Route, vending & coin-op assets
Books and taxes for jukebox and pool table routes.
Coin drops on the pool tables, digital song credits through the jukebox app, felt and cue maintenance, and the fifty-fifty split every bar owner expects on payday. Your own bookkeeper keeps every bar's cut straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $5,900. The refelt job at the bar on Union Street is logged as a repair, since the table itself is already on the books as equipment.
- Coin route deposit, pool tablesCoin sales
- TouchTunes jukebox payoutDigital music sales
- Bar split, Union Street TavernLocation commissions
- Felt and cue refelting jobTable maintenance
- New pool table, Corner PocketMachine purchases
Why your books are different
Jukebox and pool table books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees coin cash and a repair bill. Your business is a fifty-fifty or sixty-forty split with a bar owner, digital jukebox credits sold through an app instead of a coin slot, and pool tables that need felt and cushions replaced on a schedule. When the books do not track the split honestly, neither you nor the bar can trust the payout.
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1
The bar split gets paid off the wrong number
A tavern expects half of what the pool table and jukebox actually took in, but if the split is calculated after your own repair and restocking costs are quietly deducted first, the bar owner is being shorted without either side realizing it.
What we doBooks each machine's full gross coin and digital sales at that bar, then calculates the split off that number, so the payout matches what the bar was promised. -
2
Digital song credits get lumped in with coin cash
A TouchTunes payout arrives days or weeks after the coin was pulled from the same table, and if both get dumped into one undated pile, you cannot tell what a given bar's jukebox actually earned in a given month.
What we doKeeps digital music payouts in their own line, matched to the bar and month they were earned, separate from coin cash. -
3
Felt and cushion jobs look like a new table
A full refelting and cushion replacement on a well-used table can cost several hundred dollars, and filed the same way as a new table purchase, it muddles what is genuine equipment versus routine upkeep.
What we doKeeps table maintenance and repairs separate from new machine purchases, so equipment write-offs stay accurate. -
4
A new table looks like a repair bill
A new coin-op pool table costs as much as a used car, and filed under maintenance it never gets tracked as the asset it is or written off the way equipment can be.
What we doLogs every table and jukebox purchase as its own asset the day it is installed, so it gets the write-off treatment equipment is due. -
5
A slow bar gets kept out of habit
A table placed at a bar with a regular in the same seat every Tuesday can quietly earn less than the cost of servicing it, and without a number in front of you, it is easy to keep showing up out of relationship rather than economics.
What we doTracks revenue by location so you can see which bars are actually earning their split and which ones are not, without telling you what to do about it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a jukebox and pool route.
Set up once for how each bar's tables and jukebox get paid and split. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Coin salesCash pulled from pool table coin mechanisms, before the bar's split.
- Digital music salesTouchTunes or similar app credits, booked before the bar's split.
- Machine sale proceedsMoney from selling a retired table or jukebox to another operator.
- League and tournament feesAny fee collected for hosting a pool league night, when applicable.
Money out
- Location commissionsThe fifty-fifty or other split paid out to each bar.
- Table maintenanceFelt, cushions, cue tips, and rack replacements.
- Machines and repairsNew and used pool tables, jukeboxes, and coin mechanisms.
- Digital music app feesWhat the jukebox app keeps before the payout lands.
- Vehicle and fuelFuel and repairs for servicing tables and jukeboxes across bars.
- InsuranceLiability and equipment coverage for machines placed in bars.
What we watch for you
- Revenue per bar
Shows which locations earn their split and which ones barely cover the servicing trip.
- Commission paid out
Total split across all bars, tracked so a renegotiated cut does not quietly eat into what you keep.
- Table maintenance cost
Felt and cushion jobs against coin revenue per table, so a heavily used table gets budgeted for ahead of time.
- The set-aside
What you will owe after every bar's split, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things jukebox and pool route 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 calculate it off the full coin and digital sales that table earned, before any of your repair costs come out, so the payout matches what you promised the bar.
Usually yes. I logged it as equipment, not maintenance, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
I can show you that bar's revenue against the others over the last few months, so you go into that decision with real numbers instead of a hunch.
The tax side
The tax side of a jukebox and pool table route.
Most of what goes wrong here is what the split is calculated on. A repair cost deducted before the bar gets paid, a table filed like a felt job, and digital credits nobody dated.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Tables and jukeboxesCoin-operated pool tables and jukeboxes usually qualify to be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Amusement or coin-op taxesSome states and cities charge a separate tax or license fee on coin-operated amusement machines placed in bars and other venues, on top of standard sales tax rules.
- Contractor 1099sA repair tech or refelting specialist paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll usually needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of route profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when bar splits and repairs are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions jukebox and pool table routes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pool table and jukebox purchases
- Felt and cushion replacement
- Cue tips and rack repairs
- Coin mechanism parts
- Bar location commissions
- Digital music app fees
- Route vehicle fuel and repairs
- Liability insurance
- Storage for spare tables
- Route management software
- Locks and coin box hardware
- Amusement license 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 jukebox and pool table year, kept every month.
Bars stay busy every week of the year. Your taxes come on a 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 bar route year
Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is ready, and your monthly set-aside begins now, sized to what the bars bring in, so April is already handled.
- April
Filed and settled up
Your business return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been tracking every bar's split since January.
- July
Midyear bar check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer bar traffic changed the number.
- October
Before winter league season
Pool leagues often pick up as the weather turns. Gus looks at whether any tables need refelting before the busier winter months.
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 jukebox and pool table routes. 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 jukebox and pool table owners ask first.
How does Gus make sure my bar splits are calculated correctly?
He books each table and jukebox's full sales at a bar before any commission comes out, then calculates the split off that gross number, so the payout matches what you agreed to with the bar owner.
Do digital jukebox credits and coin cash get mixed together?
No. Gus keeps TouchTunes and similar app payouts in their own line, matched back to the bar and the month they were earned, separate from coin deposits.
Is refelting a table the same as buying a new one for tax purposes?
No, and Gus keeps them separate. A new table is equipment that usually gets written off the year you buy it, while refelting is a repair cost, and mixing the two muddles both numbers.
Some cities charge a fee for coin-op machines in bars. Does Gus handle that?
He flags which cities and locations may owe an amusement or coin-op license fee, since these vary a lot. Filing and paying local fees is not part of the subscription, but you will know it is coming.
One of my bars keeps asking for a bigger split. How do I know what I can afford?
Gus tracks what each bar's tables actually net you after the current split, month over month, so you can walk into that conversation with the real number instead of a guess.
My route records from three years of cash collections are a mess. Can that be sorted?
Yes. Send the bank deposits and any digital payout statements you have. Gus works through them bar by bar, and most owners know where they stand within a week or two.
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.
More in route, vending & coin-op assets
We keep books for the business next door too.
- ATM route operators
- Bulk candy & gumball routes
- Claw machine & arcade routes
- Coin-op car vacuum & air stations
- EV charging station hosts
- Ice vending machines
- Laundry machine routes (apartments)
- Massage chair routes
- Micro markets (office & apartment)
- Photo booth kiosks (malls)
- Water vending & water stores
- Vending machine routes
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