Gyms & fitness studios
Books and taxes for kids martial arts schools.
Family tuition plans, belt testing fees a few times a year, gi sales, and a birthday party booked on a Saturday. 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
September came in at $7,800. Back-to-school brought a wave of new sign-ups, and I kept the family plan discounts in their own line so regular tuition pricing doesn't look like it dropped.
- Zen Planner tuition draftTuition
- Belt testing feesTesting fees
- Century Martial Arts gi orderRetail
- Head instructor payrollInstructor pay
- Background check feesStaff screening
Why your books are different
A kids martial arts school's books go wrong around family plans and testing cycles.
A generalist sees tuition and a rent bill. Your school runs family discount plans, collects belt testing fees only a few times a year, sells gis and belts as part of the program, and hosts birthday parties on the side. When the books miss that, tuition pricing looks like it's all over the place.
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1
Family plan discounts look like inconsistent pricing
A family with three kids paying a discounted combined rate looks, on a bank feed, like tuition just came in lower than usual, which makes regular pricing hard to track month to month.
What we doKeeps family plan discounts in their own line so regular tuition pricing stays visible and consistent. -
2
Belt testing fees hit a few times a year, not every month
Testing fees for stripes and belt promotions land in bursts around testing cycles, so a month with a testing cycle can look unusually strong compared to the months around it for no clear reason.
What we doTracks testing fees as their own category so a testing-cycle month reads as what it is, not a mystery jump. -
3
Gi and belt sales get mixed with tuition
New students often buy a uniform as part of enrolling, and when that sale blends into tuition, you can't tell what retail actually earns after what the uniforms cost to stock.
What we doKeeps uniform and belt sales in their own category, separate from tuition, so retail margin stays visible. -
4
Birthday parties look like a random deposit
A Saturday birthday party booked at the school brings in a flat fee that doesn't look like tuition or testing fees, and without its own category it just becomes an unexplained extra deposit.
What we doTracks party bookings as their own line so that income is expected and visible, not a mystery.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a kids martial arts school.
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
- TuitionMonthly family or individual plans drafted through Zen Planner.
- Testing feesBelt and stripe testing charges, kept apart from regular tuition.
- RetailGis, belts, and sparring gear sold to enrolled students.
- Party bookingsBirthday parties and event rentals held at the school.
Money out
- Instructor payHead instructor and assistant instructor wages.
- Retail inventoryGis, belts, and gear restocked for students.
- Rent and utilitiesThe building and the power it runs on.
- SoftwareZen Planner or a similar family-billing system.
- Staff screeningBackground check fees for instructors working with kids.
- InsuranceGeneral liability and abuse coverage, common for youth programs.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new families.
What we watch for you
- Active family count
The base tuition rests on, since family plans often replace individual counting.
- Retail margin
What gi and gear sales earn after what they cost to stock, separate from tuition.
- Testing cycle income
How belt testing revenue lines up with the school's promotion schedule.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things martial arts school 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.
Testing fees land in bursts a few times a year, not every month. I keep them in their own category so the jump reads as what it is, not a mystery.
No. I keep family plan discounts in their own line, so your regular tuition pricing stays visible and doesn't look like it dropped.
The fee itself is a deductible business cost, and I track it separately so you can see what staff screening runs each year.
The tax side
The tax side of running a kids martial arts school.
Most of what trips up a martial arts school is timing and labels. Testing fees mixed with tuition, retail blended in, and instructor pay that needs a second look.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Instructor or employeeAn assistant instructor who teaches your class schedule in your school usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Contractor 1099sA guest instructor or seminar leader not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Sales tax on retailGis, belts, and gear sold to students are usually taxed even when tuition isn't, and the rule varies by state. Gus keeps retail separate so that number is easy to find.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when tuition, testing fees, and retail are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions kids martial arts schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Mats and flooring
- Zen Planner or billing software
- Background check fees
- Liability and abuse insurance
- Instructor certifications
- Belt and testing supplies
- Business phone and booking line
- Cleaning service
- Marketing and referral incentives
- Party supplies for bookings
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 martial arts school's year, kept every month.
Belt tests come on their own cycle. Your taxes come on theirs. 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 year
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so the New Year's sign-up wave doesn't turn into an April surprise.
- 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'll owe, and whether summer camp weeks changed the number.
- October
Before the fall push
Before back-to-school enrollment settles and testing cycles pick up, Gus looks at equipment worth buying 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 kids martial arts schools. 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 martial arts school owners ask first.
Can Gus keep family plan discounts from skewing my tuition number?
Yes. Family discounts get their own line, so your regular per-student tuition pricing stays visible and doesn't look like it randomly changed month to month.
I run tuition through Zen Planner. Do I have to change anything?
No. Keep running the school the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and billing drafts, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do belt testing fees count as regular income?
Yes, but Gus keeps them in their own category since they land in bursts around testing cycles rather than every month, so a testing month doesn't look like an unexplained jump.
Does Gus track birthday party income separately?
Yes. Party bookings get their own line so that money is expected and visible, not folded into tuition or left looking like a random deposit.
My books haven't been kept up since I opened the school. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Whatever statements you have since opening are enough to start. Gus works through the backlog, the accountant checks it, and the school's real numbers show up quickly.
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