Restaurants, cafes & food service
Books and taxes for food hall vendors.
Stall sales, percentage rent that kicks in once you hit a threshold, shared kitchen fees, and one lump deposit from hall management. Gus sorts every one, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September brought in $5,500. Sales crossed the threshold for percentage rent this month, so I flagged the extra charge before the hall's invoice even showed up.
- Hall management payoutStall sales
- Restaurant Depot orderFood purchases
- Percentage rent invoicePercentage rent
- Shared kitchen feeShared kitchen and equipment fees
- ADP payrollWages and payroll taxes
Why your books are different
A food hall vendor's books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. A food hall stall runs on percentage rent that kicks in once sales cross a line, a lump deposit covering every day of the month, and a bill from hall management that bundles three different costs into one number. When those pieces blend together, the vendor loses track of what the stall really costs.
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1
Percentage rent gets missed until the bill arrives
Many halls charge a base rent plus a cut of sales once you cross a set monthly threshold. Without tracking sales against that line, a genuinely good month brings a rent bill nobody expected.
What we doTracks sales against the threshold so you see percentage rent coming before the invoice does. -
2
The hall's payout is one lump sum for the month
Some halls run a shared POS system and send one deposit covering every vendor day, net of the hall's cut and processing fees, so a stall owner cannot tell a good week from a bad one from the bank account alone.
What we doMatches the hall's payout against the sales report it sends, so a slow week does not hide inside a decent month. -
3
Common area fees get buried in the rent bill
The monthly invoice from hall management often bundles base rent, percentage rent, and a common area fee into one number. Paid as a single line, you cannot see how much is fixed and how much moves with your sales.
What we doSplits base rent, percentage rent, and common area fees into their own lines so each cost is visible on its own. -
4
Shared kitchen fees disappear into rent
Some halls charge separately for shared refrigeration, dish-washing, or prep station time, and lumped in with rent, a vendor loses track of what a limited kitchen setup is really costing.
What we doKeeps shared kitchen and equipment fees in their own line, apart from rent. -
5
Stall sales and off-site catering blend together
A vendor who also caters weddings or private events off-site cannot tell if the stall or the catering side is actually the better use of their time if every deposit lands in one pile.
What we doSplits stall sales from off-site catering income so you can see which side of the business pays better.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a food hall vendor.
Set up once for how the hall bills you and how the stall actually earns. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Stall salesCounter sales through the hall's shared POS or your own reader.
- Off-site cateringPrivate events and weddings booked outside the hall.
- Delivery ordersOrders placed through a delivery app for pickup at the stall.
- Pop-up and market bookingsOne-off events outside your regular stall hours.
Money out
- Food purchasesProteins, produce, and staples from a restaurant supplier.
- Base rentThe fixed monthly cost of the stall space.
- Percentage rentThe cut of sales owed once you cross the hall's threshold.
- Common area feesWhat the hall charges for shared seating, restrooms, and upkeep.
- Shared kitchen and equipment feesCharges for shared refrigeration, dish-washing, or prep time.
- Wages and payroll taxesStall staff pay.
- Card processing feesWhat the hall's shared POS or your own reader keeps on each sale.
- Stall equipmentGriddles, small fridges, and POS terminals you own outright.
What we watch for you
- Sales against rent threshold
How close you are to the sales level where percentage rent kicks in.
- Food cost percentage
Food cost against sales, the number that catches a supplier price hike early.
- Labor cost percentage
Stall wages against sales in a small-footprint operation.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things food hall vendors 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.
You should have. I have been tracking your sales against the threshold all month, so this was expected, not a surprise.
I match their sales report against the deposit so a bad week does not hide inside a decent month.
Yes, I keep it separate from stall sales so you can see whether the catering side is actually worth your time.
The tax side
The tax side of a food hall vendor.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels: rent, percentage rent, and fees bundled together, and a stall run with the wrong kind of help.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- The FICA tip creditIf your counter has a tip jar or digital tip prompt and staff report the income, you can often claim a credit for the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare tax on tips above the minimum wage portion.
- Worker classification for stall staffAnyone working your stall on your schedule with your equipment is almost always an employee, not a contractor, even for a two-person operation.
- Section 179 on stall equipmentA griddle, small fridge, or POS terminal you own outright can usually be written off the year you buy it, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Form 1099-NEC for event helpAnyone hired outside of payroll to help at a pop-up or off-site catering event, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions food hall vendors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Shared kitchen fees
- Common area maintenance fees
- Stall signage and menu boards
- Small wares and utensils
- POS terminal fees
- Uniforms and aprons
- Food handler certification
- Liability insurance for the stall
- Off-site storage fees
- Employee shift meals
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 food hall vendor's year, kept every month.
The hall's foot traffic rises and falls with the season. Your taxes come on a 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 year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any event help is readied, and you get a monthly set-aside so a busy season does not turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed. Because the set-aside has been running since January, crossing into percentage rent territory does not turn into a scramble for cash.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the midpoint of the year and whether you are on pace to cross the percentage rent threshold again.
- October
Before the holidays
Before holiday foot traffic picks up, Gus looks at stall equipment worth buying and any 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 food hall vendors. 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 food hall vendors ask first.
The hall bills us for base rent, percentage rent, and a common area fee all in one invoice. Can Gus separate those?
Yes. Each piece gets its own line so you can see what is fixed, what moves with your sales, and what the hall spends on shared upkeep.
We only get one deposit a month from hall management. Is that a problem?
No. Gus matches that deposit against the hall's own sales report so you can still see how each week actually performed, not just the month as a whole.
Do you help us negotiate our lease with the hall?
No, lease terms are between you and hall management. Gus keeps your rent, percentage rent, and fees tracked cleanly, which makes it easier to see if the terms are working for you.
We also cater a few weddings a year outside the hall. Does that complicate things?
Not for the books. Gus keeps stall sales and off-site catering in separate lines so you can see which side of the business is actually paying you better.
Our first few months in the hall were tracked on a napkin. Can we start clean now?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have going forward. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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