Restaurants, cafes & food service

Books and taxes for frozen yogurt shops.

Pay-by-weight counter sales, a franchisor's required mix and royalty payments, and a self-serve topping bar that is harder to count than it looks. Gus sorts every one, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
JuneExample month
$5,000
what you made

June brought in $5,000. Mix and topping purchases ran higher than usual, which tracks with the season, not a sign of a problem.

  • POS batch depositCounter sales
  • Franchisor mix orderFranchisor mix purchases
  • Royalty paymentFranchise royalty
  • Topping bar restockTopping purchases
  • ADP payrollWages and payroll taxes
Money in$22,000
Money out$17,000
Set aside for taxes$1,150
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A frozen yogurt shop's books go wrong in the same five places.

A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. A frozen yogurt shop sells by weight instead of a menu, often answers to a franchisor for mix and royalty, and runs a self-serve topping bar that is harder to count than a staffed one. When those pieces blend together, the owner cannot tell a real seasonal swing from a real problem.

  1. 1

    Pay-by-weight sales don't map to mix used

    Since customers self-serve and pay by weight at the register, the POS reports weight-based totals that do not obviously connect to how much yogurt mix or topping inventory actually got used, making a real shrink or scale issue hard to spot.

    What we doTracks sales against mix purchases over time so a real mismatch between what sold and what was bought shows up.
  2. 2

    Franchise royalty and required mix purchases blend together

    Many froyo shops are franchises that require buying base mix from an approved supplier plus paying a royalty on sales, and lumped into one cost, the owner cannot see how much the franchise itself is taking versus the ingredient cost.

    What we doKeeps franchisor mix purchases and royalty payments in separate lines so each cost is visible on its own.
  3. 3

    A broken machine costs more than the repair bill

    A soft-serve machine down for a weekend means real lost sales on top of the repair itself, and if the repair is tracked with no note of the downtime, the owner underestimates what a broken machine actually costs.

    What we doFlags machine repairs the day they happen and keeps them apart from routine equipment costs, so a costly breakdown is visible as the real event it was.
  4. 4

    Topping bar shrink is harder to estimate than a scooped shop's

    Self-serve toppings get taken in unpredictable amounts, and without a regular count of what is restocked against what is thrown out, shrink on a topping bar is much easier to lose track of than a shop where staff portion everything.

    What we doAsks for a regular topping bar count and tracks shrink as its own line so waste does not just disappear into a general supplies number.
  5. 5

    Seasonal swings show up in ingredient cost, not payroll

    Because a self-serve shop runs lean on staff year-round, a summer swing in business shows up almost entirely as more mix and topping purchases rather than a bigger payroll, and an owner watching labor cost can miss where the real swing is happening.

    What we doTracks mix and topping cost against sales by season so the real seasonal swing is visible where it is actually happening.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a frozen yogurt shop.

Set up once for how the counter, the franchisor, and topping bar each run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Counter salesPay-by-weight sales rung through the shop's scale and register.
  • Catering and event bookingsLarger one-off orders for parties and offices.
  • Gift card salesHeld as a liability until a card is redeemed, not counted as income the day it is sold.
  • Fundraiser night salesScheduled community nights where a portion of sales is donated.

Money out

  • Franchisor mix purchasesBase yogurt mix required from the approved supplier, kept apart from royalty.
  • Franchise royaltyThe percentage of sales owed to the franchisor.
  • Topping purchasesFruit, candy, and sauces for the self-serve bar.
  • Wages and payroll taxesCounter staff pay for a lean, self-serve crew.
  • Rent and building costsLease, utilities, and repairs on the shop.
  • Self-serve machinesSoft-serve machines and topping coolers, logged apart from mix so they get written off right.
  • Cups and packagingCups, spoons, and lids.

What we watch for you

  • Food cost percentage

    Mix and topping cost against sales, the number that catches a price jump early.

  • Topping bar shrink

    What gets restocked against what is thrown out, tracked so it is a known cost.

  • Franchise cost share

    Royalty and required mix purchases against sales, so you know what the franchise actually costs.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time holds no surprise.

Ask Gus

Things frozen yogurt shop 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.

Sales looked fine this month but we bought way more mix than usual. Is that normal?

It can be, especially in warmer months, since a self-serve shop's seasonal swing shows up in mix and topping purchases more than payroll. I track it against sales so you can see if it is a normal swing or something worth a closer look.

How much is our franchise actually costing us versus the ingredients themselves?

I keep royalty payments and required mix purchases in separate lines, so you can see exactly what each one costs on its own.

The soft-serve machine went down for most of a Saturday. Does that show up anywhere besides the repair bill?

I flag it apart from routine equipment costs, so a costly weekend breakdown is visible as the real event it was, not just folded into an average month.

The tax side

The tax side of a frozen yogurt shop.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels: franchise cost bundled together, a machine breakdown hidden in equipment, and payroll watched when the real swing is in mix cost.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Section 179 on self-serve machinesSoft-serve machines and topping bar coolers can usually be written off the year you buy them, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Worker classification for counter staffA counter worker who checks out cups on your schedule and uses your equipment is almost always an employee, not a contractor, even on a lean self-serve crew.
  • Franchise royalty and mix purchases are deductibleRoyalty payments and required base mix purchases from a franchisor are ordinary business expenses. Keeping them in their own lines makes it easier for the accountant to see the real cost of the franchise relationship each year.
  • Self-employment tax for owner-operatorsAn owner who takes profit directly rather than a W-2 paycheck owes self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.

Deductions frozen yogurt shops miss

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

  • Soft-serve machine maintenance
  • Topping bar containers and scoops
  • Digital scale calibration
  • Cup and spoon supplies
  • Franchise marketing fund fees
  • Food handler certification
  • Uniforms and aprons
  • Employee shift meals
  • Pest control contracts
  • Online ordering 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 frozen yogurt shop's year, kept every month.

The topping bar sees more traffic some months than others. 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any contracted repair or event help is readied, and you get a monthly set-aside so a busy season does not turn into an April surprise.

  2. April

    Filed and signed

    Your return is filed and signed. Because the set-aside has been running since January, there is no scramble for cash.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand at the midpoint of peak self-serve season, and whether mix and topping cost are swinging the way you would expect.

  4. October

    Before the slow season

    Before the slow season sets in, Gus looks at machine maintenance worth doing and 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 frozen yogurt shops. 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 frozen yogurt shop owners ask first.

How does Gus track sales when customers pay by weight instead of a fixed menu price?

He tracks total weight-based sales against mix purchased over time, so a real mismatch between what sold and what was bought stands out instead of getting lost in the pay-by-weight model.

We are a franchise and have to buy our mix from an approved supplier plus pay a royalty. Can Gus separate those?

Yes. Royalty payments and required mix purchases get their own lines, so you can see exactly what the franchise relationship costs versus the ingredients themselves.

Our topping bar seems to run out faster than it should. Is that trackable?

It is, with a regular count. Gus tracks topping bar shrink as its own line, based on counts you give him, so waste does not just disappear into a general supplies number.

Our soft-serve machine broke down for a whole weekend. How does that get handled?

The repair itself gets logged apart from routine equipment costs, so a costly breakdown is visible as the real event it was, not folded into an average month.

We do not have much staff since it is self-serve. Does Gus still track payroll closely?

Yes, though for a lean crew like yours, the bigger seasonal swing usually shows up in mix and topping purchases rather than payroll, and Gus tracks both.

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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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