Specialty food makers & markets
Books and taxes for maple syrup producers.
A six-week sugaring season, propane-fed evaporator runs, grocery wholesale accounts, and gift shop sales that carry the rest of the year. 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
March was your sugaring season, and it came in at $5,600. Propane for the evaporator was your biggest cost this month, so I kept fuel apart from your regular supply spending.
- Farm stand cashRetail syrup sales
- Grocery wholesale invoiceWholesale orders
- Propane deliveryEvaporator fuel
- Glass bottle orderPackaging
- Tubing and tap replacementSugarbush equipment
Why your books are different
A maple syrup business's books go wrong around the six-week season.
You are not a business that earns steadily across twelve months. Almost everything happens in one short weather-dependent window, fuel costs spike hard during it, and syrup grade changes what a jug is actually worth. When the books do not know that, eleven quiet months look like trouble.
-
1
The sugaring season's cost gets spread thin instead of tracked as one push
A few weeks of nonstop boiling burns through propane or wood, and buying it all at once makes that short window look wildly more expensive than any other month, when it is really the one production run the whole year depends on.
What we doKeeps evaporator fuel in its own category so the sugaring season's real cost is visible as the one big push it is, not a mystery spike. -
2
Grade A and darker grades get sold at one blended price
Early-season light syrup and late-season dark syrup often sell for different prices to different buyers, but if sales are not tracked by grade, you cannot tell which part of the season is actually worth more.
What we doKeeps syrup sales sorted the way you track them, so grade and timing differences in price stay visible instead of blended together. -
3
Sap yield swings are never explained by the weather that caused them
A bad freeze-thaw cycle can cut sap flow in half, and a maker who does not track that against a normal season assumes something is wrong with the operation instead of the weather.
What we doTracks the season's sales against prior years so a weather-driven short season reads as what it is, not a mystery drop. -
4
Off-season retail sales get treated as random income
Syrup sold at the farm stand, gift shops, and online through the rest of the year comes from inventory made in six weeks, so it can look disconnected from the cost that actually produced it.
What we doKeeps a running account of syrup inventory made during the season and sold across the year, so year-round sales tie back to the season that produced them.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a maple syrup business.
Set up once for how you sell and what you buy. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail syrup salesFarm stand, gift shop, and online orders across the whole year.
- Wholesale ordersGrocery stores and specialty shops buying by the case.
- Sugarhouse tour incomeTastings, tours, and pancake breakfast events during the season, where offered.
- Bulk syrup salesDrum sales to other bottlers or producers.
Money out
- Evaporator fuelPropane, wood, or oil burned during the boiling season.
- Sugarbush equipmentTaps, tubing, and collection equipment for the trees.
- PackagingGlass bottles, jugs, caps, and labels graded by syrup type.
- Evaporator maintenanceRepairs and cleaning for the boiling equipment between seasons.
- Marketplace and card feesWhat Shopify, Etsy, or Square kept before you got paid.
- Land and lease costsRent or lease payments for sugarbush acreage, where applicable.
What we watch for you
- Yield per tap
Syrup produced against taps set. A drop points to weather or equipment, worth checking either way.
- Fuel cost per season
What the boiling run cost in propane or wood, the single biggest seasonal expense to watch.
- Grade mix
How much of the season's syrup landed in each grade, since pricing often differs by grade.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things maple syrup producers 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.
Your yield per tap is close to what other producers saw this year in a short freeze-thaw season. It looks weather-driven, not a sign of a problem in your operation.
Propane for the evaporator was most of it. I kept fuel in its own line so you can see it is the cost of the season, not a spending problem.
Bulk sales usually work like any other wholesale sale on the books. Whether it changes anything about your farm's tax treatment is worth a real look, so I flagged it for the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of a maple syrup business.
Most of what matters here is treating a six-week season like the production run it is, since inventory, farm treatment, and equipment timing all hinge on it.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldOnly the syrup that sold this year counts as cost of goods, even though it was made in one short season. Bottled syrup sitting in the sugarhouse stays inventory until it sells.
- Equipment write-offsEvaporators, reverse osmosis machines, and tubing systems can usually be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent, for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Farm-related tax treatmentMaple syrup production sometimes qualifies for agricultural tax treatment that varies by state and by how the sugarbush is set up. Gus flags this so the accountant can confirm what applies to you.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed. It comes out right only when season costs and year-round sales are tracked cleanly.
Deductions maple syrup producers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Propane or wood fuel
- Taps and tubing
- Glass bottles and jugs
- Reverse osmosis maintenance
- Evaporator repairs
- Sugarbush land lease
- Farm stand signage
- Filtering supplies
- Grading equipment
- Delivery mileage to accounts
- Sugarhouse tour supplies
- Farmers market booth 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 maple syrup year, kept every month.
One short sugaring season funds the other eleven months. Gus keeps the tax calendar moving in step with a season the weather controls. 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, equipment is checked ahead of season, and you get a monthly set-aside.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your business return is filed and signed, right after sugaring season wraps.
- July
Post-season check
Where you stand after the season, what you will owe, and how this year's yield and grade mix compare to last year's.
- October
Before next season's prep
Gus looks at equipment worth replacing or upgrading before taps go back in the trees in late winter.
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 maple syrup producers. 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 maple syrup producers ask first.
Can Gus handle a business that earns almost everything in six weeks?
Yes. Gus tracks the season's production and fuel costs together, then follows syrup sales across the rest of the year so the numbers make sense as a whole season, not month by month.
Does Gus track my syrup by grade?
He keeps sales sorted the way you record them. If you track light and dark syrup separately, that split carries through to the books.
Does maple production count as farming for tax purposes?
It sometimes qualifies for agricultural tax treatment, but the rules vary by state and by how the sugarbush is set up. That is worth confirming with the accountant rather than assuming either way.
I sell some syrup in bulk drums to a bottler. Is that different from retail sales?
It gets tracked as a wholesale sale like any other bulk order. The main thing is keeping bulk and retail sales apart so you can see what each is really worth.
My books are behind after a busy sugaring season. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and he sorts them by season cost, grade, and channel. Most owners know where they stand within 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 specialty food makers & markets
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Artisan cheese makers
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Farmers market vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hot sauce brands
- Jerky makers
- Pickles & fermented food makers
- Popcorn shops
- Salsa & dip brands
- Seafood markets
- Sourdough & microbakeries
- Spice blenders & seasoning brands
- Butcher shops & meat markets
- Ethnic grocery stores
- Specialty grocers & delis
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Arcade bars (barcades)
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