Live events & performance
Books and taxes for independent music venues.
Door money, bar sales, a merch cut from touring bands, and a rental buyout on a slow Tuesday. Gus keeps each apart, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March cleared $11,500. The new PA speakers from Sweetwater went in as equipment, not a gear rental cost.
- DICE ticketing payoutTicket sales
- Square, bar depositBar and drink sales
- Wire, touring band guaranteePerformer guarantees
- ASCAP annual invoiceLicensing and royalties
- Sweetwater PA speakersEquipment
Why your books are different
A music venue's books go wrong in the same handful of places.
A generalist sees a deposit and a bill. Your night is a door split, a bar tab, a band getting paid before they load out, and a licensing bill nobody remembers is coming. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell whether the room or the bar is paying the rent.
-
1
Door money and bar money blur together
A Friday night deposit can mix ticket sales with the whole bar tab from the same show, so you never see whether the room made money on the door alone or the bar carried the night.
What we doKeeps ticket sales and bar sales in their own lines every month, so you can see which one is actually paying the rent. -
2
Band guarantees paid in cash or Venmo the night of the show
A touring act gets paid in cash from the till or by Venmo before they even load the van, and that payout is easy to forget logging once the room clears out.
What we doAsks about a cash-drawer payout that does not show on the statement and keeps a running list of who got paid, so the 1099 list is ready in January. -
3
ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC fees look like random dues
The licensing bills that let you host live original and cover music get filed under office expenses or ignored entirely, so you lose track of a real fixed cost of running shows.
What we doKeeps performance licensing in its own category, separate from other dues and subscriptions, so the true cost of hosting live music is visible. -
4
A merch cut from touring bands gets buried in bar sales
When you take a percentage of a band's t-shirt and vinyl sales at the merch table, that split often lands in the same deposit as the bar and never gets its own line.
What we doKeeps the venue's merch cut separate from bar sales, so you can see what the table actually brings in beyond drinks. -
5
PA and stage gear gets filed as a supply run
A new PA speaker set, monitors, or a lighting rig can cost as much as a used van, and filed as gear rental it muddles a good month and misses a bigger write-off.
What we doFlags big sound and lighting purchases the month they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a music venue.
Set up once for how the room makes money and where it goes. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Ticket salesDoor and advance sales through DICE, Eventbrite, or See Tickets.
- Bar and drink salesEverything rung through the bar's Square or Clover terminal.
- Merch cutThe venue's percentage of a touring band's table sales.
- Private buyoutsA full-room rental for a private party or a corporate event.
- SponsorshipA local business paying for the marquee, a poster wall, or a social mention.
Money out
- Performer guaranteesFlat fees and door splits paid to touring and local bands.
- Sound and door staff wagesThe engineer, door person, and barback, kept apart from bar inventory.
- Licensing and royaltiesASCAP, BMI, and SESAC fees for hosting live music.
- Bar inventoryBeer, liquor, and wine bought from the distributor.
- Gear rental and repairBackline, monitors, and lighting rented or fixed for a show.
- MarketingSocial ads, poster printing, and radio spots for upcoming shows.
- InsuranceGeneral liability and liquor liability coverage.
- Ticketing app feesWhat DICE or Eventbrite keeps before your payout lands.
What we watch for you
- Bar share
Bar sales against total revenue, so you know how much a night depends on drinks versus the door.
- Guarantee cost
What bands are paid against what the door actually brought in, before you book the next one.
- Licensing run rate
ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC as a yearly cost, so it never lands as a surprise bill.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things independent venue 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.
If you pay a band or an artist $2,000 or more this year outside payroll, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that running list all year.
Bar sales came in at $9,400 against $6,200 at the door. I keep those two lines apart so you can see which one is actually paying the rent.
That one is above my pay grade to settle on my own. It depends on how much control you have over his schedule and gear, so I sent the accountant what you are paying him now.
The tax side
The tax side of running a music venue.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels: a band paid in cash, a PA filed as a rental cost, and a door person who really works like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099s for touring actsA band, solo artist, or local act you pay $2,000 or more over the year outside payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list as the shows come and go.
- Sound and lighting equipmentPA systems, monitors, and lighting rigs can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Door and sound staff classificationA door person or sound engineer who works your schedule and uses your gear is usually an employee, even if they only work weekends.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the door, the bar, and the guarantees are all booked correctly.
Deductions independent music venues miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC fees
- PA speaker repair
- Stage lighting gear
- Mic and cable replacement
- Greenroom supplies
- Marquee and signage
- Ticketing app fees
- Liquor liability insurance
- Poster and flyer printing
- Soundboard and mixer repair
- Door and bar staff uniforms
- Card processing 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 music venue's year, kept every month.
Touring seasons and slow Tuesdays do not follow a tax calendar, so Gus keeps the year in view alongside the booking sheet. 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 1099 list for bands and crew is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring touring run changed the number.
- October
Before the fall rush
Fall brings a heavier booking calendar for most rooms. Before it hits, Gus looks at gear you might buy and anything worth doing 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 independent music venues. 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 independent venue owners ask first.
Can Gus handle bands paid in cash or through Venmo the night of the show?
Yes. Send what you have from the till or the app, and Gus sorts it into performer guarantees and keeps the running list for January's 1099s.
Do I need to track ASCAP and BMI separately from other bills?
It helps, and Gus does it either way. Licensing fees get their own line so you can see the real yearly cost of hosting live music.
My bar runs through Square and ticketing runs through DICE. Is that a problem?
No. Gus works from your bank deposits and keeps door and bar money apart no matter which app it came through.
A touring band sells merch and I take a cut. How does that get counted?
As its own line, separate from bar sales, so you can see what the merch table brings the venue beyond drinks.
Do I owe a 1099 for the sound engineer I pay per show?
If he is not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. If he works your schedule and gear every week, he may really be an employee, and Gus flags that for the accountant.
My books are a mess after a slow winter. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus sorts them month by month. Most owners know where they stand inside 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.
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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