Campgrounds, RV parks & glamping
Books and taxes for long-term and monthly RV parks.
Monthly rent instead of nightly turnover, a submetered water bill passed back to residents, deposits held and returned, and a workforce contract that pays quarterly. 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
November came in at $12,400. The submeter reimbursements just cover what you paid the utility, so I kept them apart from rent to show you the real margin.
- ACH rent collection batchMonthly site rent
- Riverbend Energy contractWorkforce housing contract
- City water and sewer billUtilities
- Deposit refund, site 14Deposits returned
- Statewide Skirting RepairSite maintenance
Why your books are different
Long-term RV park books go wrong in their own way.
You are not chasing nightly turnover, you are running something closer to a small rental community on wheels. When the books do not know that, submetered utilities look like income, deposits look like revenue, and the lodging tax that hits an overnight park gets applied where it may not belong.
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1
Submetered utilities get counted as income
When a resident's water or electric use is billed back to them, that reimbursement is not really site revenue, it is passing along a cost you already paid. Counted as income, your margin looks better than it is.
What we doBooks utility reimbursements against the utility bill they cover, so revenue reflects what you actually earned. -
2
Deposits get spent like they were earned
A security deposit collected when a resident moves in belongs to them until they move out. Treated as income the day it arrives, it gets spent, and refunding it later becomes a scramble.
What we doKeeps deposits held separate from earned income until they are returned or applied to a final bill. -
3
Lodging tax gets charged where it may not apply
Many states exempt stays of 30 days or longer from lodging or occupancy tax, though the exact cutoff varies by state. Charging it anyway on long-term residents, or missing that a short-term guest does owe it, both cause problems.
What we doFlags which stays look long-term versus short-term based on the length booked, so you and the accountant can confirm the right tax treatment. -
4
A workforce housing contract pays on its own schedule
A company renting a block of sites for its crew often pays quarterly or on a custom schedule, not monthly like individual residents. Booked as a lump sum when it lands, it can make one month look unusually strong.
What we doKeeps contract income against the months it covers, so no single deposit skews the picture. -
5
Lower turnover hides real maintenance cost
Fewer move-ins and move-outs means less wear from constant hookups, but skirting, awnings, and site improvements for residents who stay for months add up in a way a nightly park never sees.
What we doKeeps site maintenance for long-term residents in its own line so the real cost of the community is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a long-term RV park.
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
- Monthly site rentRecurring rent collected from long-term residents.
- Workforce housing contractsBlock bookings from an employer, tracked against the months covered.
- Utility reimbursementsSubmetered water and electric billed back to residents.
- Application and setup feesOne-time fees charged when a resident moves in.
- Short-term overflow staysOccasional nightly guests filling an open site.
Money out
- UtilitiesWater, electric, and sewer for the whole property, before reimbursement.
- Site maintenanceSkirting, awnings, and pad repairs for long-term residents.
- Deposits returnedSecurity deposits refunded when a resident moves out.
- Property taxOn the land and site improvements.
- InsuranceProperty and liability coverage for the park.
- Office and collections softwareRent collection and submeter billing tools.
- Grounds keepingMowing and upkeep across the property.
What we watch for you
- Occupancy rate
Sites filled against total sites, since turnover is naturally slow here.
- Utility reimbursement gap
Whether what residents pay back actually covers what you paid the utility.
- Average length of stay
Useful for knowing which sites may owe lodging tax and which likely do not.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things monthly RV park 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.
Probably not, most states stop applying it after a certain length of stay, but the cutoff varies. I flagged your long-term sites so the accountant can confirm for your state.
This month you collected $180 less than the water bill. I kept it visible so you can see whether your rate needs a small adjustment.
I split it across the three months it covers, so none of them looks artificially strong or weak because of one deposit.
The tax side
The tax side of a long-term RV park.
Most of what goes wrong here is the line between a landlord and an overnight lodging business, and getting deposits and reimbursements labeled correctly.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Lodging tax and length of stayMany states exempt stays of 30 days or longer from lodging or occupancy tax, though the cutoff and the rules vary by state. Mixed short and long-term sites often need to track both.
- Security depositsA deposit held for a future refund is not income when it is collected. It only becomes income if it is kept, such as for damage or unpaid rent.
- Contractor 1099sA skirting repair crew or grounds contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner-operator not structured as an S corp pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, on wages up to the $184,500 Social Security base.
Deductions long-term and monthly RV parks miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Skirting and awning repair
- Submeter equipment and billing software
- Site grading and gravel
- Rent collection software
- Property tax
- Water and sewer service
- Deposit accounting software
- Site signage
- Fence and gate repair
- Business liability insurance
- Mower and grounds equipment
- Legal fees for lease agreements
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 long-term RV park year, kept every month.
Your income is steadier month to month than a seasonal park's, but the tax deadlines are the same. Gus keeps the number consistent all year. 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 contractor 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside based on your steady rent income.
- April
Filed and done
Your return is filed and signed, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether occupancy or workforce contracts have shifted since last year.
- October
Before winter contracts renew
A look at renewing workforce housing agreements and any site improvements worth making 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 long-term and monthly RV parks. 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 monthly RV park owners ask first.
Do I need to pay lodging tax on my long-term residents?
Often not, since many states exempt stays past a certain length, but the exact rule varies. Gus flags which sites look long-term so you and the accountant can confirm your state's rule.
How does Gus handle security deposits?
He keeps them separate from income until they are returned or applied to a final bill, so they never get spent like earned revenue by mistake.
We have one big workforce housing contract that pays quarterly. Does that skew our numbers?
Not once Gus is on it. He spreads that payment across the months it covers so no single month looks artificially strong.
Our submeter billing rarely matches the actual utility bill exactly. Is that a books problem?
It is more of a pricing question than a books one. Gus keeps both numbers visible so you can see the gap and decide if your rate needs adjusting.
Some of our residents pay by ACH and some by check. Does that complicate things?
No. Gus sorts every deposit by what it actually is, no matter how it arrives.
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