the work, inside about 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 personal & lifestyle services

We keep books for the business next door too.

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