Gyms & fitness studios

Books and taxes for gymnastics and tumbling centers.

School-year tuition, a vault or spring floor bought on financing, competitive team travel, and camp weeks over the summer. 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
JulyExample month
$9,600
what you made

July came in at $9,600. Camp week payments made up a big chunk of it, and I kept them apart from regular tuition since they're a different, seasonal kind of income.

  • Jackrabbit tuition paymentTuition
  • Summer camp week paymentCamp income
  • Spring floor financingEquipment
  • Coaching payroll batchCoach pay
  • Team travel depositCompetition costs
Money in$41,200
Money out$31,600
Set aside for taxes$2,300
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A gymnastics center's books go wrong around big equipment and team travel.

A generalist sees tuition and a rent bill. Your center runs on a school-year tuition calendar, carries equipment worth as much as a car on a financing plan, sends a competitive team traveling to meets, and fills summer weeks with camps. When the books miss that, the real cost of each program disappears.

  1. 1

    Big equipment financing looks like a flat monthly cost

    A financed vault table, spring floor, or bar system can run a payment of a thousand dollars a month or more, but part of that is interest and part is paying down equipment you'll eventually own outright.

    What we doSplits the financing payment into principal and interest, so the equipment's real cost stays separate from the cost of financing it.
  2. 2

    Competitive team costs blend into regular tuition

    Meet entry fees, travel, and leotards for the competitive team are real costs tied to a smaller group of gymnasts, but folded into general center expenses they hide whether the team program pays for itself.

    What we doKeeps meet entry fees, travel, and team costs in their own lines so you can see what fielding a competitive team actually runs.
  3. 3

    Camp week income looks like a random summer spike

    Summer camp weeks bring in a burst of income that doesn't look like regular tuition, and without its own category, a strong July can look like a mystery instead of the predictable seasonal event it is.

    What we doTracks camp income as its own category so a summer surge reads as the expected season it is.
  4. 4

    The gymnastics season doesn't line up with January to December

    Enrollment runs on a school-year rhythm, heavy from fall through spring and lighter once camps take over in summer, so stacking a month against the same month the year before without accounting for that rhythm makes a normal seasonal dip look like the center is losing ground.

    What we doReads each month against where the center actually sits in its own season, so a quieter August shows up as the expected transition it is, not a warning sign.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a gymnastics or tumbling center.

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

  • TuitionMonthly recreational class fees drafted through Jackrabbit.
  • Competitive team duesAdded monthly fees for team members, kept apart from rec tuition.
  • Camp incomeSummer camp week payments, tracked as their own seasonal category.
  • RetailLeotards, grips, and gear sold at the center.

Money out

  • Coach payRecreational and competitive team coaches, kept apart.
  • EquipmentVault tables, spring floors, and bars, including financing payments.
  • Rent and utilitiesThe building and the ceiling height it needs.
  • SoftwareJackrabbit or a similar family-billing and scheduling system.
  • Competition costsMeet entry fees and travel for the competitive team, kept apart.
  • InsuranceGeneral liability, higher here given the equipment and skill levels involved.
  • MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new families.

What we watch for you

  • Rec vs team enrollment

    How much of tuition comes from recreational classes versus the competitive team.

  • Team program margin

    Whether meet entry fees, travel, and leotards are covered by team dues.

  • Equipment financing cost

    What's interest versus what's paying down equipment you'll eventually own.

  • The set-aside

    What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things gymnastics center 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.

Camp income made July look huge. Is that normal?

Yes. Summer camp weeks bring in a real seasonal bump, and I keep that income in its own category so July reads as the expected season, not a mystery.

The spring floor financing payment looks big on the statement. Is that normal?

Part of it is, since it covers both what you owe on the floor and the interest on carrying that balance. I split the two so the equipment's real cost stays clear.

Do I owe a 1099 to the judge we hired for our in-house meet?

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

The tax side

The tax side of running a gymnastics center.

Most of what trips up a gymnastics center is a financed equipment set and a team program that needs its own visibility, not blended in with rec classes.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Vault tables, floors, and barsMajor gymnastics equipment can usually be written off the year it's bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Coach or contractorA coach who teaches your class schedule on your equipment usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
  • Contractor 1099sA guest judge or clinician not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when tuition, team costs, and camps are tracked correctly all year.

Deductions gymnastics and tumbling centers miss

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

  • Equipment padding and repair
  • Jackrabbit or scheduling software
  • Liability insurance
  • Coach certifications
  • Meet entry fees
  • Leotards and team gear
  • Business phone and booking line
  • Cleaning service
  • Marketing and referral incentives
  • Website and booking widget

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 gymnastics center's year, kept every month.

The season runs September to June, then camps take over. Your taxes run on the calendar year. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so meet season spending doesn't turn into an April surprise.

  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'll owe, and whether camp income is covering the summer slowdown in regular tuition.

  4. October

    Before year-end

    Before the calendar closes, Gus looks at equipment worth buying 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 gymnastics and tumbling centers. 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 gymnastics center owners ask first.

Does summer camp income need its own category?

Yes. It's a real, predictable seasonal bump, and keeping it separate from tuition means a strong July or August reads as the expected camp season, not an unexplained jump in revenue.

Do I write off a new vault table or spring floor all at once?

Often you can. Major equipment can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.

Our competitive team has its own dues on top of tuition. Does that complicate things?

No. Gus keeps team dues, meet entry fees, and travel in their own lines, so you can see clearly whether the competitive program is covering its own costs.

I run tuition through Jackrabbit. Do I have to change anything?

No. Keep running the center the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and billing drafts, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.

My books are behind from earlier this season. Can Gus catch up?

No. Whatever you have from earlier in the season is enough to start. Gus works backward through it, the accountant checks the work, and the center's real numbers come together 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.

More in gyms & fitness studios

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