Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for hydroponic and vertical farms.
A standing purchase order from a grocery distributor, pallets of lettuce moving out every week, and a climate-controlled warehouse that never stops running. 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
May came in at $24,700. The nutrient dosing pump replacement went in as growing systems equipment, not general supplies.
- Regional grocery distributor invoiceWholesale grocery sales
- Restaurant group standing orderRestaurant sales
- Nutrient mix orderNutrients and growing media
- Warehouse power billClimate control utilities
- Dosing pump replacementGrowing systems equipment
Why your books are different
Hydroponic and vertical farm books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a warehouse with a big power bill. Your business runs year-round production against grocery contracts with strict delivery schedules, nutrient dosing systems instead of soil and rain, and climate control that costs more some months than the crop itself. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what actually drives your margin.
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1
Grocery contract terms get treated like a cash sale
A standing purchase order with a regional distributor often pays on 30 or 45 day terms with pricing that can shift by the pallet, but booked like a simple cash sale, the books miss what is actually owed and when.
What we doTracks grocery and distributor invoices against delivery dates and payment terms, so what is owed and what has cleared stay clear. -
2
Climate control costs get buried in one utility line
Lighting, HVAC, and dehumidification running around the clock for a vertical growing system can be one of the biggest costs in the business, but lumped into a single warehouse electric bill, that cost disappears into overhead nobody watches closely.
What we doKeeps climate control utilities in their own line, so you can see what running the system costs against what each harvest cycle brings in. -
3
Growing systems get filed like building fixtures
Hydroponic towers, nutrient dosing systems, and vertical racking represent a major investment that behaves more like production equipment than a building fixture, but on a bank statement it can look like part of the building buildout.
What we doFlags growing systems and racking as their own equipment category, so the accountant can apply the right depreciation treatment. -
4
Crop loss from a system failure gets lost in the noise
A pump failure or a nutrient imbalance can wipe out an entire growing cycle overnight, and without a note, that loss just reads as a slow month instead of the specific event that caused it.
What we doNotes crop loss events the owner flags, so a bad cycle reads as a system issue, not a mystery in the numbers. -
5
Nutrient and consumable costs get treated as one-time buys
Nutrient mixes, growing media, and seed are ordered on a tight repeating cycle to keep production running, and treated as one-off purchases, the books lose the pattern that shows whether input costs are creeping up per pound produced.
What we doKeeps nutrients and growing media in a steady category, so a rising cost per cycle shows up early instead of blending into general supplies.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a hydroponic or vertical farm.
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
- Wholesale grocery salesStanding purchase orders with regional grocery distributors and chains.
- Restaurant salesStanding orders and invoiced deliveries to restaurant accounts.
- Farmers market and direct salesCash and card sales sold directly to the public.
- Co-packing and private label salesProduct grown and packaged for another company's label.
- Equipment or system licensing incomeFees earned licensing a growing system design to another operator, if applicable.
Money out
- Nutrients and growing mediaNutrient mixes, rockwool, and other growing media ordered on a repeating cycle.
- Growing systems equipmentHydroponic towers, dosing systems, and racking, logged so they get written off right.
- Climate control utilitiesPower for lighting, HVAC, and dehumidification, tracked apart from general overhead.
- PackagingClamshells, cases, and labels for grocery and restaurant delivery.
- Delivery and logisticsTrucking and fuel for delivery to distributors and accounts.
- Water treatmentFiltration and water quality testing for the growing systems.
- Payroll for growing and packing staffYear-round staff running the growing floor and packing line.
What we watch for you
- Cost per pound produced
Nutrients, power, and labor against what a harvest cycle produces, tracked from the books alone.
- Grocery vs. restaurant mix
How much revenue comes from grocery contracts versus restaurant and direct accounts.
- Power cost per cycle
What climate control costs each growing cycle, so a spike shows up before it eats the margin.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things hydroponic and vertical farm 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.
No. I track what is owed against the delivery date, not just when the payment clears, so a slow-paying account does not make a strong month look thin.
Usually it can. I logged it as growing systems equipment, not a building fixture, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
Flag it for me and I'll note it, so that cycle reads as a system failure, not just a mysteriously bad month.
The tax side
The tax side of a hydroponic or vertical farm.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as equipment versus building, and what counts as overhead. Growing systems filed like fixtures, power costs buried in one bill, and a set-aside nobody started until tax season.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeGrowing crops for sale, including indoors and year-round, generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files.
- Growing systems and equipmentHydroponic towers, dosing systems, and racking can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for outside helpAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for delivery, maintenance, or packing help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, and it comes out right when the books stay right all year.
Deductions hydroponic and vertical farms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Nutrient mixes
- Rockwool and growing media
- Dosing pump repair parts
- Grow light bulbs and ballasts
- Water filtration supplies
- Delivery truck fuel
- Clamshells and case packaging
- Water quality testing
- HVAC filter replacement
- Warehouse cleaning supplies
- Business liability insurance
- Forklift or pallet jack repair
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 hydroponic and vertical farm year, kept every month.
Your growing cycles run year-round with no real off-season. Your 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, the outside help 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so year-round production does not surprise you in April.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed with no gap in production or grocery delivery schedules.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at midyear, and whether grocery and restaurant accounts are keeping pace with growing capacity.
- October
System review
Gus looks at growing system equipment worth adding or replacing before winter power costs climb and what this year's numbers say about pricing.
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 hydroponic and vertical farms. 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 hydroponic and vertical farm owners ask first.
Can Gus handle grocery distributor invoices with 30 or 45 day terms?
Yes. He tracks what is owed against the delivery date, so a slow-paying account does not make a strong production month look thin on the books.
Can our climate control power costs be tracked separately from general overhead?
Yes. Gus keeps climate control utilities in their own category, so you can see what running the system costs against what each cycle produces.
Do I have to change how I invoice grocery or restaurant accounts?
No. Keep billing grocery and restaurant accounts your usual way. Gus tracks it from your bank statement, and any delivery invoice he cannot place gets one quick question, remembered going forward.
A system failure wiped out a growing cycle. Does that show up anywhere?
Flag it for Gus when it happens, and he notes it, so that cycle reads as a system issue rather than a mystery in the numbers.
Is new growing system equipment written off all at once?
Often. Growing systems installed for production typically qualify for a full write-off the year you buy them, though a very large system sometimes gets spread across a few years instead. Gus tags it and leaves the call to the accountant.
We run production year-round with no slow season. Does that change how the books work?
Not the categories, just the pace. Gus keeps the same monthly rhythm going all year, so a steady production schedule still gets a clear monthly number and a set-aside that keeps up with 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.
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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