Culinary & hands-on workshops
Books and taxes for kids cooking classes.
Camp week tuition, birthday party packages, sibling discounts, and allergy-safe ingredient swaps. Gus sorts it all, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July came in at $17,000. Camp deposits from back in March finally showed up as earned revenue, right when the campers actually walked in.
- Camp week tuition, Session 3Camp tuition
- Birthday party, Owens familyBirthday parties
- Sysco Foodservice #8842Ingredients
- Party City orderParty supplies
- Background check serviceStaff compliance
Why your books are different
Kids cooking class books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and grocery runs. Your business is camp weeks paid for months in advance, birthday packages bundled with cake and decorations, sibling discounts, and teenage helpers paid however is easiest. When the books do not separate those, the numbers lie to you about a normal week.
-
1
Camp deposits get booked as income too early
A parent who reserves a July camp week in March pays a deposit right away. Booked as income in March, a slow winter month can look flush with summer money nobody has earned yet.
What we doKeeps camp deposits tagged to the week they cover, so spring bookings do not make a quiet month look busier than it is. -
2
Birthday packages bundle teaching, cake, and supplies
A $450 birthday party includes the class, the cake, balloons, and a goody bag, but it often gets rung up as one flat sale. You cannot tell how much of that is teaching versus party supplies you paid for.
What we doSplits party revenue against the supplies it took to throw it, so you can see what a party actually nets you. -
3
Sibling discounts get treated as an expense
A 10 percent sibling or multi-week discount is a lower sale price, not a cost. Booked as a marketing expense, it inflates your revenue and hides what campers actually paid.
What we doBooks discounted tuition at the price the family actually paid, so your sales stay honest. -
4
Allergy-safe ingredient swaps disappear into groceries
A nut-free or gluten-free ingredient swap for one camper's plan often costs noticeably more per session. Buried in general ingredient spend, you cannot see what accommodating allergies actually costs you.
What we doKeeps ingredient spend visible so you know what allergy accommodations are really costing, without singling out any one family. -
5
Teen helpers get paid off the books
Camp counselors and dish-washing helpers, often teenagers paid cash for a few hours a week, can slip past payroll entirely, which leaves you exposed if a labor question ever comes up.
What we doFlags cash-paid helpers so payroll or contractor status gets sorted before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a kids cooking class business.
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
- Camp week tuitionMulti-day summer and school break sessions, paid mostly by deposit and balance.
- Birthday party packagesFlat-fee parties booked through your site or by phone, paid ahead of the date.
- After-school and enrichment programsWeekly sessions billed through the school or paid directly by parents.
- Drop-in and single class salesOne-off Saturday classes paid at booking.
- Gift cardsSold for birthdays and holidays, tracked as owed until a class is taken.
Money out
- IngredientsKid-friendly recipes plus allergy-safe substitutions from Sysco or a local grocer.
- Party suppliesCake, decorations, and goody bags from Party City or a local bakery.
- Staff payInstructors and camp counselors, kept apart from cash-paid teen helpers.
- Background checks and complianceRequired screening for anyone working around children.
- Kitchen rent and utilitiesStudio lease, gas, and electric for camp and after-school hours.
- MarketingLocal ads, school flyers, and the class booking site.
- InsuranceGeneral liability and accident coverage for kids in the kitchen.
What we watch for you
- Camp fill rate
Seats sold against seats available for each session, the first sign a week needs marketing.
- Party margin
What a birthday package nets after cake and supplies, so pricing keeps up with costs.
- Cost per camper
Ingredient and supply cost per kid, so allergy accommodations do not eat your margin.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things kids cooking class 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.
Summer camp deposits came in early. I keep them tagged to July, so March shows what actually happened in March.
It can be, if it never shows up anywhere. I flagged it so you and the accountant can sort out payroll before it becomes a bigger question.
I book the refund against that party's sale, not as a new expense, so your revenue for the month stays accurate.
The tax side
The tax side of a kids cooking class business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labor. Camp deposits booked too early, and helpers paid in a way that does not match how they actually work.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Camp counselor classificationA teen or college student who works your camp schedule with your equipment is usually an employee, not a cash-paid helper, even for a few weeks a summer. Getting that wrong gets expensive.
- Contractor 1099sAny guest instructor or helper not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- 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 books are right all year.
- Equipment write-offsCommercial mixers, ovens, and camp kitchen stations can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions kids cooking classes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Kid-friendly ingredients
- Allergy-safe substitutions
- Party decorations and cake
- Aprons and chef hats
- Background check fees
- Camp kitchen rent
- Liability and accident insurance
- School flyer printing
- Booking site fees
- Cleaning supplies
- Small kitchen equipment
- First aid supplies
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 kids cooking class year, kept every month.
Camp season runs hot and the school year runs steady. Your team keeps you ahead of both, and ahead of taxes too. 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, camp counselor pay gets reviewed, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill this spring, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Peak camp season
Camp weeks run back to back and party bookings pile up. Gus keeps deposits, tuition, and supply costs straight while the kitchen stays busy.
- October
Before the holiday parties
Birthday and holiday-party bookings start climbing as school gets back in session. Gus looks at staffing needs and equipment before the December rush.
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 kids cooking classes. 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 kids cooking class owners ask first.
How does Gus handle camp deposits paid months early?
He keeps a deposit tagged to the week it pays for, so a busy sign-up month in spring does not make your summer camp income show up before camp actually runs.
We give a discount for siblings. Does that mess up the books?
No. Gus books tuition at what the family actually paid, so a sibling discount just means an honest, lower sale rather than a hidden expense.
Our counselors are teenagers paid a little cash each week. Is that allowed?
It depends on how they work. Gus flags cash-paid helpers so you and the accountant can sort out payroll or contractor status before it becomes a habit.
Do we need paperwork for our part-time instructors?
If someone is not on payroll and you pay them $2,000 or more in 2026, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running all year.
Can Gus track what one allergy-friendly session actually costs us?
Yes. He keeps ingredient spending visible so you can see what substitutions cost, without singling out any one camper's plan.
Our books are a mess from a busy camp summer. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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.
More in culinary & hands-on workshops
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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