Music, art & performing arts businesses
Books and taxes for instrument repair shops.
Repair tickets that spike every fall, a rental fleet of band instruments you own outright, manufacturer warranty work waiting on reimbursement, and parts that vanish into small drawers. 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
October came in at $8,500. Back-to-school repairs are still running high, and the Yamaha warranty check from September finally cleared.
- Repair ticket batchRepair tickets
- School rental feesInstrument rental income
- Yamaha warranty reimbursementManufacturer warranty
- Ferree's Tools orderParts and supplies
- Fleet insurance premiumRental fleet insurance
Why your books are different
Instrument repair books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees repair tickets and calls it done. Instrument repair shops also rent out a fleet of instruments as their own asset, wait on manufacturers to reimburse warranty work, and hit a repair surge every fall that a slow month in July does not predict. When the books do not separate those, the shop looks steadier or shakier than it is.
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1
The rental fleet gets mixed into inventory
Forty band instruments you own and rent to students are a long-term asset, not stock waiting to be sold. Mixed with retail inventory, you cannot tell what the fleet is actually worth or when a horn needs replacing.
What we doKeeps the rental fleet as its own equipment list, tracked apart from instruments and accessories held for sale. -
2
Warranty reimbursements get counted as regular repair income
A manufacturer owes you $180 for a warranty repair, but the check does not arrive for six weeks. Booked the same as a walk-in repair, you lose track of what is actually still owed to you.
What we doTracks warranty reimbursements as money owed until it clears, so nothing pending gets forgotten or double-counted. -
3
A fall surge makes summer look like a failure
September and October bring a wave of school repairs that July never will. Compared month to month without context, a slow summer looks like a business problem instead of a normal season.
What we doTracks the year against itself, so a quiet July reads as seasonal, not as a warning sign. -
4
Loaner instruments disappear from the books
A student gets a loaner clarinet while their own is being repaired. If it is never logged, a lost or damaged loaner becomes an unexplained hole in the fleet with no paper trail.
What we doKeeps a simple log of loaners out and back, so a missing instrument has a record behind it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an instrument repair shop.
Set up once for how repairs, rentals, and warranty work come in. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Repair ticketsRepad, dent removal, and general repair work, paid at pickup.
- Instrument rental incomeMonthly fees from students renting from your own fleet.
- Manufacturer warrantyReimbursements from Yamaha, Selmer, or similar for covered repairs.
- Retail accessory salesReeds, valve oil, cases, and small accessories sold at the counter.
Money out
- Parts and suppliesPads, corks, springs, and repair materials from Ferree's or a similar supplier.
- Rental fleet insuranceCoverage for instruments you own and hand out to students.
- Shop rent and utilitiesThe workshop space and its power, heat, and water.
- Seasonal staff payExtra help brought on for the fall repair surge.
- Tools and equipmentRepair tools, benches, and specialty machines for the shop.
- Fleet replacementNew instruments bought to refresh or grow the rental fleet.
What we watch for you
- Fleet utilization
Instruments out on rent against the total fleet, to see if it is worth growing or thinning.
- Warranty pending
Reimbursements owed by manufacturers but not yet paid, so nothing gets lost track of.
- Repair ticket average
What each ticket bills on average, to see if pricing keeps up with parts cost.
- The set-aside
What you will owe in taxes, tracked against repair and rental income every month, so filing season is no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things instrument repair 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.
Not until it actually clears. I am tracking it as money owed to you, so the books show what is pending versus what you have in hand.
I logged them as fleet equipment, not inventory for sale. The accountant will decide how they get written off based on your year.
No, that is normal for this trade. I track your year against itself so a slow summer does not look like trouble it is not.
The tax side
The tax side of an instrument repair shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is the rental fleet and warranty money getting mixed into regular repair income. Both are easy to keep straight with the books done right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Rental fleet depreciationInstruments bought to rent out are usually depreciated as business equipment rather than expensed as inventory, though many can still qualify for full expensing in the year bought.
- Section 179 and bonus depreciationShop tools and new fleet instruments can often be written off in the year bought, up to $2,560,000, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Seasonal employee payExtra help hired for the fall repair surge is usually payroll if you control their schedule and tools, not a 1099 contractor.
- The pass-through deductionMost repair shop owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions instrument repair shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pads, corks, and springs
- Repair benches and specialty tools
- Fleet insurance
- Shop rent and utilities
- Seasonal staff wages
- Reeds and accessories for resale
- Loaner instrument upkeep
- Business liability insurance
- Continuing repair technician training
- Shipping for mail-in repairs
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 instrument repair shop year, kept every month.
School repairs come in waves, not a steady drip. Your taxes still come on a schedule, and 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
The bench year begins
Last year's return gets started, warranty reimbursements are reconciled, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed and closed out
Your return is filed and signed. No scramble in April, since the set-aside has been building from every repair ticket since January.
- July
Midyear fleet check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how the fleet is holding up before fall repairs pick up again.
- October
Peak season look
Right in the middle of the fall repair surge, Gus checks whether the fleet needs new instruments before the year closes out.
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 instrument repair 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 instrument repair shop owners ask first.
How do you keep rental fleet instruments separate from stock I sell?
They get their own equipment list, tracked apart from retail inventory. That way you can see what the fleet is worth and what it costs to maintain, separate from what you sell over the counter.
A warranty check took two months to arrive. Does that mess up my books?
No. Gus tracks it as owed to you from the day the repair is done, so when the check finally clears, it is already accounted for and nothing gets double-counted.
My summer income looks terrible compared to September. Is something wrong?
Probably not. This trade runs in a fall surge, and Gus compares your year to itself so a normal seasonal dip does not read as a warning sign.
Do I need to track loaner instruments for tax purposes?
It is good practice either way. A simple log helps if one gets lost or damaged, and it keeps your fleet numbers honest.
Can I write off new fleet instruments the year I buy them?
Often yes. Gus logs the purchase as equipment and flags it, and the accountant decides the best way to write it off for your year.
My books are behind from last season. Can you still take this over?
Yes. Send the bank statements and any warranty paperwork you have. Gus sorts it, the accountant checks it, and 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