Route, vending & coin-op assets
Books and taxes for massage chair routes.
Card-paid sessions in airport terminals and malls, motor and roller repairs, and placement contracts with property owners who expect their cut on time. Your own bookkeeper keeps every terminal straight, 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 $6,300. Two chairs at Terminal B got new roller motors, logged as repairs since the chairs themselves are already on the books.
- Card processor payoutSession sales
- Airport concession feeLocation commissions
- Chair motor and roller partsRepairs and parts
- New chair, Terminal CMachine purchases
- Mall kiosk commissionLocation commissions
Why your books are different
Massage chair route books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a card processor deposit and a repair bill. Your business is chairs that sit in airport terminals under a concession contract, motors that wear out from constant use, and per-session pricing that only works if the machine is actually running. When the books do not track chairs individually, you cannot tell which terminal is worth the placement fee.
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1
The airport concession fee looks like plain rent
An airport authority often takes a percentage of gross session revenue rather than a flat lease, sometimes with a minimum guarantee owed regardless of sales, and booked as generic rent, none of that structure shows up in the numbers.
What we doBooks each terminal's concession fee as its own line tied to that location's sessions, so you can see the real cost against what the chairs earn. -
2
Chair downtime never gets tracked against repair cost
A chair with a worn roller motor sits idle for a week waiting on a part, and if nobody tracks how often that happens, you cannot tell whether a specific chair or terminal is costing more in downtime than it earns in sessions.
What we doKeeps repair costs tied to each chair so you can see which units are breaking down often enough to be worth replacing. -
3
A new chair looks like a repair expense
A commercial massage chair can cost several thousand dollars, and if it gets filed the same way as a roller motor replacement, it never gets tracked as the equipment it is or written off the way equipment can be.
What we doLogs every chair purchase as its own asset the day it is installed, so it gets the write-off treatment equipment is due. -
4
Card processing fees hide inside the deposit
The payout that lands in your account is already net of the card processor's cut, so booking it as the full session price hides what accepting cards is actually costing you across dozens of daily sessions.
What we doBooks the session sale at its full price and the processor's cut as a fee, so both numbers stay visible. -
5
Seasonal airport traffic gets mistaken for a bad month
Travel volume swings hard around holidays and slow travel weeks, and an owner who does not expect that swing can mistake a normal seasonal dip for a chair or terminal going bad.
What we doTracks sessions by terminal over time, so a slow month reads against last year's same month instead of causing a false alarm.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a massage chair route.
Set up once for how your chairs get paid and what keeps them running. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Session salesCard-paid massage sessions, booked at the full price before processing fees.
- Membership or app creditsPrepaid session bundles sold through a chair operator's own app, when offered.
- Chair sale proceedsMoney from selling a retired chair to another operator.
- Advertising on chair screensAny fee paid by an advertiser for screen space on the chair, when applicable.
Money out
- Location commissionsAirport concession fees and mall kiosk commissions, tied to each terminal or venue.
- Machine purchasesNew commercial massage chairs installed at a terminal or kiosk.
- Repairs and partsRoller motors, upholstery, and control panel repairs.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor keeps before the session payout lands.
- Vehicle and fuelFuel and repairs for servicing chairs across terminals.
- InsuranceLiability coverage for chairs in public spaces.
What we watch for you
- Sessions per chair
Shows which units and terminals earn their keep and which ones sit idle too often.
- Repair cost per chair
Tracked against sessions earned, so an aging chair gets flagged before it costs more than it makes.
- Commission share
Tracked across all terminals, so a concession renewal does not quietly eat into what you keep.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on session revenue, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things massage chair route 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.
Sessions there are down about 15 percent from this time last year, in line with the whole airport's travel numbers. Looks seasonal, not a chair problem, but I will keep watching it.
Usually yes. I logged it as equipment, not a repair, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
I track what each terminal actually nets you after its concession fee, so you will have the real number for that negotiation, not a guess.
The tax side
The tax side of a massage chair route.
Most of what goes wrong here is what a repair bill is hiding. A new chair filed like a motor swap, a concession fee that looks like rent, and processing fees nobody separated out.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Chairs and equipmentCommercial massage chairs usually qualify to be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Airport and venue concession feesConcession contracts often include minimum guarantees on top of a percentage cut, and both count as ordinary business costs that reduce what you owe.
- Contractor 1099sA repair tech or backup servicer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll usually needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of route profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when concession fees and repairs are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions massage chair routes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Massage chair purchases
- Roller motor and control repairs
- Airport concession fees
- Mall kiosk commissions
- Card processing fees
- Upholstery replacement
- Route vehicle fuel and repairs
- Liability insurance
- Chair cleaning supplies
- Storage for spare chairs
- Route management software
- Airport badge and access 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 massage chair year, kept every month.
Travelers pass through terminals every week of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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 terminal year
Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is ready, and your monthly set-aside begins now, built around what the chairs bring in, so April is already handled.
- April
Signed, filed, done
Your business return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been tracking every terminal's sessions since January.
- July
Midyear terminal check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer travel volume changed the number.
- October
Before holiday travel
Airport traffic often climbs heading into the holidays. Gus looks at whether an aging chair is worth replacing before the 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 massage chair routes. 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 massage chair route owners ask first.
How does an airport concession fee show up in my books?
As its own line tied to that terminal's sessions, whether it is a straight percentage or a minimum guarantee. You can see exactly what each terminal's concession is costing you against what it earns.
Can Gus tell me if a chair is not worth keeping?
He tracks sessions and repair cost per chair, so you can see which units are earning their keep and which are not. He will not tell you to pull a chair, but the number is ready when you decide.
Do I owe sales tax on massage sessions?
It depends on your state and sometimes the venue, since some states tax personal services differently than others. Gus flags which terminals may owe it and the accountant walks you through the details.
I just added chairs at a new mall kiosk. Does that change how the books work?
No, the process stays the same. Gus adds the new location and its commission structure as its own line, right alongside your airport terminals.
How do I write off a chair I bought used from another operator?
Used equipment can usually be written off the same way new equipment can. Gus logs the purchase as its own asset the day it is installed, and the accountant decides the best way to take it.
My records from three terminals are all mixed together. Can that get sorted?
Yes. Send the card processor statements and any concession invoices you have. Gus works through them terminal by terminal, and most owners know where they stand within a week or two.
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