Performance, custom & powersports

Books and taxes for golf cart dealers and customizers.

Retail cart sales, HOA fleet orders, lithium battery conversions, and the floor plan interest on the carts sitting on your lot. Gus sorts 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
AprilExample month
$17,000
what you made

April made $17,000. The Cypress HOA fleet deposit is being held until those ten carts are delivered and wrapped, not counted as income yet.

  • Cypress HOA fleet depositFleet order deposits
  • Retail cart sale, SquareRetail cart sales
  • Club Car invoiceCart inventory
  • Trojan Battery orderBatteries and lithium kits
  • NextGear floor plan interestFloor plan interest
Money in$95,000
Money out$78,000
Set aside for taxes$4,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A golf cart dealer's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is carts sitting on the lot on a flooring line, HOA fleet orders paid in stages, battery trade-ins, and cart trade-ins. When the books do not know the difference, margin on a sold cart is a guess.

  1. 1

    Floor-planned carts get booked as a straight loan payment

    A payment on your flooring line for the carts sitting on the lot often gets booked as one debt payment. That buries the interest cost and understates what each cart actually costs to carry before it sells.

    What we doSplits floor plan payments into principal, against the cart's cost, and interest, a monthly cost, so margin on a sold cart is real.
  2. 2

    An HOA fleet order collects a deposit before the carts arrive

    A community orders ten carts with lift kits and custom wraps, paying a deposit while the order is built out over several weeks. Counted as income on day one, the weeks of parts and labor that follow make a good month look thin.

    What we doHolds the deposit until the fleet is delivered, so income and the job's real cost land in the same period.
  3. 3

    Old batteries traded in look like scrap income

    A lithium conversion often means pulling out lead-acid batteries that get sold for scrap or core value. Lumped into general income, it hides what the conversion package itself actually earned.

    What we doKeeps battery trade-in and scrap value in its own line, separate from the conversion job's real margin.
  4. 4

    A cart trade-in gets valued at whatever closes the deal

    A used cart's trade-in value on the sales paperwork is a negotiating number, not what it is worth. Booked at face value, both the trade-in's cost and the new cart's real sale price come out wrong.

    What we doBooks the trade-in at fair value and checks it against what it actually resells for, so the deal's real margin shows up.
  5. 5

    A season's worth of lift kits and wraps wrecks a month

    Ordering lift kits, wheels, and wrap material for the season in one purchase order makes that month look terrible and the months you sell through the stock look artificially good.

    What we doKeeps accessory purchases in one steady line and tells you when a stock-up is the reason a month looks thin.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a golf cart dealer.

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

  • Retail cart salesNew and used carts sold to individual buyers.
  • Fleet order depositsHOA and community orders, recognized as the fleet is delivered.
  • Lift and custom buildsLift kits, wraps, and paint sold apart from a bare cart.
  • Battery and lithium conversionsThe conversion job, kept apart from trade-in battery value.
  • Trade-in resaleUsed carts taken in trade and resold at their real value.

Money out

  • Tech wages and commissionsKept apart so you can see labor against the work it paid for.
  • Cart inventoryNew units from Club Car, EZGO, and Yamaha.
  • Batteries and lithium kitsLead-acid and lithium packs from Trojan and similar suppliers.
  • Accessories and wrap materialLift kits, wheels, and vinyl wrap stock.
  • Floor plan interestWhat the flooring lender charges to carry lot inventory.
  • Lot rent and utilitiesThe showroom, the service bay, and outdoor display space.
  • Marketing and lead feesGoogle ads, HOA outreach, and community fairs.
  • Freight on inventoryShipping on carts, batteries, and accessories.

What we watch for you

  • Floor plan cost as a share of sales

    Interest on financed inventory eats into margin quietly. Worth knowing before adding more carts to the lot.

  • Fleet order backlog

    Deposits collected for fleets not yet delivered. Spending it before the order is done is how a busy season runs short.

  • Trade-in accuracy

    What trade-ins were valued at against what they actually resold for, so future trade-ins get priced right.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things golf cart dealers 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.

We collected a $5,000 deposit on the Cypress HOA order. Is that all this month's income?

No. I hold it as a deposit until the fleet is delivered, so the income and the parts and labor it takes land in the same month.

Why does the floor plan payment look bigger than what we owe on the carts?

Part of it is interest. I split the payment into principal against the cart's cost and interest as its own monthly expense, so margin on each cart is real.

Do I need to send my wrap installer a 1099?

If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, yes, by January 31. I keep that list running so it is ready.

The tax side

The tax side of a golf cart dealer.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Floor plan interest hidden inside a loan payment, fleet deposits counted too early, 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.

  • Shop and lot equipmentLifts, battery testers, and wrap equipment can usually be written off the year you buy them, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Cart and accessory inventoryCarts and accessories held for sale are inventory, not an expense the day they are bought. What actually sold during the month is what counts.
  • Dealer licensing and worker classificationA wrap installer or lift tech who uses your shop and your hours is usually an employee, even if paid per job. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
  • 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 golf cart dealers and customizers miss

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

  • Battery testers and chargers
  • Lift and alignment equipment
  • Wrap and vinyl supplies
  • Freight on cart inventory
  • HOA and community outreach costs
  • Google local ads
  • Shop rags and cleaners
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Dealer bonding and licensing fees
  • Liability insurance
  • Lot lighting and security
  • Battery core disposal 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 golf cart dealer's year, kept every month.

Fleet orders and retail sales pick up as the weather warms. 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 wrap and lift installers is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring fleet orders changed the number more than expected.

  4. October

    Before the lot thins out

    Before winter slows retail traffic, Gus looks at floor-planned inventory to move and anything worth doing 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 golf cart dealers and customizers. 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 golf cart dealers ask first.

How does Gus handle floor plan interest on lot inventory?

He splits your flooring line payment into principal, against the cart's cost, and interest, its own monthly expense, so margin on a sold cart is real instead of buried in a loan payment.

Can Gus track an HOA fleet deposit separately from the delivered order?

Yes. He holds the deposit until the fleet is delivered, so income and the job's real cost land in the same period.

How does Gus handle old batteries we take out during a lithium conversion?

He keeps battery trade-in or scrap value in its own line, separate from the conversion job, so you can see what the job itself actually earned.

How are cart trade-ins valued in the books?

At fair value, not the negotiating number on the sales paperwork. Gus checks that against what the trade-in actually resells for so the deal's real margin shows up.

Do I write off my cart and accessory inventory when I buy it?

No. Inventory held for sale is not an expense until it sells. What actually sold during the month is what shows up on the return.

My books are behind after a busy spring. 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 inside 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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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