Water recreation & marinas
Books and taxes for houseboat rental businesses.
Week-long rentals booked months out, damage deposits worth thousands, provisioning packages sold on top, and a fleet with generators, plumbing, and AC that all need upkeep. 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
July made $43,500. Two damage deposits from June got kept for a burned-out generator and a torn slide, so I moved those from held deposits into income.
- Booking site payout, week rentalsWeekly rental bookings
- Provisioning package salesProvisioning add-ons
- Kept damage deposit, boat 3Forfeited deposits
- Fleet loan paymentFleet loan payments
- Generator repair, docksideFleet mechanical repair
Why your books are different
A houseboat rental business's books go wrong in the same handful of places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. A houseboat is closer to a floating vacation home than a boat, rented by the week with a damage deposit worth thousands and systems like generators, plumbing, and AC that all break. When the books do not know that, real profit per boat stays hidden.
-
1
A large damage deposit gets counted as income too soon
A houseboat damage deposit can run into the thousands, and if it is booked as income the day it is charged, a single kept deposit for real damage makes one month look enormous while a month of refunds looks like a loss.
What we doHolds deposits separately and only books a kept deposit as income once damage is confirmed and the hold is actually kept. -
2
Provisioning packages hide inside the rental fee
Selling groceries, linens, or a stocked kitchen as an add-on package is a different product from the boat rental itself, and mixed together, nobody can see if the add-on is priced to cover what it actually costs.
What we doKeeps provisioning and add-on package income in its own line against what those supplies cost, so the real margin is visible. -
3
Generator, AC, and plumbing repairs look like routine boat maintenance
A houseboat's onboard systems break in ways a runabout never will, and a burned-out generator or a failed AC unit can cost thousands. Filed the same as a hull scratch repair, these bigger system failures get lost in a general maintenance line.
What we doKeeps major mechanical and system repair in its own line, separate from routine upkeep, so the real cost of keeping the fleet livable is visible. -
4
The fleet's loan payments and depreciation get overlooked
A houseboat can cost as much as a house, and if the loan payment is the only number anyone watches, the owner never sees the real cost of an aging fleet losing value every season.
What we doTracks each houseboat as a business asset and flags when it may be time to talk depreciation or a trade-in with the accountant. -
5
A slow week during a drought year looks like a business failing
Low lake levels or a drought year can shut down ramps or make a lake unsafe for houseboats, wiping out bookings with no warning, and that can look like a demand problem instead of a known risk of the lake.
What we doTracks the season against lake conditions where relevant, so a low-water year reads as a known risk, not a sign something is wrong with the business.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a houseboat rental business.
Set up once for how the fleet gets booked and what it costs to run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Weekly rental bookingsMulti-day and week-long houseboat rentals booked in advance.
- Provisioning add-onsGroceries, linens, and stocked kitchen packages sold with a rental.
- Forfeited depositsDamage deposits that were actually kept for repairs.
- Delivery and tow feesFees for towing or positioning a houseboat at a launch point.
Money out
- Fleet loan paymentsFinancing on the houseboats in the rental fleet.
- Fleet mechanical repairGenerators, AC units, and plumbing systems repaired or replaced.
- Dock and storage feesMarina slip rent for keeping the fleet ready to rent.
- Cleaning and turnaround crewDeep cleaning between multi-day rentals.
- Marine insuranceLiability and hull coverage for a fleet of high-value vessels.
- Fuel and propaneFuel for the boats and propane for onboard appliances.
What we watch for you
- Fleet utilization
Booked weeks against available weeks per boat. It shows if pricing or the calendar needs a look.
- Repair cost per boat
Major mechanical repair against each houseboat, since one boat's systems can cost far more than another's in a season.
- Deposit forfeiture income
Kept damage deposits need to show up as income, not just vanish once the repair is paid for.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things houseboat rental 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 moved it out of held deposits and into income for the month it was kept, since it is not really a deposit anymore once you keep it.
This month, yes, by about $2,300 across the packages sold. I keep the package income against what the groceries and linens cost so you can see that clearly.
The current fleet's cost per boat is there for you to look at, but whether a sixth boat pencils out with a new loan is a bigger call for you and the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of a houseboat rental business.
Most of what goes wrong here is large deposits counted too early and major system repairs buried in routine maintenance. Getting the categories right most of the year makes the return simpler.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Depreciating the fleetHouseboats bought for the rental fleet can usually be written off over time or, often, largely in the year they are bought under bonus depreciation and Section 179, up to current limits. The accountant decides which approach fits the year.
- Sales tax on rentals and packagesWhether rentals and provisioning packages owe state or local sales tax varies by state and is worth checking locally. Gus keeps them split out for the accountant to apply correctly.
- Repair versus improvementRoutine generator and system repair is usually a deductible expense the year it happens. A major system replacement that extends a boat's life can sometimes be treated differently, so the accountant reviews larger repair bills.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when rentals, deposits, and fleet costs are tracked correctly all season.
Deductions houseboat rental businesses miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Generator and AC repair
- Plumbing and appliance repair
- Fleet loan interest
- Marina dock rent
- Marine insurance
- Cleaning and turnaround crew
- Propane and fuel
- Linens and kitchenware for rentals
- Booking site fees
- Towing and delivery costs
- Marketing and photography for listings
- Storage and winterization
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 houseboat rental year, kept every month.
Bookings run heaviest through the warm months on the lake and go quiet the rest of the year. Taxes come on their own 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so tax time is already handled before the season starts booking up.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, ahead of the spring rush of bookings.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether peak season rentals are on pace to cover the off season.
- October
Before the fleet comes in
Before boats go into winter storage, Gus looks at any fleet purchases or trade-ins worth making 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 houseboat rental businesses. 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 houseboat rental owners ask first.
Our damage deposits are thousands of dollars. How does Gus handle that?
The deposit sits as a held amount, not income, until it is either returned or kept. Only a kept deposit counts as money the business earned, which keeps a big deposit from making one month look inflated.
Can Gus tell us if our provisioning packages are worth the effort?
Yes. He keeps package income against what the groceries and supplies cost, so you can see the real margin instead of guessing whether it is worth offering.
We're behind on sorting last season's bookings. Can we still start now?
Yes. Send the bank and booking site statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
A generator failure cost us $4,000 this summer. Is that a normal repair or something bigger?
Gus keeps major mechanical repairs like that in their own line so the accountant can look at whether it should be treated as a repair or as an improvement to the boat, which can matter for how it is written off.
Low lake levels hurt our bookings this year. Does that get tracked?
Yes. Gus can note the season against conditions so a drought-driven slow year reads as a known risk of the lake, not a mistake in the numbers.
Do you handle our marina lease or launch ramp agreement?
No. Lease and site agreements are between you and the marina or authority. Gus tracks the cost once it is paid, but does not manage the agreement.
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