Sporting goods & sports services

Books and taxes for gun shops and FFL dealers.

Counter sales, transfer fees on guns shipped in from online sellers, ammo restocks, and used firearms bought outright from customers all move through one account. Gus sorts 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
NovemberExample month
$17,200
what you made

November came in at $17,200. Transfer fees on guns shipped in from online sales stayed in their own line, since that fee is your real income, not the price of the firearm itself.

  • POS counter salesRetail firearm sales
  • Online transfer fee batchTransfer fees
  • Lipsey's wholesale orderWholesale firearms
  • Used firearm buybackUsed firearm purchases
  • Federal Premium ammo orderAmmunition inventory
Money in$71,400
Money out$54,200
Set aside for taxes$5,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A gun shop's books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees a counter and a safe full of inventory. Your shop handles transfer fees on guns it never bought, buys used firearms outright, and sometimes processes NFA items with a tax stamp involved. When the books do not track those separately, real margin disappears.

  1. 1

    Transfer fees get mixed into the price of the firearm

    A customer buys a gun online and pays the shop a $30 transfer fee to receive and log it. Recorded as if the shop sold the whole firearm, revenue looks inflated against what the shop actually earned.

    What we doKeeps transfer fee income in its own line, separate from firearms the shop actually bought and sold, so real revenue is clear.
  2. 2

    Used firearms bought outright get mixed into wholesale cost

    A used handgun bought straight from a customer, not a distributor, is a different kind of purchase with a different margin than new inventory from a wholesaler.

    What we doKeeps used firearm purchases separate from wholesale distributor orders, so the margin on each is honest.
  3. 3

    NFA item deposits and tax stamps confuse the timeline

    A suppressor or other NFA item can involve a customer deposit, a long ATF wait, and a $200 tax stamp, all months apart from when the item actually transfers. Booked as a normal sale up front, the timeline gets muddled.

    What we doKeeps NFA item deposits as money owed until the transfer is actually complete, so the sale counts when it is real.
  4. 4

    Ammo margin hides inside general retail sales

    Ammunition often sells on thin margin compared to firearms and accessories, but mixed into one retail category, a strong ammo month can make the shop look more profitable than it is.

    What we doKeeps ammunition sales in their own category so its real, usually thinner, margin does not get lost in overall retail numbers.
  5. 5

    A large wholesale firearms order wrecks the monthly picture

    Shops often place large distributor orders to stock up on popular models, and that single invoice can make one month look like a loss before the inventory sells through.

    What we doKeeps wholesale firearms purchases visible against what actually sells, so a large stock-up order does not read as a bad month on its own.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a gun shop.

Set up once for how you sell and what you carry. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Retail firearm salesNew and used firearms sold outright.
  • Transfer feesFees for receiving and logging firearms bought elsewhere.
  • Ammunition salesKept apart from firearms, since the margin runs thinner.
  • NFA item salesSuppressors and other tax stamp items, tracked from deposit to transfer.

Money out

  • Wholesale firearmsLipsey's, RSR Group, and similar distributor orders.
  • Used firearm purchasesWhat was paid to customers for guns bought outright.
  • Ammunition inventoryFederal Premium and similar wholesale ammo orders.
  • Security and safe equipmentVaults, cameras, and alarm systems for regulated inventory.
  • Firearms dealer bond and licensingCosts tied to maintaining the federal license.
  • Card processing feesWhat the processor kept before you got paid.

What we watch for you

  • Transfer fee income

    Real earned revenue from transfers, separate from firearms actually bought and sold.

  • Ammo margin

    Ammunition profit against sales, since it usually runs thinner than firearms margin.

  • NFA pipeline

    Deposits collected for suppressors and other items still waiting on ATF approval.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked through the fall and holiday rush, so filing time is never a scramble.

Ask Gus

Things gun 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.

How much of this month's income was actually just transfer fees?

$2,400 of the $17,200 was transfer fees on guns you never bought or sold outright. I keep that separate so your real sales number stays honest.

A customer's suppressor is still stuck waiting on ATF approval. Does that count as a sale yet?

Not yet. The deposit stays as money owed until the transfer is actually complete, so it will not count as income before it is real.

I bought three used handguns straight from customers this month. Does that change anything?

I keep those purchases separate from your regular wholesale orders, since they are a different kind of buy with a different margin when resold.

The tax side

The tax side of running a gun shop.

Most of what trips up a gun shop is timing on NFA items and keeping pass-through transfer fees from inflating sales.

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 firearms and ammunition sold, counted accurately at year end, is what determines the profit the return shows.
  • Transfer fees are the shop's real revenueOnly the transfer fee itself, not the value of a firearm the shop never owned, counts as the shop's income on a transfer transaction.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026, including part-time counter help paid per shift under a contract arrangement, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionA pass-through business can usually take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income, and that number only comes out right once transfer fees and firearm sales are separated correctly all year.

Deductions gun shops and FFL dealers miss

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

  • Safe and vault equipment
  • Security cameras and alarm monitoring
  • Firearms dealer bond
  • Freight on wholesale orders
  • POS and inventory software
  • Shop signage and fixtures
  • Liability insurance
  • Card processing fees
  • Website and online store fees
  • Trade show travel
  • Staff certifications and training
  • Range membership for testing, where applicable

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 gun shop year, kept every month.

Fall hunting season and holiday buying both bring rushes. 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before the year's biggest wholesale orders go out.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, with the set-aside already covering what you owe.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether transfer fee volume is keeping pace before the fall rush.

  4. October

    Before peak season

    Right before hunting season and holiday buying hit, Gus looks at inventory levels 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 gun shops and FFL dealers. 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 gun shop owners ask first.

How does Gus handle transfer fees on guns bought online?

Only the transfer fee itself counts as your income. The value of a firearm you never owned stays out of your sales number, so revenue is not inflated.

What happens to a suppressor deposit while it waits on ATF approval?

It stays as money owed, not a completed sale, until the transfer actually finishes. That keeps your books honest about what has actually been earned.

I buy used guns straight from customers. Is that handled differently?

Yes. Those purchases are kept apart from your regular wholesale distributor orders, since the margin and the nature of the purchase are different.

Does Gus handle ATF paperwork or background checks?

No. Gus tracks the money side of your business. Form 4473 recordkeeping, background checks, and ATF compliance are legal obligations outside what a bookkeeping subscription covers.

Does my point of sale system need to change?

No. Keep logging sales and transfers the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement afterward and asks only when a deposit does not look like a normal counter or transfer day.

My books have gotten away from me for a few months. Can Gus fix that?

Usually within a week. Send whatever bank statements you have going back to when things fell behind, and Gus sorts the backlog before the accountant checks it.

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 sporting goods & sports services

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