Outdoor attractions & tours
Books and taxes for ghost tour companies.
Nightly ticket sales, private group bookings, an October rush that can carry the whole year, and guides paid per tour. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
October came in at $13,600. Booking.com bookings this month were held to their full ticket price, with the site's cut logged as a separate fee.
- Bookeo ticket payoutNightly tour tickets
- Viator booking payoutOnline travel agency bookings
- Guide payroll runGuide wages
- Costume and prop orderCostumes and props
- October marketing spendMarketing
Why your books are different
Ghost tour books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees ticket sales and a slow winter. Your business runs on guides paid per tour, a short October rush that can outearn the rest of the year combined, and booking sites that quietly take a cut before the money lands. When the books do not know that, planning for the quiet months gets guesswork.
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1
Booking site commissions get netted out of the payout
A $25 ticket sold through an online travel agency might land in the bank as $20 after the site's cut. Booking that $20 as the sale hides the real ticket price and understates both revenue and marketing cost.
What we doBooks the full ticket price as money in and the booking site's cut as its own marketing cost, so pricing stays visible. -
2
Guide pay does not track which tours actually sell
Guides paid a flat rate per tour regardless of group size make it hard to see which tour times or routes are actually worth running.
What we doKeeps guide pay against ticket revenue for each tour time, so you can see which nights and routes are pulling their weight. -
3
October carries months the books do not show
A ghost tour business can earn most of its year in a few fall weeks. Looking at a quiet February on its own makes a seasonal business look like it is failing.
What we doTracks the season as a whole and helps plan a set-aside so the quiet months do not drain the account. -
4
Private and corporate group bookings get counted before the tour happens
A company books a private tour for a holiday party weeks out and pays a deposit. Counting the full amount when the deposit lands overstates that month and understates the one where the tour actually runs.
What we doHolds group booking deposits until the tour date, so income lands in the month the tour actually happened.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a ghost tour company.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Nightly tour ticketsPublic tours booked through your own site or app.
- Online travel agency bookingsSales through Viator, GetYourGuide, or TripAdvisor, at full ticket price.
- Private and group bookingsCorporate events and private tours, tied to the tour date.
- MerchandiseBranded shirts and souvenirs.
Money out
- Guide wagesPer-tour or hourly pay for guides.
- Costumes and propsPeriod clothing, lanterns, and storytelling props.
- Online travel agency feesThe commission kept by booking sites, separate from the ticket price.
- MarketingSeasonal ads, especially the October push.
- InsuranceLiability coverage for walking tours in public spaces.
- Permits and licensingCity or district permits for guided tours on public streets.
What we watch for you
- Peak season share
How much of the year's money lands in October and other peak weeks, so the off season budget is not a guess.
- Guide cost per tour
What each tour costs to run against what it sold, so you know which times are worth keeping.
- Online travel agency cost
How much booking sites keep, so you can weigh the exposure they bring against their cut.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things ghost tour 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.
Viator kept a commission before paying out. I booked the full ticket price as your sale and their cut as a marketing cost, so your real revenue still shows.
No. I track your season as a whole, so the quiet months read as the off season they are, not a business in trouble.
In December, when the tour actually runs. I hold deposits until the tour date so the books match real activity.
The tax side
The tax side of a ghost tour company.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and where the money actually ends up: booking site cuts, deposits, and a short peak season.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Worker classification for guidesGuides who follow your set route, schedule, and story script are usually employees, even if paid per tour rather than hourly.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like a seasonal guest guide, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Self-employment tax for an owner-operatorAn owner taking profit as a sole proprietor pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions ghost tours miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Costumes and period clothing
- Lanterns and storytelling props
- City and district tour permits
- Online travel agency commissions
- Booking app fees
- Liability insurance
- October marketing push
- Guide training materials
- Portable sound equipment
- Branded merchandise inventory
- Umbrellas and weather gear
- Business phone for group bookings
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 ghost tour year, kept every month.
Your busiest nights fall in a short fall window. Your taxes come on a schedule regardless. 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 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so the quiet months do not catch you short.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed well ahead of your fall rush.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand before the fall season, and what to plan for once October arrives.
- October
Peak season live
A look at what the season is bringing in and moves worth making before the year winds down.
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 ghost tours. 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 ghost tour owners ask first.
Can Gus handle bookings from Viator and GetYourGuide?
Yes. He books the full ticket price as your sale and the site's commission as a marketing cost, so your real revenue and their cut both show clearly.
We only make real money for about eight weeks a year. Does that hurt how the books look?
No. Gus tracks your season as a whole, so the quiet months read as the expected off season instead of a struggling business.
Our guides are paid per tour, not hourly. Does that make them contractors?
Usually not, if you set the route, the schedule, and how the tour is run. That is a call the accountant makes rather than a guess.
A group books a private tour months ahead and pays a deposit. When does that count as income?
The month the tour actually happens. Gus holds deposits until the tour date so income matches real activity.
Our books are behind from a busy October. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. 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