Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for homebrew and winemaking supply shops.
A grain wall, hundreds of small parts, weekend classes, a kegging system you rent out for a party, and a wine kit that walks out the door with a gift bow on it. 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
December came in at $14,100. Gift kit sales carried the month, and I kept your class revenue separate from product sales so you can see the workshops are pulling their weight too.
- Shopify online orderOnline retail sales
- Shop register depositIn-store retail sales
- Yakima Chief hops orderGrain, hops, and yeast inventory
- White Labs yeast shipmentGrain, hops, and yeast inventory
- Winexpert kit orderWine and cider kits
Why your books are different
A homebrew shop's books go wrong across a thousand small items.
A generalist sees a hardware store for a hobby. Your business carries hundreds of small parts, teaches weekend classes, rents out equipment for a weekend, and sells wine kits that mostly move around the holidays. When the books do not know that, a busy shop still cannot tell what is actually working.
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1
Chasing every airlock and stopper wastes your time
Tracking a shop's worth of tubing, airlocks, and chemicals item by item takes more time than the parts are worth, but ignoring small parts entirely leaves real shrinkage invisible.
What we doGroups small parts into a few sensible buckets instead of chasing each item, so shrinkage still shows up without wasting your time. -
2
Class revenue gets buried in product sales
A weekend fermentation class rung through the same till as a bag of grain looks like just another sale, so you cannot tell whether classes are actually worth the staff hours they take.
What we doKeeps class and workshop fees in their own line, separate from product sales, so you can see whether teaching pays for itself. -
3
Equipment rentals get mixed with retail sales
Renting out a kegging system or a bottle filler for a weekend brings in money without moving inventory, but rung through the same category as a retail sale, it hides what your rental business is really worth.
What we doBooks rental income in its own line, so equipment rentals show up as their own piece of the business. -
4
Live yeast and fresh hops go stale fast
Yeast and fresh hops have a short shelf life, and stock that goes stale on the shelf is a real loss even though nothing was ever stolen or broken.
What we doTracks markdowns and write-offs on perishable ingredients as their own cost, so shrinkage from a short shelf life is visible. -
5
A holiday gift kit rush skews a normal month
Wine and beer kits sold as gifts around the holidays look nothing like a typical month's mix of grain, hops, and small parts, and comparing the two head to head gives a false read on how the shop is doing.
What we doFlags seasonal swings in product mix, so a holiday month is read against other holiday months, not an average week.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a homebrew and winemaking supply shop.
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
- In-store retail salesRegister sales for grain, kits, and equipment.
- Online retail salesOrders through Shopify or a similar online store.
- Class and workshop feesWeekend classes and demos, kept apart from product sales.
- Equipment rentalsKegging systems, bottle fillers, and other gear rented by the day or weekend.
Money out
- Grain, hops, and yeast inventoryBulk supplies from sources like Yakima Chief and White Labs.
- Wine and cider kitsKits from brands like Winexpert, sold ready to go.
- Small parts and chemicalsAirlocks, tubing, sanitizers, and other low-cost supplies, grouped for simplicity.
- Rental equipment upkeepCleaning and repair for gear you rent out.
- Staff wagesSales floor staff and class instructors, kept apart.
- Point of sale and online store feesShopify, card processing, and shipping costs.
- Store rent and utilitiesRetail space costs.
What we watch for you
- Class profitability
Workshop fees against the staff hours they take, so you know if teaching is worth it.
- Rental income
What equipment rentals bring in on their own, apart from product sales.
- Perishable shrinkage
What gets marked down or written off from live yeast and fresh hops going stale.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things homebrew 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.
I kept class fees separate from product sales, and they are covering more than instructor time this quarter. Worth keeping an eye on as the schedule changes.
Yes. I logged it as a write-off on perishable inventory, so that loss shows up as a real cost instead of just disappearing.
No. You are selling supplies, not producing alcohol yourself, so federal alcohol excise tax does not apply to your shop.
The tax side
The tax side of running a homebrew and winemaking supply shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating every small item like it needs its own line, and missing the real cost of a shelf life running out.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory shrinkage and markdownsPerishable ingredients that go stale, and small parts that walk off, are real costs that should be tracked as inventory shrinkage rather than simply disappearing from the count.
- Store fixtures and equipmentShelving, kegging systems, and rental equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it. Section 179 expensing goes up to $2,560,000, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for class instructorsA guest instructor or contract worker paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated supply shops can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when retail, class, and rental revenue are kept separate all year.
Deductions homebrew and winemaking supply shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Grain, hops, and yeast inventory
- Wine and cider kit inventory
- Small parts and chemicals
- Shopify and card processing fees
- Shipping supplies and postage
- Class and workshop supplies
- Rental equipment cleaning and repair
- Store signage and displays
- Product liability insurance
- Staff uniforms with your logo
- Website hosting for the online store
- Trade show and expo booth 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 homebrew shop's year, kept every month.
Holiday gift kits, fall cider season, and spring brew days all pull different customers through the door. Gus keeps the return on track through all of it. 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 holiday rush gets reconciled, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January through a full season of classes and register sales.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer classes or a big brew day event changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Before wine kits and gift sets start moving, Gus looks at fixtures or equipment worth buying and anything to do 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 homebrew and winemaking supply shops. 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 homebrew shop owners ask first.
Do we need to track every airlock and stopper separately?
No. Gus groups small parts into a few sensible categories, so shrinkage still shows up without spending your time tracking every low-cost item one by one.
Can Gus tell us if our classes are actually worth running?
Yes. He keeps class and workshop fees in their own line, separate from product sales, so you can see whether teaching pays for the staff time it takes.
We rent out kegging systems for parties. How does that get booked?
In its own category, apart from product sales, so you can see what your rental business earns on its own.
Do we owe federal alcohol excise tax since we sell brewing supplies?
No. You are selling supplies, not producing alcohol, so that tax does not apply to your shop.
A batch of yeast went bad before it sold. Does that count as a loss?
Yes. Gus logs it as a write-off on perishable inventory, so the cost of a short shelf life shows up instead of quietly vanishing.
Our register and our online store have never been on one set of books. Can Gus combine them?
Yes. Send the bank and Shopify statements you have. Gus sorts them into in-store, online, class, and rental sales from here forward, and 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 craft beverage producers
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Brewpubs
- Coffee roasters
- Craft breweries & taprooms
- Liquor stores
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands
- Wineries & tasting rooms
- Arcade bars (barcades)
- Artisan cheese makers
- Bagel shops
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Beer gardens
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Cigar lounges
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Dive bars & neighborhood taverns
- Farmers market vendors
- Food hall vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hookah lounges
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