Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for liquor stores.
A holiday season that carries half your year, a rare bourbon allocation list, wine sold by the case at a discount, and a bottle behind the counter worth more than a week of register sales. 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
December came in at $26,800. Holiday traffic drove most of it, and I kept your rare bottle allocation sales apart from everyday register sales so you can see how much of the month was really a one-time push.
- Daily till depositRetail spirits and wine sales
- Drizly delivery payoutDelivery and online orders
- Southern Glazer's invoiceDistributor purchases
- Holiday season overtime payrollStaff wages
- Security system serviceSecurity and insurance
Why your books are different
A liquor store's books go wrong around the high-value bottle and the holiday spike.
A generalist sees a store full of bottles. Your business carries inventory worth thousands sitting on a single shelf, a holiday season that can be half the year's business, and rare allocations that get sold by raffle instead of a normal register ring. When the books do not know that, shrinkage and seasonality both get missed.
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1
High-value bottle shrinkage costs more than it looks like
A single missing bottle of allocated bourbon or a rare Scotch can cost more than a full case of everyday spirits, so shrinkage that would be a rounding error for a grocery store is a real hit here.
What we doTracks high-value inventory losses as their own line, so shrinkage on expensive bottles is visible and not lost inside a general cost of goods number. -
2
Rare bottle allocations get booked like a normal sale
A raffle or waitlist for a rare allocated bottle brings in money differently than a walk-in purchase, and treating it like an ordinary sale hides how much of your revenue depends on rare releases you cannot count on every month.
What we doKeeps allocated bottle sales in their own line, separate from everyday retail, so you can see how much of a month depended on a rare release. -
3
Wine case discounts blur the real margin
Selling wine by the case at a discount off single-bottle pricing means the same product earns different margins depending on how it is sold, and one blended wine sales line hides which pricing is actually working.
What we doTracks case and single-bottle wine sales separately, so the real margin on each is visible. -
4
Gift baskets bundle products at one price
A holiday gift basket combining a bottle, mixers, and glassware gets sold as one item, but each piece came from a different supplier at a different cost, and pricing the basket off a guess erodes margin fast during your busiest season.
What we doTracks what actually goes into a gift basket and what it cost, so the bundle's price reflects its real cost, not a guess. -
5
A holiday spike gets compared to an average month
When half your year's business lands in November and December, comparing that period to a quiet spring month gives a false read on how the store is really performing the rest of the year.
What we doFlags seasonal swings so holiday months are read against other holiday months, not an average week.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a liquor store.
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
- Retail spirits and wine salesRegular in-store bottle sales.
- Case sale discountsWine and spirits sold by the case at a discounted price.
- Rare and allocated bottle salesRaffle or waitlist sales for limited bottles, kept apart from everyday sales.
- Gift basket salesBundled products sold as one gift item.
- Delivery and online ordersOrders through Drizly or a similar delivery service.
Money out
- Distributor purchasesInvoices from wholesalers like Southern Glazer's, or a state agency in a control state.
- High-value inventory shrinkageLosses on expensive bottles, tracked apart from everyday shrinkage.
- Staff wagesRegular payroll plus holiday season overtime, kept visible as its own swing.
- Security and insuranceCameras, alarm monitoring, and coverage for high-value inventory.
- Point of sale and card feesRegister and delivery order processing costs.
- Store license and permitsState liquor license renewal and local business permit costs.
What we watch for you
- High-value shrinkage
Losses on expensive bottles, since one missing case can outweigh a week of everyday shrinkage.
- Allocation sales share
How much of a month came from rare bottle sales you cannot count on repeating.
- Case versus single-bottle margin
Which wine pricing actually earns more, so discounting is a choice, not a guess.
- Holiday concentration
How much of the year lands in November and December, so a quiet spring month is read correctly.
Ask Gus
Things liquor store 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 logged it as high-value shrinkage, its own line, so you can see how it compares to a normal month. This one is worth flagging to your team, and worth a real accountant's eye if it happens again.
I kept those sales separate from everyday retail, so you can see it was a real bump, not something to expect every month. Good to know before you plan next month's orders.
No. You are selling spirits that were already taxed by the producer, so federal alcohol excise tax does not apply to your store.
The tax side
The tax side of running a liquor store.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating rare sales and shrinkage like ordinary retail, and losing track of high-value inventory at year end.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- High-value inventory countsAn accurate year-end count matters more here than most retail, since a handful of allocated bottles can represent real money. Good records make that count straightforward.
- Store fixtures and securityShelving, coolers, and security systems can usually be written off the year you buy them. Section 179 expensing goes up to $2,560,000, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for holiday helpA seasonal delivery driver or contract worker paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running through the holidays.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated liquor stores can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when retail, case, and allocation sales are kept separate all year.
Deductions liquor stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Distributor and wholesale invoices
- High-value inventory insurance
- Security cameras and alarm monitoring
- Point of sale and card processing fees
- Retail alcohol license fees
- Store fixtures and display cases
- Gift basket assembly supplies
- Holiday season packaging
- Staff uniforms with your logo
- Delivery service commissions
- Signage and store displays
- Refrigeration for beer and wine coolers
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 liquor store's year, kept every month.
Half your year can land in six weeks around the holidays, but your return still comes due every April. Your team keeps you ahead of it. 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, the holiday season's numbers get reconciled, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January even through the busiest six weeks of the year.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand in the slower half of the year, and what the holiday season ahead should look like.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Before the holiday buying season begins, Gus looks at fixtures or security upgrades worth buying and anything to do 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 liquor stores. 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 liquor store owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a missing high-value bottle?
He tracks high-value inventory losses as their own line, so a shrinkage problem with expensive spirits does not get lost inside a general cost of goods number.
Can Gus keep our rare bottle raffle sales separate from everyday sales?
Yes. He keeps allocated bottle sales in their own line, so you can see how much of a month depended on a rare release you cannot count on repeating.
We discount wine sold by the case. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus tracks case and single-bottle wine sales separately, so you can see the real margin on each instead of one blended number.
Do we owe federal alcohol excise tax since we sell spirits?
No. That tax applies to producers, and your inventory was already taxed by the distillery or winery that made it. It does not apply to your store.
Our holiday season is half our year. Does that skew our books?
No. Gus flags seasonal swings so a holiday month gets compared to other holiday months, not an average week, and a quiet spring reads correctly too.
Our register records and our gift basket sales have never been tracked separately. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them into retail, case, allocation, and gift basket sales from here forward, and the accountant checks it.
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 craft beverage producers
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Brewpubs
- Coffee roasters
- Craft breweries & taprooms
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands
- Wineries & tasting rooms
- Arcade bars (barcades)
- Artisan cheese makers
- Bagel shops
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Beer gardens
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Cigar lounges
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Dive bars & neighborhood taverns
- Farmers market vendors
- Food hall vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hookah lounges
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