Campgrounds, RV parks & glamping
Books and taxes for membership campgrounds.
A lifetime membership sold on financing, annual dues renewed every spring, a guest pass fee, and a sales rep working on commission. Gus sorts every stream, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $13,700. Three memberships sold this month were financed, so I booked the lender's fee as a cost instead of shrinking your sales number.
- CampFinance payoutFinanced memberships
- Annual dues renewal batchMembership dues
- Sales rep commission runSales commissions
- Trails Network affiliate duesAffiliate network fees
- Meadowbrook Grounds CrewGrounds keeping
Why your books are different
Membership campground books go wrong around the sale, not the stay.
You are not just renting sites, you are selling memberships, financing some of them, paying commissions on the sale, and collecting dues year after year. When the books do not separate the sale from the stay, you cannot tell whether membership sales or actual camping is what keeps the lights on.
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1
A lifetime membership gets counted all at once
A member pays $6,000 upfront for a membership meant to last for years. Counted as income the month it is sold, one strong sales month can make the whole year look better than the ongoing business really is.
What we doFlags large upfront membership sales and works with the accountant on how much of that money should count as this year's income versus future years. -
2
Financed memberships pay out short
When a member finances a $5,000 membership, the lender pays the campground less than the sale price and keeps a fee. Booked as the deposit amount, both your sales and your real cost look wrong.
What we doBooks the full membership price as the sale and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so your numbers stay honest both ways. -
3
Sales commissions blend into regular payroll
A sales rep paid a commission on each membership sold looks like ordinary wages next to grounds and office staff, which hides what it actually costs to sell a membership.
What we doKeeps sales commissions in their own line, separate from operating payroll, so the real cost of a sale is visible. -
4
Affiliate network fees look like a random subscription
Dues paid to a larger membership network so your members can stay at partner parks, and dues collected from other parks' members visiting yours, both flow through the same account and are easy to mix up.
What we doKeeps affiliate network fees paid and received in their own lines so each direction is clear. -
5
Guest and day-use fees disappear into membership dues
A member's guest paying a day fee, or a non-member paying to camp for a weekend, often gets deposited alongside dues renewals, making it hard to see how much revenue comes from people who are not even members.
What we doKeeps guest and non-member fees in their own category, separate from dues and stays.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a membership campground.
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
- Membership salesNew memberships, tracked separately from financed ones.
- Financed membershipsThe full sale price, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Membership duesAnnual or monthly renewal fees from existing members.
- Guest and non-member feesDay-use and overnight fees from people who are not members.
- Membership transfer and resale feesFees charged when a membership changes hands.
Money out
- Sales commissionsWhat sales reps earn per membership sold.
- Affiliate network feesDues paid so members can use partner parks in the network.
- Financing and lender feesWhat a finance company keeps on financed membership sales.
- Grounds keepingMowing, tree removal, and upkeep across the property.
- UtilitiesElectric, water, and septic for the whole campground.
- Member services staffOffice and front desk wages for handling member accounts.
- InsuranceProperty and liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- Dues renewal rate
How many members renew each year against how many lapse.
- Cost per membership sold
Commissions and marketing spent against each new membership sale.
- Financing cost
What lenders keep on financed memberships, worth knowing before offering it broadly.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things membership campground 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.
Some of it might need to spread across future years instead of landing all in May. I flagged the sales and the accountant will sort out the right split.
Two members financed their memberships and the lender kept a fee. I booked that as a cost, so your sales still show the full sale price.
If she is not on payroll and earns $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099 by January 31. I am keeping that running total as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a membership campground.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing: when a membership sale actually becomes income, and keeping commissions and financing fees labeled the way they should be.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Recognizing membership income over timeA membership sold to last several years often should not count as income all in the year it is sold. Getting this right depends on your specific membership terms, which is why the accountant reviews it.
- Contractor 1099sA sales rep or grounds contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Lodging or occupancy tax on guest staysNon-member and guest overnight stays are often taxed the same way as any other campground stay, even when member stays are treated differently under your dues structure.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It lands right when the books are right all year.
Deductions membership campgrounds miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sales commission payments
- Affiliate network dues
- Financing and lender fees
- Membership software and billing
- Grounds keeping equipment
- Marketing for membership sales events
- Member services office supplies
- Site and road maintenance
- Business liability insurance
- Phone and internet for the sales office
- Uniforms for member services staff
- Legal fees for membership contracts
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 membership campground year, kept every month.
Sales events and dues renewals do not follow the same calendar as camping season. Gus keeps the tax side steady through both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the renewal season
Last year's return gets started, the sales rep 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside before spring renewals and sales events begin.
- 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 how this year's membership sales compare to dues renewals.
- October
Before the fall sales push
A look at commissions paid this year and whether next year's sales event budget needs adjusting.
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 membership campgrounds. 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 membership campground owners ask first.
Do all of our membership sales count as income right away?
Often not all at once. A membership sold to last several years may need to be recognized over time, and the accountant reviews your specific membership terms to get that right.
How does Gus handle memberships sold through a finance company?
He books the full membership price as the sale and the finance company's fee as a cost, so your sales and your real cost both stay honest.
Our sales reps work on commission only. Does that change anything?
It changes where the money is labeled, not what you do. Gus keeps commissions in their own line so you can see the real cost of a sale next to what it brought in.
We pay dues to a larger membership network so our members can visit partner parks. How does that get tracked?
Gus keeps what you pay the network and what other parks' members pay to visit you in separate lines, so both directions are clear.
Some members are years behind on renewing. Does that matter for the books?
Not for Gus. He books dues when they are actually paid, not when they were technically due, so lapsed members do not show up as income you never received.
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