Faith-based, nonprofit & membership orgs
Books and taxes for fraternal lodges and clubs.
Annual dues, a new member's one-time initiation fee, a wedding renting the hall for the weekend, and a degree team's travel costs for a ceremony. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $2,500 after expenses. The Saturday wedding rental is booked as nonmember income, kept apart from member dues.
- Annual dues batchMember dues
- Hall rental, Torres weddingNonmember hall rental
- Regalia and ritual supply orderDegree ceremony costs
- Roof repair depositBuilding maintenance
- Lodge hall utilitiesFacility costs
Why your books are different
A fraternal lodge's books go wrong in the same recurring places.
A generalist sees dues and a bar tab and calls it a club. Your lodge collects one-time initiation fees on top of recurring dues, rents an aging hall to the public for weddings and events, and runs degree ceremonies with real costs of their own. Miss that mix and nobody can tell what the building or the ritual side actually costs to keep running.
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1
Nonmember hall rentals get taxed the same as member dues
Income from renting the hall to the public for a wedding or a private party is often treated differently for tax purposes than dues and activities among members, and mixed together, the lodge cannot tell the accountant which income might be taxable.
What we doKeeps nonmember rental income in its own category, separate from member dues, so the accountant has what is needed to sort out any taxable portion. -
2
Initiation fees get counted the same as recurring dues
A one-time fee a new member pays to join is a different kind of income than the annual dues every member pays, and lumped together, the lodge cannot see how many new members actually joined in a given year.
What we doKeeps initiation fees in their own line, separate from recurring dues, so membership growth is visible on its own. -
3
Building repairs on a historic hall get filed as routine maintenance
A roof repair or foundation work on an older lodge hall can be a much bigger capital project than a typical maintenance line suggests, and filed as routine upkeep, it distorts the month and misses how it should be handled on the books.
What we doFlags large building repairs and capital projects separately from routine maintenance and gets the accountant's read on how they should be treated. -
4
Degree ceremony and regalia costs blur into general supplies
Ritual regalia, degree team travel, and ceremony materials are a real, recurring cost specific to a fraternal organization, and buried in general supplies, nobody can see what the ceremonial side of the lodge actually costs.
What we doKeeps degree ceremony and regalia costs in their own category, so this part of lodge life is visible and budgeted for. -
5
A charitable fundraiser gets mixed with regular lodge operations
A separate fundraising event for a community cause is a different purpose than the lodge's own operating budget, and mixed together, it is hard to show how much actually went to the charitable cause versus the lodge itself.
What we doKeeps charitable fundraiser proceeds and costs in their own line, separate from regular lodge operations.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a fraternal lodge or club.
Set up once for how dues, fees, and rentals flow through the lodge. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Member duesAnnual dues collected from lodge members.
- Initiation feesOne-time fees paid by new members joining the lodge.
- Nonmember hall rentalIncome from renting the hall to the public for weddings and events.
- Charitable fundraiser proceedsMoney raised for a specific community cause, kept apart from lodge operations.
Money out
- Building maintenanceRoutine and major repairs to the lodge hall, often an older building.
- Degree ceremony costsRegalia, ritual supplies, and degree team travel.
- Facility costsUtilities, insurance, and cleaning for the lodge hall.
- Charitable fundraiser costsExpenses tied directly to a specific fundraising cause.
- Event and bar suppliesFood and beverage inventory for lodge events and rentals.
- National and state duesThe portion of dues owed to a state or national fraternal body.
What we watch for you
- Nonmember rental income
How much comes from renting the hall to the public, tracked apart from member dues.
- Membership growth
New initiation fees as a signal of how many members joined this year.
- Building reserve
What is set aside for the hall's next major repair, given how old many lodge buildings are.
- Charitable fundraiser net
What a fundraiser actually raised for its cause after event costs.
Ask Gus
Things lodge officers 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.
It might. I keep nonmember rental income in its own category, separate from dues, so the accountant has what is needed to sort out whether any of it is taxable to the lodge.
I keep initiation fees separate from renewing dues, so you can see new member growth on its own instead of it blending into the total.
I flagged it as a major building project, kept apart from routine maintenance, and the accountant can weigh in on how a repair of that size should be handled on the books.
The tax side
The tax side of running a fraternal lodge or club.
Most of what matters here is keeping member and nonmember income separate and tracking building costs correctly.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Nonmember incomeIncome the lodge earns from the general public, such as renting the hall for a wedding, is often taxable to the lodge even though dues and activities among members generally are not.
- Initiation fees and duesBoth are generally treated as membership income for the lodge, but keeping them separate on the books makes it easier to see the health of the membership itself, apart from renewal revenue.
- Worker classification for bartenders and event staffA bartender or event staff member who works your schedule is an employee, not a contractor, even if paid only for the nights the hall is rented out.
- Contractor 1099sA caterer, repair contractor, or entertainer not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions fraternal lodges and clubs miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Building repairs and maintenance
- Regalia and ritual supplies
- Facility utilities and insurance
- Event and bar inventory
- National and state dues portion
- Newsletter printing and postage
- Kitchen equipment upkeep
- Security and alarm monitoring
- Parking lot and grounds care
- Historic preservation costs
- Bank and card processing fees
- Office supplies for lodge records
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 fraternal lodge's year, kept every month.
Dues, degree ceremonies, and hall rentals run on their own calendar, and the books stay steady through all of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Reconcile membership
Last year's records are wrapped up, initiation fees and dues are reconciled against membership rolls, and the contractor 1099 list is finalized.
- April
Lodge year finalized
Whatever filing applies to the lodge's structure is ready to hand off, with dues, nonmember rental income, and building costs already sorted for the year.
- July
Rental season halfway mark
Where hall rental income and the building reserve stand at the year's midpoint, useful before deciding on any major repair.
- October
Before wedding and event season winds down
Fall often brings the last of the year's hall rentals. Gus looks at nonmember income and building maintenance needs before winter.
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 fraternal lodges and clubs. 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 lodge officers ask first.
Does renting our hall to the public change our tax situation?
It can. Nonmember rental income is often treated differently than dues among members, so Gus keeps it in its own category and flags it for the accountant to sort out.
Can Gus separate initiation fees from our regular dues?
Yes. Initiation fees are kept in their own line, so you can see new member growth apart from renewal dues.
Do you prepare our lodge's annual filing with the IRS?
No, this subscription does not include preparing or filing that return. Dues, initiation fees, and nonmember rental income stay separated all year, so whoever the lodge uses for that filing is not starting from scratch.
Our building is almost a hundred years old and needs constant repair. How do you handle that?
Major repairs and capital projects are flagged separately from routine maintenance, so the accountant can weigh in on how a large repair should be treated, and you can see what the building actually costs to maintain.
We run a separate fundraiser for a local cause each year. Can that stay apart from lodge operations?
Yes. Fundraiser income and costs are tracked in their own line, so you can show exactly what went to the cause versus what the lodge itself spent.
Our books have not been reconciled since our last secretary retired. Can you catch us up?
Yes. Send the bank and membership records you have. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, and most lodges know where they stand within a couple of weeks.
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 faith-based, nonprofit & membership orgs
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- Charter schools
- Christian schools
- Small & mid-size churches
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