Land recreation & adventure
Books and taxes for indoor shooting ranges.
Lane fees, annual memberships, firearm rentals, and retail counter sales of guns and ammunition all move through the register at once. Gus sorts it as it lands, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
January came in at $22,700. New Year membership sign-ups were strong, but most of that is access you have not delivered yet, so only part of it counted this month.
- Annual membership sign-upsDeferred membership income
- Lane fee and rental swipesRange and rental income
- Lipsey's firearms orderFirearms inventory
- Range officer payrollStaff wages
- Bullet trap maintenanceRange maintenance
Why your books are different
Indoor range books go wrong where retail meets range time.
You are running a range, a rental counter, and a gun store under one roof, and money moves through all three every hour you are open. A generalist sees one deposit. Your books need to know a membership sign-up is not the same as an ammo sale.
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1
A yearly membership is not this month's income
A member pays $600 up front for a year of unlimited lane time. Counted the day it lands, one strong sign-up month looks like the business tripled, and the eleven months after look flat.
What we doSpreads membership dues across the months of access, so each month shows what was actually earned from members using the range. -
2
Firearms and ammunition inventory hides in one supplies line
Guns bought for retail sale or the rental case are inventory, not a supply expense, and lumping them with cleaning kits and targets makes it impossible to know your real cost of goods on the counter.
What we doKeeps firearms and ammunition inventory in its own line, separate from range consumables like targets and hearing protection. -
3
Rental gun wear and replacement gets missed
Rental fleet firearms take heavy use and need regular parts, repairs, or replacement, and that cost is different from a retail sale even though both involve a gun.
What we doTracks rental fleet firearms as equipment separate from retail inventory, so repair and replacement costs are visible on their own. -
4
Range maintenance gets buried in general repairs
Bullet trap servicing, ventilation system upkeep, and lead cleanup are specialized, recurring costs required for safety and often for compliance, and mixing them into general repairs hides how much they really run.
What we doKeeps range safety and ventilation maintenance in its own line, dated so patterns in cost are easy to see. -
5
Range officers and counter staff blur into one wage number
A certified range safety officer and a retail counter clerk are paid differently and do different jobs, and combining their wages hides what safety staffing actually costs against range income.
What we doKeeps range officer wages separate from retail counter payroll.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an indoor shooting range.
Set up once for how you get paid and what the range and counter cost. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Membership incomeAnnual and monthly memberships, recognized across the months of access.
- Range and rental incomeLane fees and rental gun charges paid per visit.
- Firearms and ammunition salesRetail counter sales of guns, ammo, and accessories.
- Classes and training feesConcealed carry, safety, and private lesson fees.
- Transfer feesFFL transfer charges for firearms bought elsewhere.
Money out
- Firearms inventoryGuns purchased for retail resale, kept apart from rental fleet guns.
- Ammunition inventoryRetail ammo stock, plus range-supplied ammo for rentals.
- Rental fleet firearmsGuns bought and maintained for customer rental use.
- Range maintenanceBullet trap service, ventilation upkeep, and lead cleanup.
- Range officer wagesCertified safety staff, kept apart from counter payroll.
- Retail counter wagesSales and rental counter staff.
- Compliance and background check feesServices used to process firearm sales.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for range operations and firearm sales.
What we watch for you
- Deferred membership balance
How much membership money is still owed in range access, so it does not get spent before it is earned.
- Retail versus range income split
Whether counter sales or lane fees are carrying the business, useful before a big inventory buy.
- Range maintenance cost
What safety and ventilation upkeep runs each month, since it tends to creep with usage.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things range 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.
That money is access members haven't used yet, so I'm spreading it across the year it covers. You'll see it land steadily instead of all at once.
No, I keep them separate. Retail guns are inventory you sell once, rental guns are equipment you maintain and reuse, and mixing them hides what each side actually costs you.
There can be, depending on how your sales are structured, and that is above my pay grade. I keep clean records of every sale so the accountant can sort out what applies.
The tax side
The tax side of an indoor shooting range.
Most of what trips up a range is timing on memberships and keeping retail inventory separate from rental equipment and range costs.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Memberships are earned over timeAnnual membership dues collected up front are deferred income, recognized across the months of access rather than the month collected.
- Inventory versus equipmentFirearms bought to resell are inventory and their cost is matched to the sale. Firearms bought for the rental fleet are equipment, usually depreciated instead.
- Range officer or contractorA range safety officer working your posted schedule under your rules is usually an employee, even if paid per shift.
- Retail sales and firearms complianceSales of firearms and ammunition often carry rules beyond ordinary retail, and whether any excise obligation applies depends on how the business is set up, which is a call for the accountant.
Deductions indoor shooting ranges miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Rental fleet firearm repairs
- Bullet trap servicing
- Ventilation and air filtration upkeep
- Hearing and eye protection stock
- Range officer certifications
- Retail counter fixtures and displays
- Liability insurance premiums
- Background check service fees
- Cleaning supplies and lead cleanup
- Point of sale system fees
- Targets and target hardware
- Uniforms for range staff
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
An indoor range year, kept every month.
Membership sign-ups spike in January and around the holidays. Gus keeps the books tracking the whole year, not just the spikes. 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, membership sign-ups are sorted into deferred income, and a monthly set-aside is planned for the year ahead.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while spring range traffic keeps the counter busy.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, and whether the winter membership rush is playing out the way it looked in January.
- October
Before the holiday rush
A look at rental fleet and retail inventory needs before the busiest gift-buying and membership season of the year.
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 indoor shooting ranges. 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 indoor range owners ask first.
We sell firearms, rent lanes, and offer memberships all from one register. Can Gus separate all of it?
Yes. He sorts each transaction into range income, retail sales, or membership income from your deposit records, and asks once when something is not clear.
Do I need to track rental gun repairs differently from ammo I sell at the counter?
Yes, and Gus does that automatically. Rental guns are equipment you maintain over years, while ammo you sell is inventory that turns over fast, and mixing the two hides what each actually costs.
Our membership sales spike every January. Will that make the rest of the year look weak?
No. Gus spreads that membership income across the months it actually covers, so the report reflects real usage instead of one big sign-up month.
We do FFL transfers for guns customers bought elsewhere. How does that get booked?
Transfer fees are their own income category, separate from your retail sales, since you did not sell the firearm itself.
My books are a mess of range, retail, and training income all mixed together. Can Gus untangle a year of that?
Yes. Send what you have and Gus sorts it month by month, and most owners know where they actually stand inside a week.
Can Gus tell me if my rental fleet is worth the maintenance cost?
He keeps rental fleet costs and rental income visible separately, so you can see whether that side of the business is pulling its weight.
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