Sporting goods & sports services
Books and taxes for golf retail and club fitting.
Off-the-rack sales, a launch monitor fitting session, a custom shaft build ordered weeks out, and trade-in clubs bought off a customer's old bag all move through one account. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $13,500. Two custom shaft builds are still sitting as deposits, not sales, since the components have not come in from the distributor yet.
- Lightspeed Golf depositRetail sales
- Fitting bay payoutClub fitting fees
- True Spec component orderClub components
- Trade-in club purchaseTrade-in clubs
- Titleist dealer invoiceWholesale inventory
Why your books are different
A golf retail and fitting shop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees clubs and a register. Your shop sells off the rack, builds custom sets one shaft and grip at a time, and buys used clubs back from customers. When the books do not separate those, the fitting bay's real value stays hidden.
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1
Fitting fees disappear into club sales
A $75 launch monitor session that leads to a $1,400 custom set rings through as one sale. You never see whether the fitting bay itself is worth the equipment and time it costs to run.
What we doKeeps fitting fees in their own line, separate from the clubs sold afterward, so you can see the fitting bay's own number. -
2
A custom build deposit counts as a sale too early
A customer puts $500 down on a custom shaft and grip combination that takes two weeks to build from ordered components. Booked as income the day it lands, the month looks better than it is.
What we doKeeps the deposit as money owed against the build until the set is finished and handed over. -
3
Trade-in clubs get mixed into wholesale inventory cost
A set of irons bought back from a customer trading up is not the same as stock ordered from a distributor. Mixed together, what the shop actually paid for its inventory gets distorted.
What we doKeeps trade-in purchases separate from wholesale club costs, so true cost of goods and true margin both stay accurate. -
4
Component costs blur into finished club sales
A shaft, grip, and head bought separately to build one custom club look like three unrelated purchases on a bank statement instead of the cost of one sale.
What we doKeeps component purchases tied to the custom build they belong to, so the real margin on a fitted set is visible. -
5
A seasonal club order wrecks the spring picture
New model releases each spring push most shops to place one large wholesale order before the season starts. That single invoice can make a slow winter month look even worse.
What we doKeeps the spring inventory order visible against what actually sells through the season, so one heavy invoice does not read as a loss before the clubs move.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a golf retail and fitting shop.
Set up once for how you sell and how you fit. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesOff-the-rack clubs, balls, and apparel.
- Club fitting feesLaunch monitor sessions billed on their own.
- Custom build salesFull price of custom sets, tracked from deposit to finished build.
- Trade-in resaleUsed clubs bought and resold.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryCallaway, Titleist, and TaylorMade dealer orders.
- Club componentsShafts, grips, and heads bought for custom builds.
- Trade-in clubsWhat was paid to customers for used gear.
- Fitting bay equipmentLaunch monitors and swing analysis tools.
- Rent and utilitiesThe sales floor and fitting bay.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Fitting-to-build rate
How often a fitting session turns into a custom club sale.
- Build margin
What a custom set sells for against its component and labor cost.
- Open build deposits
Money already collected for custom sets not yet finished.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked from the spring model release through the slow winter, so filing day holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things golf retail 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.
This quarter it brought in $2,100 in fitting fees and led to $9,400 in custom builds. I keep those two lines separate so you always know.
Two custom builds are still open. The deposits count as money owed, not sales, until the sets are finished and handed over.
Yes. I keep what you pay for trade-ins separate from your regular wholesale orders, so your real margin on new clubs stays accurate.
The tax side
The tax side of golf retail and club fitting.
Most of what trips up this business is timing: deposits counted too soon, and component costs that never get tied to the build they paid for.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsWhat the shop actually paid for clubs, components, and trade-ins sold is what counts against sales for the year, not just what it bought to restock.
- Equipment for the fitting bayLaunch monitors and swing analysis tools can usually be written off in the year bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA part-time fitter not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionOwners of a pass-through business can usually take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income, and getting that right depends on retail, fitting, and build income all being tracked accurately.
Deductions golf retailers and club fitters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Launch monitor and bay equipment
- Shaft and grip stock
- Freight on wholesale orders
- POS and inventory software
- Buying show travel
- Shop signage and fixtures
- Fitting certifications
- Liability insurance
- Card processing fees
- Website and online store fees
- Trade-in appraisal tools
- Local tournament sponsorships
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 retail year, kept every month.
The spring model release starts the year off fast. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines 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 fitter 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before the spring inventory order goes out.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed just as the spring season ramps up, with no scramble while the fitting bay is busiest.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's build volume changed the number.
- October
Before the fall lull
Ahead of the slower season, Gus looks at fitting bay equipment worth buying and anything worth doing 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 golf retailers and club fitters. 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 retail owners ask first.
Can Gus separate fitting fees from club sales?
Yes. Fitting fees are kept in their own line, so you can see how much revenue the fitting bay drives on its own, separate from the clubs sold afterward.
How does Gus handle deposits on custom club builds?
The deposit is kept as money owed against the order until the set is finished and handed to the customer, so a strong deposit month does not overstate what you made.
I buy used clubs from customers trading up. Where does that show up?
Trade-in purchases are kept separate from your regular wholesale inventory, so what you actually paid for stock stays accurate.
Will I need to change how I ring up retail and fitting fees?
No. Ring up retail sales and fitting fees the way you always have. Gus works from your bank statement afterward and only asks if a deposit does not make sense on its own.
It has been a rough stretch and my books are a mess. Can Gus sort it out?
In most cases, yes, within about a week. Send whatever bank statements and invoices you have from the months that got missed, and Gus sorts through the backlog before the accountant reviews it.
How are shaft and grip components tracked against a finished build?
Component purchases are tied to the custom build they belong to, so the real margin on a fitted set of clubs is visible, not buried in general supplies.
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